Alaska is the largest state of the United States, though also one of the least populated. Half of its 722,718 residents live within the metropolitan area of Anchorage. Alaska also has something icredible that can be rarely seen due to its high latitude (that it’s so far north) termed Northern Lights.  Northern Lights look fake, its dazzling colors transcends reality.

On this day January 3^rd, in 1959, Alaska becomes the 49^th state of the United States. Alaska had been purchased from Russia in 1867 from Russia for $7.2 million. Russia had hope for a far larger sum and that Britain would have interest in it, but they were wrong and with Russia’s finances in ruins decided to sell it.

Alaska is a very cold place; cold may be an understatement – during the winter temperatures can fall beneath -60 degrees. The natives of Alaska are Inuits, better known as Eskimos.  They have a very distinct culture which involves children learning how to handle blades as young as 3 years old. As well, the igloo, a hut made of ice cubes, comes from the Inuits. Alaska is rich in natural resources and has large deposits of crude oil, with the Alaska Pipeline shipping millions of barrels of oil to the rest of the states every year.