| Alaska is USA's 49th state and it became part | | | | winter wonderland. Vast stretches of white |
| of the country in 1959. Where does it get its | | | | snow interspersed with beautiful hills that |
| name from? It is derived from the term "aleut | | | | are picturesque with tall trees and sparking |
| alyeska" which means "a greater land." It | | | | waterfalls. |
| lies way up on the Yukon Trail and borders a | | | | |
| part of Canada. The Arctic Circle lies within | | | | Thanks to its abundance of water, it abounds |
| it and it has tall, snow-covered mountains. | | | | in fish as well. Little wonder it is the |
| It has a lot of land area and is the largest | | | | favored destination for so many seasoned |
| state in the US. It also has the largest | | | | anglers. There are any number of fishing |
| coastline of all the states. | | | | tours one could take and experienced guides |
| | | | take you to the best spots. With so much fish |
| The first inhabitants in Alaska probably came | | | | around, Alaska's main export just has to be |
| through the Bering Land Bridge. This piece of | | | | seafood! However, as agriculture isn't much |
| land used to link Alaska and Russia way back | | | | of an industry, and transport infrastructure |
| in the Ice Age but it has long since been | | | | within the state is not too good, food prices |
| submerged. Who were these first settlers? | | | | tend to be high. |
| They were the Yupik Eskimos, the Aleuts, The | | | | |
| Inuit, Inupiaq and other American Indians. In | | | | Despite all its natural beauty, many Alaskans |
| fact, this was probably the way most ancient | | | | tend to suffer from depression. Is it the |
| settlers to America came through. Over the | | | | isolation or the cold? Whatever the reason, |
| years, Alaska grew to be a part of Russia. In | | | | there is domestic abuse and a high crime rate |
| 1867, it was bought by the US for 7 million | | | | and also instances of suicide. A lot of it |
| dollars. | | | | can probably be blamed on the high incidence |
| | | | of alcoholism here. Yet another problem seems |
| Like Hawaii, Alaska does not have any other | | | | to be the fact that youngsters tend to leave |
| US state along its borders. In fact, it is | | | | Alaska as soon as they finish school or |
| around 500 miles away from the country which | | | | college. Their destination? The exciting |
| it belongs to. What is it like? For one, it | | | | world that is the rest of the US. This |
| is a state that has a lot of water. It has | | | | happens especially with the best students. So |
| many islands and around 3.5 million lakes and | | | | the ones left behind are the ones who do not |
| that's just counting the ones that measure | | | | perform as well, which means a slow winding |
| over 20 acres in area! It also has a lot of | | | | down of talent within the state. Is there a |
| wetlands and marshlands and, of course, a lot | | | | solution? The schools and universities are |
| of its land is made up of glaciers or frozen | | | | trying to tackle the problem by offering the |
| rivers. Most of Alaska is still very much a | | | | best 10% of students a 4-year scholarship. |