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The Last Frontier holds more mysteries than you might imagine! Join us as we count down our picks for the most astonishing and peculiar facts about America's largest state. Our countdown includes a town where everyone lives in one building, a mysterious disappearance triangle, and a state that pays you to live there! What's your favorite weird Alaskan fact?
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00:00Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska was established in part to study the cycles of glaciers.
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks from the most astonishing and peculiar facts about Alaska.
00:11Alaska Triangle stretches from Juneau in the south to Anchorage in the middle,
00:16all the way up to Yukiavik at the most northern point in Alaska.
00:19Number 10. The Alaska Purchase.
00:22Back in 1867, the U.S. purchased Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million, about 2 cents per acre.
00:29It was quite a bargain, even at the time.
00:33That didn't stop critics who had never seen Alaska from dubbing it Seward's Folly.
00:38The deal was questioned by many.
00:40While plenty of newspapers supported it, others berated President Andrew Johnson,
00:45calling Alaska names like Johnson's Polar Bear Garden and Wall Russia.
00:49It became more commonly known as Seward's Folly, or Seward's Icebox,
00:54with critics seeing the land as a useless, barren wasteland.
00:57It was not a wasted purchase at all. It was actually quite a very good deal for the United States.
01:02Those in favor, however, were ultimately proven right.
01:05The Klondike Gold Rush in 1896 marked a massive turning point.
01:09In 1959, Alaska officially became a U.S. state,
01:12and the purchase came to be widely recognized as one of the best bargains the nation ever made.
01:17Alaska became our 49th state in January of 1959,
01:21and is today recognized for its vast resources, including 25% of America's oil and 50% of its seafood.
01:29Number 9, Resident Rewards.
01:31How would it sound to get paid to live somewhere?
01:33Well, in Alaska, that's actually a thing.
01:36As Alaskans, we are all connected by our love of the land,
01:39and also a unique institution, the Permanent Fund.
01:43Launched in 1976, the Alaska Permanent Fund has paid out an average of over $1,000 per year to its residents.
01:51That can go a long way.
01:53The funds come from a share of oil revenues, and vary by year based on investment returns.
01:58While the dividend came in the years that followed,
02:01it's still a golden goose to Alaskans, and many things to many people.
02:062022 marked a high, with a dividend of $3,284 per resident.
02:11Not too shabby.
02:12A form of universal basic income like this is rare.
02:16Studies have found it's had a significant influence on reducing the poverty rate in Alaska,
02:21particularly among indigenous communities.
02:23I think it's really important that there be a dividend,
02:26and be one that increases when the fund does well,
02:31and doesn't increase as much or not as much if the fund does poorly,
02:34so that that vested interest, that direct link, is continued.
02:39Number 8, The Town Under One Roof.
02:41Whittier, Alaska has such a small population,
02:44that nearly all of its residents live in the same building, the Bejik Towers.
02:48Now a high-rise does seem out of place here, but what's even more surprising,
02:52is that the Begich Towers, as it's officially called,
02:56is about the only place to live in all of Whittier.
03:00Not only that, but the building also houses a post office,
03:03police station, grocery store, health clinic, and more.
03:06That's why Whittier earned the nickname, Town Under One Roof.
03:10Even the school is connected by a tunnel.
03:12The school, yes, there is one.
03:15It's connected to the building by, you guessed it, another tunnel.
03:18The town is an infamously wet climate, so not having to go outside can be beneficial.
03:23It's not for everyone, but the setup certainly fosters a close-knit community.
03:27With its stunning glaciers and marine wildlife,
03:29Whittier is a popular destination for tourists and photographers who,
03:33guess what, can stay at the bed and breakfast on the top two floors of the Bejik Towers.
03:38Yeah, it has that too.
03:39To some, it may just be the strangest town in Alaska.
03:43But, for residents, Whittier seems to be the answer to the call of the wild.
03:48Number 7. No Roads to the Capital
03:51Juneau, Alaska is known for many things.
03:54A vibrant performing arts scene, signature cultural festivals,
03:57breathtaking natural wonders, and fun outdoor activities, just to name a few.
04:02For most cities with these kinds of attractions, it'd be worth a drive.
04:06In this case, though, that's not possible.
04:08There are no roads connected to the capital city.
04:11None.
04:11Like many other cities and towns in the unique state of Alaska, Juneau is isolated.
04:16Even so, many would argue that it has such a distinctive appeal
04:20that it's worth a visit, whether by plane, cruise, or ferry.
04:24Number 6. Udkiavik's Midnight Sun and Polar Night
04:27Udkiavik, once known as Barrow, is the northernmost town in the United States.
04:33With that come peculiarities that most people could hardly imagine.
04:36It's a very, very bizarre place.
04:38There's no roads that lead there.
04:39There's no fresh food, um, other than what is hunted and killed.
04:45From May to August, the sun stays above the horizon non-stop,
04:48meaning there's constant daylight, and at midnight,
04:52residents experience the marvel of the midnight sun.
04:55Conversely, there's a period of more than 60 days from mid-November to mid-January,
04:59when residents of Udkiavik don't see the sun at all.
05:02This is known as Polar Night.
05:04It was a very intense place to be, um, during that time of year.
05:09The day the sun finally returns, locals celebrate with music and dancing.
05:13For those of us used to the sun rising and setting every day,
05:16Udkiavik serves as a reminder of how fascinatingly different life can be elsewhere.
05:21Number 5. Unexplained Disappearances in the Alaska Triangle
05:25Most have heard of the Bermuda Triangle, but have you heard of the Alaska Triangle?
