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 Seats for Forklifts Alaska - The state of Alaska is the largest state in the Union by total land area. The state is situated in the far northwest part of the North American continent. Canada lies towards the east, whereas Russia lies to the west. The Arctic Ocean provides the northern border, whereas the Pacific Ocean provides the western and southern border. Approximately half of Alaska's 710,231 people, according to the 2010 United States Census, live within the Anchorage metropolitan area. Alaska is the least densely populated state of the U.S.
The state of Alaska was obtained by the United States from the Russian Empire on the 30th of March, 1867. The price was $7.2 million, that is approximately $120 million in today's dollars. This worked out to around two cents for each acre ($4.74/km2). The land went through some administrative changes prior to becoming an incorporated territory on the 11th of May, the year 1912; and the 49th state of the U.S. on the 3rd of January, 1959.
"Alaska" was the name which was already given to the peninsula by the Russians during the colonial period. The name derived from the Aleut alaxsxaq, which means "the mainland" or more literally, "the object towards which the action of the sea is directed." It is also called Alyeska, the "great land", an Aleut word derived from the same root.
The 2007 gross state product was $44.9 billion, 45th in the nation. Its per capita personal income for the year 2007 was $40,042, ranking 15th in the US. The gas and oil trade dominates the Alaskan economy, with more than 80 percent of the state's revenues derived from petroleum extraction. The state's main export product other than natural gas and oil is seafood, primarily salmon, cod, Pollock and crab.
Agriculture represents only a part of the Alaskan economy. Agricultural production is mostly for consumption in the state and includes nursery stock, dairy products, livestock and vegetables. Manufacturing is limited, with most general goods and foodstuff imported from elsewhere.
Employment within the state of Alaska is largely driven by jobs in government and businesses such as natural resource extraction, shipping, and transportation. The military bases in Anchorage and Fairbanks likewise provide a substantial component of the economy. Federal subsidies are also a vital part of the economy, enabling Alaska to keep taxes low. Its industrial outputs are natural gas, crude petroleum, coal, gold, zinc, precious metal and other mining, seafood processing, wood products and timber.
The state of Alaska has vast energy resources. Major gas and oil reserves are found within the Cook Inlet Basins and Alaska North Slope (ANS). As per the Energy Information Administration, the state of Alaska ranks 2nd in the United States in crude oil production. Prudhoe Bay on Alaska's North Slope is the highest yielding oil field in the nation and on North America, usually producing roughly 400,000 barrels every day (64,000 m3/d).
Pumping upwards of 2.1 million barrels (330,000 m3) of crude oil each and every day, the Trans-Alaska Pipeline could transport more crude compared to any other oil pipeline within the nation. There are also numerous coal deposits located within Alaska's bituminous, sub-bituminous, and lignite coal basins. Alaska also provides some of the highest hydroelectric power potential in the US from its various rivers. Large swaths of the Alaskan coast offer geothermal energy and wind potential too.
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