The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake occurred at 1:54 p.m. PT some 56 miles southeast of Sand Hill and nearly 600 miles southwest of Anchorage. The earthquake had a depth of about 25 miles. Several large aftershocks were also recorded at magnitudes 5.8, 5.7, 5.2 and 5.5.
Some Fact About Alaska
The name Alaska comes from the Aleut word Alyeska, meaning The Great Land.
Benny Benson designed Alaska’s flag in 1926 at age 13. It would become the official state flag upon Alaska’s adoption into the Union in 1959.
The state bird of Alaska is the willow ptarmigan (though some like to joke the state bird is really the mosquito).
The state sport of Alaska is dog mushing, which was once the primary mode of transportation in most of Alaska. The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is the state’s largest sporting event.
Alaska has the lowest population density in the nation at one person per square mile. That means plenty of area to get out and explore without large crowds.
If Manhattan, New York, had the same population density as Alaska, only 16 people would be living on the island.
About 52% of Alaskans are men – the highest percentage of any state.
There are 224 federally recognized tribes and 20 indigenous languages spoken in the state.
The northernmost, easternmost and westernmost points in the U.S. are found in Alaska. It’s true! Point Barrow in the north and both the eastern and western points are in the Aleutian Chain. Pochnoi Point on Semisopochnoi Island in the Aleutians is considered the easternmost point and Amatignak Island is the westernmost point because it lies east of the 180-degree longitude.
At their closest points, Alaska is approximately 50 miles from Russia. If you could drive across the ocean you could be there in under an hour!
Barrow has both the longest and shortest amount of daylight in the state. When the sun rises on May 10, it doesn’t set for nearly three months. When it sets on November 18, Barrow residents do not see the sun again for nearly two months.
A summer trip to Barrow will help you understand why Alaska is known as the Land of the Midnight Sun.