05:29Here among the rugged mountains, dense forests, and towering glaciers,
05:35lies a mysterious stretch of wilderness,
05:37where more than 16,000 people have gone missing since 1988.
05:45Locals refer to this area as the Alaska Triangle.
05:50That's right, Alaska has its own mysterious area,
05:53with a dark history of inexplicable disappearances.
05:56The three points are Anchorage and Juneau in the south of Udkiavik in the north.
06:01The massive expanse is full of rugged terrain and harsh weather.
06:05You have to remember that Alaska has some of the most notoriously difficult terrain,
06:12weather, and it has the highest number of private planes anywhere in the United States.
06:20While dangerous, it's still hard to believe that an estimate of over 20,000 people
06:24have reportedly disappeared in the Alaska Triangle since the 1970s.
06:29One of the most infamous examples was in 1972,
06:31when four men, including U.S. House Majority Leader Hale Boggs
06:35and Alaska Representative Nick Bejik Sr.,
06:38went missing on a flight from Anchorage to Juneau.
06:41No trace was ever found.
06:43Number four, most earthquake-prone state in the U.S.
06:47No U.S. state is more prone to earthquakes than Alaska.
06:50It's not particularly close either.
06:52Right now on ABC News Live reports,
06:53we've learned of a powerful earthquake
06:55that has now triggered a tsunami warning
06:58for a large part of the Alaskan coastline.
07:00Alaska commonly experiences tens of earthquakes a day
07:03and thousands of earthquakes a year,
07:06with hundreds per year reaching at least magnitude 4.
07:09The stronger, highly hazardous earthquakes,
07:11we're talking magnitude 8 and above,
07:13are also far more likely to occur in Alaska
07:15than almost anywhere else on Earth.
07:17Again, there were two earthquakes,
07:19one just outside Anchorage,
07:21the first one a major quake, 7.0.
07:23In fact, the largest earthquake ever recorded in the U.S.
07:27and the second largest in the entire world,
07:29with a 9.2 magnitude,
07:31occurred in Alaska in 1964.
07:33There were gaping fractures,
07:35massive landslides,
07:36and the destruction of water mains,
07:38gas, sewer, telephone,
07:41and electrical systems.
07:42Number three,
07:43home to about 80% of recently active volcanoes in the U.S.
07:47Most of Alaska's volcanoes are located on the Aleutian Arc,
07:50which is part of the most volcanically active zone in the world,
07:54the Pacific Ring of Fire.
07:55Alaska's southern coast lies in what's called the Ring of Fire.
07:59Volcanologists usually consider a volcano active
08:02if it's erupted sometime in the last 11,000 years or so.
08:06By that definition,
08:07Alaska has about 90 of them,
08:09more than half of all volcanoes in the U.S. that fit that criteria.
08:12This puts many Alaskans on a constant vigil for the next eruption.
08:16If we narrow it down to more recent history,
08:18meaning volcanoes that have erupted within the past few hundred years,
08:21over 50 of those are in Alaska.
08:23That's around 80% of the entire country's recently active volcanoes,
08:28and they haven't just been small eruptions.
08:30The largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century happened there.
08:33Great geysers of magma shot into the sky.
08:36Rivers of superheated lava flowed into the valley.
08:40The sheer volume of what was ejected from Novorupta is still mind-boggling.
08:44Number 2. Glaciers galore.
08:46Glaciers make up about 3-5% of the state of Alaska,
08:49according to recent estimates.
08:51Dozens of helicopters make this trip every day,
08:54bringing tourists to glaciers in Alaska.
08:57If that figure doesn't sound that crazy,
08:58think about it this way.
09:00Estimates of Alaska's glacier coverage range from 23,000 to 29,000 square miles.
09:05That's about the size of the entire state of West Virginia.
09:08The National Park Service says there are 100,000 glaciers here in Alaska,
09:13and that 95% of them are getting smaller or have stopped advancing.
09:17However, that number has been declining due to glacier melting.
09:21Fortunately, there are plenty of accessible ways
09:23to enjoy breathtaking views of these natural wonders.
09:26Around 4.6 million acres of Alaska's glaciers are within national parks.
09:31It really is glaciers galore.
09:32More than half of the ice that makes up Alaska's glaciers
09:35is expected to be gone by the end of the century.
09:38Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
09:42Famous for monstrous, record-breaking vegetables.
09:44Scott Robb is the new world champion
09:46here at the Alaska State Fair, Giant Catfish Whale.
09:50Snake-free state.
09:53Against the law to wake up a bear for a photo.
09:58Easternmost and westernmost state in the United States.
10:02No poison ivy or poison oak.
10:05Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel
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10:19and switch on notifications.
10:22Number 1. Size and Coastline
10:25Alaska is absolutely massive.
10:28So enormous that it's more than twice the size
10:30of the second largest U.S. state.
10:31There are less than 20 countries in the world that are bigger than it.
10:35Want us to keep going?
10:37With its numerous islands,
10:38Alaska's total coastline measures longer than all the other U.S. states combined.
10:42With barely over one person per square mile, though,
10:45Alaska is by far and away the least densely populated state in the country.
10:49Also, its male-to-female ratio happens to be the highest of any U.S. state.
10:54But anyway, the big takeaway here that earns the top spot on our list
10:57is that Alaska is gigantic.
10:59More so than most people probably realize.
11:02What do you find most interesting about Alaska?
11:04Let us know in the comments below.
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