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