- published: 06 Apr 2014
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The flag of Alaska consists of eight gold stars, forming the Big Dipper and the North Star, on a dark blue field. The Big Dipper is an asterism in the constellation Ursa Major which symbolizes a bear, an animal indigenous to Alaska. As depicted on the flag, its stars can be used as a guide by the novice to locate Polaris and determine true north, which varies considerably from a magnetic north.
The design was created by Benny Benson of Seward and selected from among roughly 700 entries in a 1927 contest.
More than 30 years before Alaska was to become a state, the Alaska Department of the American Legion sponsored a territorial contest for Alaskan children in grades seven through twelve. Winning the contest in 1927, the design of Benny Benson, a 13-year-old Alaska Native residing at the Jesse Lee Home for Children in Seward, was chosen to represent the future flag of the Territory of Alaska. Up to that time, Alaskans had flown only the U.S. flag since the territory was purchased from Russia in 1867. Benson's design was chosen over roughly 700 other submissions from schoolchildren territory-wide in grades 7–12. Most other entries featured variations on the territorial seal, the midnight sun, the northern lights, polar bears, and/or gold pans. To celebrate his achievement, Benson was awarded US$1,000 and an engraved watch.
Coordinates: 64°N 150°W / 64°N 150°W / 64; -150
Alaska (i/əˈlæskə/) is a U.S. state situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent. Bordering the state to the east are the Canadian territory of Yukon and the Canadian province of British Columbia; to the north are the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, southern parts of the Arctic Ocean. To the west and south is the Pacific Ocean, with Russia (specifically, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug and Kamchatka Krai) farther west across the Bering Strait. Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area, the 3rd least populous and the least densely populated of the 50 United States. Approximately half of Alaska's residents (estimated at 738,432 by the Census Bureau in 2015) live within the Anchorage metropolitan area. Alaska's economy is dominated by the oil, natural gas, and fishing industries, resources which it has in abundance. Tourism and military bases are also a significant part of the economy.
Although it had been occupied for over ten thousand years by indigenous peoples, from the 18th century onward, European powers considered the territory of Alaska ripe for exploitation and trade. The United States purchased Alaska from the Russian Empire on March 30, 1867, for 7.2 million U.S. dollars at approximately two cents per acre ($4.74/km2). The area went through several administrative changes before becoming organized as a territory on May 11, 1912. It was admitted as the 49th state of the U.S. on January 3, 1959.
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