Alaska questions

The Begich Towers Condominium is a building in the small city of Whittier, Alaska, about 58 miles (93 km) southeast of Anchorage . The structure is notable for operating like a small-scale arcology, being the residence for nearly the entire population of the city (the 2016 estimate was 214 people), as well as containing many of its public facilities. This has earned Whittier the nickname of a "town under one roof".

The word Eskimo is an offensive term that has been used historically to describe the Inuit throughout their homeland, Inuit Nunangat, in the arctic regions of Alaska, Greenland and Canada, as well as the Yupik of Alaska. The origin of the word Eskimo is a matter of some contention, but it is generally understood to be of Algonquian origin. It was long thought to mean “eaters of raw meat.”

Because hibernation begins in September, most marmots in Alaska spend two-thirds of each year locked in their winter dens. The metabolic processes of the body are slowed down, thanks to which the body temperature is significantly reduced. Hibernation lasts until April or May.

The looming U.S. Civil War delayed the sale, but after the war, Secretary of State William Seward quickly took up a renewed Russian offer and on March 30, 1867, agreed to a proposal from the Russian Minister in Washington, Edouard de Stoeckl, to purchase Alaska for $7.2 million.

Pingo is a mound of earth-covered ice. Frozen water creates it. These terrain forms are created in areas of long-term permafrost. Most of them lie in the Mackenzie delta.

The tallest mountain from base to summit. Using that measurement, Denali is taller than Mount Everest. Denali rises about 18,000 feet (5,500 meters) from its base, which is a greater vertical rise than Everest's 12,000-foot rise (3,700 meters) from its base at 17,000 feet (5,200 meters). But Denali and Everest are both dwarfed by Mauna Kea in Hawaii. When measured from the ocean floor to its summit, that mountain is 33,476 feet (10,204 meters) tall. However, only 13,803 feet (4,207 meters) rise above sea level.

The United States purchased Alaska from the Russian Empire on March 30, 1867, for 7.2 million U.S. dollars. 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.

Balto was a sled dog who led his team on the final leg of the 1925 serum run to Nome, in which diphtheria antitoxin was transported to combat an outbreak of the disease. After the mission's success, Balto and the Norwegian Gunnar Kaasen, who drove the sled, became celebrities.

The Great Kobuk Sand Dune is located 65 km behind Arctic circle. Summer temperature may reach as high as 29°C! The 30 meters high dune is one of Alaska curiosities. There are 3 sets of dunes in the Kobuk Valley national park - Great Kobuk, Little Kobuk and Hunt River Dune that together cover 40 square km, and comprise the largest active Arctic dune field in North America.

The Aleutian Islands lie between Russia and Alaska.