Alaska Answers

Q. Where can I see a picture of your state bird, flower, flag and your capitol building? -Rudy

A. Our state flower is the Forget-Me-Not; state bird is the Willow Ptarmigan; the flag, which is a blue background with the Dipper and North State on it was adopted for use in 1959.

Alaska is one of the most beautiful of states, I think, but I will admit we probably have the ugliest capitol building of any state. Ours is a very utilitarian looking ‘box’. You can see it by going to a website called www.cupola.com and then clicking on the square that says something about Cupolas of Capitalism. Then click on Alaska. See what I mean? A box!!

I’ve found a good site for the other things you’d like to know is one called www.enchantedlearning.com Scroll down and click on US States Info & Printouts. Then find Alaska in the list and click on that. I think you’ll find what you need by doing these things. Write me again sometime. -Bonnie J.

Q. Gabe would like to know: How many congressional representatives do you have?

A. Well, you’d think, Gabe, with such a vast state we’d have a lot, eh? but since it goes by population, we only have one. He is a good one though!

Don Young has represented us in Congress for the past 32 years! His popularity has not diminished either, since in the 2004 election he received the largest # of popular votes for a single candidate in Alaska.

As a boy Don loved books by Jack London, especially Call of the Wild, and that fueled his desire to come to the Last Frontier. I know that feeling. That’s how we ended up in Alaska. We happened upon an Alaska shelf in the Alice, Tx public library!

Don Young came to Alaska in 1959 working construction and then commercial fishing and trapping. He made his home on the Yukon River at Ft. Yukon, a remote village of 700 people, located 7 miles above the arctic circle. He taught 5th grade at a Bureau of Indian affairs school. It was a log school, with a wood burning stove. In the summer he captained his own tugboat and barge service, taking supplies to villages up and down the Yukon. He even panned for gold, but says his best ‘gold strike’ was his wife Lu, who has ever since supported his endeavors and gave him two wonderful daughters, who produced 10 grandchildren. So, Alaska has been good to him.

Don started his political career when he was elected Mayor of Ft. Yukon in about 1964. Two years later, he was elected to the state legislature where he served from 1966 to 1970. Then in 1970-1973 he was a state senator. He was first sworn in to the 93rd congress after being elected in a special election on March 6, 1973 And the rest, as they say is history.

Don Young’s first job in the U. S. congress was to lead the battle for the trans Alaska pipeline, which has meant so much to the Alaskan economy. He has also done a lot for the native peoples of our state. Write me again sometime, Gabe. -BJ

Q. I’d like to know what is your state bird? And what is the state’s population? -Paige

A. Our state bird is the Willow Ptarmigan. For more on that, see the next entry.

As to population, as of the 2004 census, we had over 655,000 people living in Alaska. To put the land and people in perspective, we have 576,951 square miles, which figures out to about 1.1 people per square mile! Compare that to the U. S. average of 79.6 people per square mile and you will understand how very vast is our land. Thanks for writing, Paige. -Bonnie J.

Q. What countries border on the east and west of Alaska? Jenna

A. Good. An easy question. At least I think I know. On our east is Canada. I know that well because you have to drive thru Canada to get to the lower 48 (or ‘Outside’ as we Alaskans call it.) We’ve done it many times.

On our west is Russia, from whom we bought Alaska in 1867. You can read more about this thru out my archives, under the title of History.

You didn’t ask what was north or south of us, but let’s see….north would be frozen tundra, polar bears, eskimos and if you flew on over the top of the world, you’d find yourself in Norway and Finland! A glass of glogg anyone?

If you travel straight south from Alaska, you will find yourself in the south pacific ocean and the french polynesian islands. There’s is not much south of us before reaching the south pole, but you could have a fine time working on your tan. Write me again! -BJ

Q. What is considered the most breathtaking place in Alaska? I really need to know. Thanks, Megan

A. What a question this is, Megan! I say that because there are so many, I hardly know how to answer. Also, every person is different as to what thrills them. You know that old saying, ‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder’. So I guess I’ll just have to answer for myself.

My personal favorite, (although you understand there are about 500 that are a close second), is the Arrigetch Peaks region of the Brooks Range of mountains, which stretch across Alaska above the Arctic Circle. My son, Nick, was killed tragically in 1990, but when he was alive he and his wife Susan, and daughters had a sports fishing lodge in the Brooks Range at Walker Lake. Walker Lake is the biggest freshwater lake north of the Arctic Circle. I helped cook at Gates of the Arctic Lodge several summers. Oh, what wonderful memories I have of that magical time.

