Wikipedia: Alaska

The capital of Alaska is Juneau and its largest city is Anchorage. The remote, uncrowded parts are called the Alaskan Bush.

Many acres of Alaska are managed by the federal government as National Forests, National Parks, and National Wildlife Refuges. There are places in Alaska that are general public lands (BLM) land but they're arguably more spectacular than many national parks in the the Lower 48. Probably, nearly every Alaska state park would be a national park in the lower 48. Many acres of Alaska are managed by corporations (mostly, Native Alaska corporations, of which there are 13 regional ones and dozens of local ones).

On the other hand, it's cold, like Russia.

Largest state in the United States in terms of land area (615,230 sq mi). If you superimposed Alaska on the Lower 48, Alaska touches Minnesota and Texas, as well as Georgia and California. One scheme for describing the state's geography is by labelling the regions: South Central Alaska along the coast where there are towns, citites, and petroleum industrial plants, the Alaska Interior where there are big rivers, such as the Yukon River and the [Kuskowim River]?, as well as Arctic tundra lands and shorelines, and the Alaska Panhandle where there are tidewater glaciers and extensive forests.

The first Europeans to reach Alaska came from Russia. Bering sailed east and saw Mt. St. Elias. The Russian-American Company hunted otters for their fur. The colony was never very profitable, because of the costs of transportation.

At the instigation of [Secretary of State]? [William Seward]? the United States Senate approved the purchase of Alaska from Russia for $7,200,000 on April 9th, 1867, and the United States flag was raised on October 18th of that same year. (info from [www.senate.gov]). Currently, Alaska celebrates the purchase on Seward's Day, the last Monday of March, and the flag-raising on Alaska Day, the 18th of October.

The National Statuary Hall of the United States of America is part of the Capitol in Washington, DC. Each state selected distinguished citizens and provided statues. Most states have two. Alaska has one. The statue is of [[E.L. (Bob) Bartlett ]] (1904-1968] one of the original U S senators from Alaska. He was the territorial delegate to the US Congress from 1944 to 1958, and was elected as the first senior US senator in 1958 and re-elected in 1964. There are streets, buildings, and even the first state ferry, named for him.

Needs work. :-)