Alaska

Alaska (@-LAS-k@ Russian: Aliaska; Aleut; Alaxsxax, Inupiaq and Yup’ik: Alaskaq) is a state in the Western United States at the northwest extremity. It is a semi-exclave of U.S. and borders Canada’s British Columbia and the Yukon Territory to the east. It also shares a maritime boundary with the Russian Federation’s Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, to the west, across the Bering Strait. To the north are the Chukchi and Beaufort seas of the Arctic Ocean, while the Pacific Ocean lies to the south and southwest.

Alaska is the most populous U.S. state in terms of area. It covers more land than the three next largest states (Texas and California), combined. It represents the seventh largest subnational division in the world. It is the third-least populated and most sparsely populated country in the world. However, it is also the continent’s most populous territory. It is located mostly north of 60th parallel and has a population of 736 081 as of 2020. This is more than four times the combined population of Greenland and Northern Canada. Approximately half of Alaska’s residents live within the Anchorage metropolitan area. Juneau, the state capital, is the second largest city in the United States. It covers more territory than Rhode Island and Delaware. The former capital of Alaska, Sitka, is the largest U.S. city by area.