Nick delighted in taking guests on a swing around the Arritetch Peaks as he brought them by floatplane from Bettles, Alaska.
There was never a person who wasn’t just blown away by the beauty and vastness of that wonderful area. Arrigetch is an Eskimo word which means ‘fingers of the hand outstretched’ and that pretty well describes those majestic sharp peaks reaching for the sky. There was one particularly wonderful area to fly thru. One of the mountains has what looks like two towers on top. You can fly the plane between them. Nick would tell the guest to look down as they passed between the towers. Immediately thru them, the ‘ground’ plunged away from you for what I believe was a couple thousand feet! Oh, my, your stomach sort of followed your eyes right down! I don’t think any man made amusement park could give you such a thrill. Spread out below were vast valleys, with twisty ‘braided’ looking rivers winding off into ‘forever’.

That area was set aside by the federal government as a national park and preserve in December of 1980; but because our son’s lodge was already there, and had ‘grandfather rights’ it was allowed to stay. When he was killed, the lodge was done away with; even removed totally by the Park Service. You can still visit Walker Lake of course if you have the funds to be flown in, but there is no longer a nice lodge in which to stay. Sad, I think. The Arrigetch Peaks are still there though, eternal for all time. I think of them often. -BJ

Q. I would like to visit Nome. How do I get there? – Mohsin

A. You didn’t ask anything ‘about’ Nome, but since there are others reading this who might like to know, I’ll tell you a bit first before I answer your actual question.

If you look on a map of Alaska and look about midway up along the western coast, just a bit below the Arctic Circle, you will find Nome. It owes its name to a misinterpretation of a chart in 1850. It listed “? Name” meaning they didn’t know what it should be called. Someone read the question mark as a “C” and thought it stood for Cape……and then read the word Name as Nome! Pretty silly way for a town to be named sez I!

In 1898 gold was found in the Anvil Creek area and soon 30,000 hopeful miners were rushing there. There was even gold found in the sands of the beaches there; however, by 1906, most of the gold and the prospectors were gone. While it boomed though, it really boomed, powered by alcohol and gambling. Sadly, lots of ‘fortunes’ never made it home!

A 3,350 foot granite wall protects Nome from the sea. It is 65 feet wide at the base, and 16 ft wide at the top. It was built by the Army Corp of Engineers.

Average winter temperatures are below zero and summers only get up to betweenn 40 and 50 usually. Although not connected by road to the rest of the state, Nome does have about 300 miles of roads within the area; however, they are not maintained in the winter. Your car probably wouldn’t start anyway! Better rely on your snowmobile or your dog team!

Nome has many festivals and celebrations thruout the year, so it is a fun place to visit. The most famous is the finish of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race. Then there is also the Bering Sea Ice Classic Golf Tournament, played on the sea ice in March; the Polar Bear Swim on Memorial Day; a Midnight Sun Festival in June, a Bathtub Race in the fall and several others.

The city today is a jumping off point for flights to Russia, which is only an hours flight away. Also, a point of departure for tours of the Arctic. You can look at www.nomealaska.org

Now, how do you get there? Well, flying is the only way. Check with Alaska Airline 1-800-252-7522 or www.alaskaair.com It is about a 90 minute flight from Anchorage. Prices are around $400. round trip from Anchorage.

Compared to Barrow, Nome isn’t as far north, it isn’t as rich in native history, doesn’t have as sizable a museum or polar bear viewing tours, but it does have an advantage over Barrow. There are lots of shops, historic sights, and you don’t need to be part of a tour. You can rent a car and see lots of stuff on your own. You should even encounter a good share of wildlife. You can walk around town, and in good weather will even encounter some die hard hopeful prospectors sifting the sands of the beach! Get yourself a gold pan…..and who knows? It could happen! There are several good restaurants also, so you sure won’t go hungry. And yes, they even take Visa and Mastercard. So, come on up and enjoy your trip to Nome. -BJ

Q. If there are diamonds in Yellowknife, are there any in Alaska? -John

A. Wow, John! What a great question. When I read it, I thought, HUH?! Diamonds in Yellowknife? Isn’t that in Canada? Whoever heard of such a thing! This is the fun of a column such as mine, though. If I don’t know something, I have to go looking. You have increased my brain cells today for sure!

John is right. They have indeed found diamonds in Canada. There are two mines operating about 188 miles north of Yellowknife which is the capital of Northwest Territories. Ekati Diamond Mine began operation in 1998 and the Diavik Diamond Mine began operating in 2003. The mines pull out the equivalent of about a coffee can full of diamonds a day – or $1.4 million dollars worth.

