Alaska? Can i ask....? (Fairbanks, Nome: real estate, rent, traffic)

[rachx90]

hey im from UK and love the US, but this does confuse me, why, if Alaska is an American state, is it apart of Canada?
Is it a government thing or...?
Rachx90

[Cosmic Charlie]

Alaska purchase - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Alaska purchase - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/url]

[ElkHunter]

Originally Posted by rachx90

hey im from UK and love the US, but this does confuse me, why, if Alaska is an American state, is it apart of Canada?
Is it a government thing or...?
Rachx90

It's not a part of Canada. How'd you get that idea? Just physical location?

[Mississippienne]

When I was a child, it always sort of bothered me that Alaska was detached from the rest of the USA. Yes, Hawaii is floating out in the Pacific Ocean, but it's an island and somehow that seems more natural than a giant landmass like Alaska being stuck to Canada. I thought that the USA should buy that little strip of land down Canada's coastline and attach Alaska to Washington State. I worried about very odd things as a child.

[Minnehahapolitan]

And take Vancouver? I don't think so. What would be the point, so someone can make the 10 ho. ur drive from Seattle? It would be easier to swallow geographically if the Eastern border wasn't an arbitrary line. We should have it follow a river. Anyways, I was always intrigued by Russia's former presence in the west. From Alaska all the way down to Sevastapol, Calif.

[mal_flisk]

Seward purchased Alaska from the Russians, one of the smartest real estate deals ever recorded. Manhattan's purchase for $24.00 in beads pales in comparison. His contemporaries, however, referred to the purchase as "Seward's Folly" or Seward's Ice Box". It was largely regarded as a vast land of ice and snow with little to recommend it to prospective settlers. Gold found in Juneau, Fairbanks and Nome led to several separate "rushes", and people found other reasons to stay. Seattle treated Alaska as a private fiefdom, charging all the traffic would bear for food, freight and supplies for over 100 years. When the issue of statehood would "rear it's ugly head", Seattleites would push to retain Alaska's territorial status.

During WWII, Canada and the US built the AlCan Highway, a true modern engineering marvel, and the first road INTO Alaska brought traffic and freight via land, bypassing Seattle and the sea route.

Statehood finally occurred in 1959, and the discovery of oil on the North Slope brought in more people to build the pipeline. Voila! New "rush" is on.

People here are looking forward to the next rush, the gas pipeline.

Cliff Note History of American ownership of Alaska. (C) Mal Flisk 2007

LOL

[DannyL]

Originally Posted by Mississippienne

When I was a child, it always sort of bothered me that Alaska was detached from the rest of the USA.

yes it is, and we like it that way.

[Rance]

I find it awesome that we are a seperate state. It's one on the list of many reasons why I live here.

[Glitch]

Originally Posted by Mississippienne

When I was a child, it always sort of bothered me that Alaska was detached from the rest of the USA. Yes, Hawaii is floating out in the Pacific Ocean, but it's an island and somehow that seems more natural than a giant landmass like Alaska being stuck to Canada. I thought that the USA should buy that little strip of land down Canada's coastline and attach Alaska to Washington State. I worried about very odd things as a child.

Canadistan is stuck to Alaska, not the other way around. Don't tell anyone, but during the next break-up, Alaska is going annex the Yukon Territory.

If Alaska was any easier to access, then there would be more people here, and that would spoil the attraction that brought current Alaskans to this wonderful state.

[Tressa]

What about the borders to the lower 48's and we have Mexico that borders the lower 48's also.