Vintage Alaska Maps
Alaska, located in the extreme northwest of North America, was the 49th state admitted to the union. It became a state in 1959 and is the largest U.S. state by area (it has more area than California, Texas, and Montana combined).
In our historic map archives, youβll find a collection of vintage maps of the entire state of Alaska dating back to 1867, as well as a stunning 1937 map of Mt. McKinley National Park.
If thereβs a specific Alaska map youβre looking for that you donβt see here, let us know, and weβll check our archives. While our collections of vintage maps are extensive, there are still many more weβre restoring, and chances are weβll have what youβre seeking.
About Alaska
Around 13,000 years ago, a 600-mile wide patch of land connected Russia to Alaska. Itβs believed that the first people to arrive in whatβs now Alaska came via this piece of land, which was called the Bering Land Bridge. The indigenous population inhabited the area for thousands of years before the Europeans arrived in the late 1700s.
About a hundred years later, in 1872, gold was struck near Sitka, on the Kenai Peninsula. The stateβs first significant gold strike was eight years later in a creek in Juneau. Prospectors rushed to Alaska in these early years, and it wasnβt long before the stateβs Gold Rush was in full swing.
Even the legendary Wyatt Earp showed up in Alaska, but it wasnβt necessarily for the gold. He was fleeing an indictment for murder following the infamous shootout at the OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. Earp opened a saloon in Nome, Alaska, that catered to miners, travelers, and the townβs residents. His drinking establishment (the Dexter Saloon) is long gone, but Nome City Hall was built where it once stood.
Like many Alaska towns, Nome has a small population (around 3,700 residents call the town home). The largest city in the state is Anchorage, with a population of just shy of 300,000. Fairbanks and Juneau (the stateβs capital) come in next on the list, but their populations are much smaller, at around 32,000 each.
Today, Alaska has a reputation for being cold, and thatβs with good reasonβmuch of the land you walk on in the state is covered in a layer of permafrost. But Alaska is an outdoor loverβs paradise with vast land and wilderness that entices adventurers who love fishing, hiking, canoeing, kayaking, river rafting, hunting, skiing, snowboarding, and more. More than half the state is public land thatβs federally owned. And then thereβs Denali, Alaskaβs crown jewel. The snow-capped mountain is the tallest in North America.
Tourism helps feed Alaskaβs economy, as does fishing, oil production, research and development, and United States armed forces bases. However, the stateβs top five largest employers are in the health, retail, and energy sectors. They are Providence Health & Services, Walmart, Safeway, Fred Meyer, and ASRC Energy Services.
Finally, when it comes to Alaska by the numbers, the figures are quite impressive. The state has 3 million lakes, 100,000 glaciers, 12,000 rivers, and around 34,000 miles of tidal shoreline.
Vintage Alaska Maps
Alaska, located in the extreme northwest of North America, was the 49th state admitted to the union. It became a state in 1959 and is the largest U.S. state by area (it has more area than California, Texas, and Montana combined).
In our historic map archives, youβll find a collection of vintage maps of the entire state of Alaska dating back to 1867, as well as a stunning 1937 map of Mt. McKinley National Park.
If thereβs a specific Alaska map youβre looking for that you donβt see here, let us know, and weβll check our archives. While our collections of vintage maps are extensive, there are still many more weβre restoring, and chances are weβll have what youβre seeking.
About Alaska
Around 13,000 years ago, a 600-mile wide patch of land connected Russia to Alaska. Itβs believed that the first people to arrive in whatβs now Alaska came via this piece of land, which was called the Bering Land Bridge. The indigenous population inhabited the area for thousands of years before the Europeans arrived in the late 1700s.
About a hundred years later, in 1872, gold was struck near Sitka, on the Kenai Peninsula. The stateβs first significant gold strike was eight years later in a creek in Juneau. Prospectors rushed to Alaska in these early years, and it wasnβt long before the stateβs Gold Rush was in full swing.
Even the legendary Wyatt Earp showed up in Alaska, but it wasnβt necessarily for the gold. He was fleeing an indictment for murder following the infamous shootout at the OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. Earp opened a saloon in Nome, Alaska, that catered to miners, travelers, and the townβs residents. His drinking establishment (the Dexter Saloon) is long gone, but Nome City Hall was built where it once stood.
Like many Alaska towns, Nome has a small population (around 3,700 residents call the town home). The largest city in the state is Anchorage, with a population of just shy of 300,000. Fairbanks and Juneau (the stateβs capital) come in next on the list, but their populations are much smaller, at around 32,000 each.
Today, Alaska has a reputation for being cold, and thatβs with good reasonβmuch of the land you walk on in the state is covered in a layer of permafrost. But Alaska is an outdoor loverβs paradise with vast land and wilderness that entices adventurers who love fishing, hiking, canoeing, kayaking, river rafting, hunting, skiing, snowboarding, and more. More than half the state is public land thatβs federally owned. And then thereβs Denali, Alaskaβs crown jewel. The snow-capped mountain is the tallest in North America.
Tourism helps feed Alaskaβs economy, as does fishing, oil production, research and development, and United States armed forces bases. However, the stateβs top five largest employers are in the health, retail, and energy sectors. They are Providence Health & Services, Walmart, Safeway, Fred Meyer, and ASRC Energy Services.
Finally, when it comes to Alaska by the numbers, the figures are quite impressive. The state has 3 million lakes, 100,000 glaciers, 12,000 rivers, and around 34,000 miles of tidal shoreline.
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