Since mining began worldwide, there have been about 1 million pounds of diamonds found, compared to 260 million pounds of gold. Diamonds are much rarer; which probably makes it all the more exciting when they are found. We always seem to value the rare.

Experts are thinking that in 20 years time, Canada will lead the world in diamond production, even topping South Africa and Australia! Who knew?

I found there is a very good book by a man named Kevin Krajick called: Barren Lands: An Epic Search for Diamonds In The North American Arctic. I think you’d find it of interest.

Now….are there diamonds in Alaska? Well, I have good news and bad news. Which do you want first, John?

The bad news is that the rocks underlying Alaska are much younger than those underlying the Northwest Territories of Canada. It is the very old rocks which produce the most diamonds. So geologists say that the possibilities of such a large find is not as likely in Alaska.

The good news is that in 1982 a miner in central Alaska, busily doing his placer mining on Crooked Creek, did indeed find a diamond. Shortly thereafter, two other miners each found a diamond along the same stretch of creek. Also, it is a known fact that the big diamond cartel, De Beers, is poking around in Alaska; but, of course, their findings are secret. So who knows?

Now that I’ve done some research, do I personally think there are diamonds here? You betcha! Nothing about the Great Land would surprise me! Thanks for writing. -Bonnie J.

Q. How many time zones do you have? -Donna

A. We have just two, Donna. Used to be four. For an explanation of the change, please see the archives for a posting dated 10/26/05 where someone named Ginny asked me that very question. We are one hour earlier than the west coast and 3 hours earlier than Texas where my favorite sister lives. (actually she is my only sister, but I’m sure if I had others, she’d be the favorite!) Thanks for writing! -Bonnie J.

Q. In which areas of Alaska are the Athabascan communities? -Peggy

A. If you looked at a map of Alaska, start at a point, on the right hand side, a bit above the Arctic Circle. Then begin drawing a big letter ‘C’ going almost to the coast on the left and curving down and ending just below Anchorage, and you will have a rough idea of what is considered Athabascan territory, within the capital ‘C’. Quite a large area.

At the time Europeans came into contact with the Alaska native peoples, the native territories were pretty well defined and exclusive. In modern times, with the greater ease of travel, and other factors, the ‘lines’ are rather blurred, with native people trying life in other parts of Alaska than what was traditionally considered their own.

In the past, in hard times, the Athabascans often went thru periods of famine, unlike the native peoples who inhabited our coastal areas, where they could always depend on the salmon. Before European contact, all our native peoples were hunter gatherers, and not involved in agriculture. Since wildlife, berries, etc. sort of go in cycles, during lean years the ‘hunting-gathering’ suffered the decline and therefore the long winters were something to be endured and not enjoyed.

Above the Arctic Circle, and over to the left were the Inupiat Eskimos. The Yupik Eskimos inhabited the western coast; and down on the lower Aleutians you would find the Aleuts. Valdez, Seward, Kodiak Island, etc. was home to the Alutiiq (pronounced a-loo-tik). For 2 centuries, a lot of people just grouped them with the Aleuts, but they are different. In southeastern Alaska, you find Tlingit (pronounced (klink-it), Haida and Tsimshain Indians.

There are 12 in-state regional native corporations which administer money, land and benefits from the government for the natives.

Thanks for writing, Peggy. -BJ

Q. Are there any black people in Alaska? -Santana

A. Certainly, Santana. Most black people live in the Anchorage area, probably because of the big military bases there. We have Fort Richardson and Elmendorf Air Force Base. Then, up in Fairbanks area you will find Fort Wainwright and Eielson Air Force Base. I believe a lot of our black population probably came up with the military initially, but many people who come with the military – black and white – like Alaska so much that they stay when their tour of duty is over.

Alaska is the 4th smallest state, populationn wise, coming behind N. Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming, although we are by far the largest in land area.

You might find the following breakdown of nationalities interesting. These figures were taken from the 2005 census.

67.6% of Alaska is White
15.6% is Native Anerican or Native Alaskan
4.1% is Hispanic
4.0% is Asian
3.5% is Black
5.4% is Mixed Race

Our total population is approximately 663,661 according to the census I just looked at. So, if my math is correct, (and sometimes it is highly suspect!) I would say we have over 23,000 blacks in Alaska. We have tons of room for all nationalities. So come on up!
Bonnie J.