FandA: July 2013

Interesting Facts about Alaska and some of our travel:

One-fifth the size of the US, Alaska’s 586,412 square miles measure 2,400 miles east to west and 1,420 miles north to south. This makes it larger than the states of Texas, California and Montana combined.

Of the 20 highest peaks in the US, 17 are in Alaska, which has 19 peaks over 14,000 feet. Mt. McKinley, the highest peak in North America, is 20,320 feet high; it is about 60 miles from the geographic center of the state. Denali, the Indian name for the peak, means “The Great One”. We saw the magnificent Great One for 3 days in row, in all its glory while Lee and Barb were with us. While they were here we did a big loop from Fairbanks to Talkeetna, Kenai, Seward, Anchorage, Palmer, and back to Fairbanks through North Pole.

The Yukon River, almost 2,000 miles long, is the third longest river in the US. There are more than 3,000 rivers in Alaska and over three million lakes. The largest, Lake Iliamma, encompasses over 1,000 square miles.

There are more active glaciers and ice fields in Alaska than in the rest of the inhabited world. The largest glacier is Malaspina at 850 square miles.

Alaska’s flag was designed by 13 year old Benny Benson, from Chignik, Alaska. His design was selected from 142 entrants and was adopted as the territorial flag in 1927. The blue field is for the sky and state flower which is the forget-me-not. The North Star is for the future of Alaska, the most northerly state in the Union. The dipper is for the Great Bear which symbolizes strength. We used to sing about the State Flag while I was in school here from 1956-60 while our dad served in the Air Force. He was stationed at Elemendorf AFB.

Alaska’s capital is Juneau and is the only state capital in the continental US which has no road access. It can only be reached by air or water.

Alaska has 6,640 miles of coastline, and including islands, has 33,902 miles of shoreline. It is twice the amount in the Lower 48.

Barrow is only 800 miles from the North Pole. When the sun rises on May 10^th in Barrow, it does not set again for nearly three months. When it sets on November 10^th, Barrow residents won’t see the sun again for more than two months.

There are more than 70 potentially active volcanoes in Alaska, of which several have erupted in recent times. Including two while during our visit. We camped on Deep Creek right across the Cook Inlet from Mt. Iliamma. The most violent volcanic eruption of the last century took place in 1912 when Novarupta Volcano erupted, creating the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes which is now a part of the Katmai National Monument.

On March 27, 1964, North America’s strongest recorded earthquake rocked central Alaska with a force measuring 9.2 on the Richter Scale. While we felt several tremors and a couple of good size shakes during our stay as kids we didn’t experience a sizable quake. The ’64 quake broke Government Hill Elementary School in half. This was one of the schools I attended while we were in Alaska while stationed here. During this trip, so far, we’ve not experienced any either. Thank the good Lord!

We continued to have a tremendous time and are awe inspired each day! Currently we’re in Homer with plans to head back to the Russian/Kenai Rivers this evening. We have a float charter scheduled tomorrow to catch trout. I’ll send more pictures when I have the opportunity to get on line. In the meantime, please enjoy the pictures with our visit with Lee and Barb.

It’s worth a thought: “Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy. . . . “ Psalm 32:11 NIV

We rejoice in our Lord every moment of every day and thank him for His Glory in all that we see and experience.