Anchorage Facts
Fact 1: With 230,000 residents Anchorage, Alaska's largest city, is home to 40% of the state's total population.
Fact 2: Anchorage is on the same latitude as Helsinki, Finland. The city lies directly north of Honolulu, Hawaii.
Fact 3: Anchorage's municipal boundaries stretch from Portage Glacier to Eklutna—a distance of 1,955 square miles or roughly the land area of the State of Delaware.
Fact 4: Sunday drivers beware—if five or more vehicles are following you, state motor laws require that you pull over and let them pass.
Fact 5: Six mountain ranges surround Anchorage: the Alaska Range, the Chugach Mountains, the Talkeetna Mountains, the Tordrillo Mountains, the Kenai Mountains, and the Aleutian Range. These mountains provide a buffer against the wet, cold air from the Gulf of Alaska and from the icy Arctic winds from the north. Even in February daily temperatures usually reach 23 degrees Fahrenheit.
Fact 6: With a landmass of 570,374 square miles, Alaska – the U.S.'s largest state – is one-fifth the size of the entire "Lower 48."
Fact 7: Since Alaska's Aleutian Islands extend into the Eastern Hemisphere, the state is the northernmost, westernmost, AND easternmost point in the United States.
Fact 8: On March 27, 1964 the "Good Friday Earthquake" shook all of Southcentral Alaska. Measuring 9.2 on the Richter Scale, this was North America's strongest recorded earthquake.
Fact 9: On a clear day in Anchorage you can see 130 miles north to Mt. McKinley. The peak of Denali—as the Natives call it—is 20,320 feet, making it the tallest mountain in North America.
Fact 10: Throughout the dark winters Alaska's residents look forward to endless summers. The longest day of the year is June 21—in the Anchorage area nighttime lasts for a mere four hours, which leaves 20 hours for fun in the sun.
