ALASKA, FLAG OF

U.S. state flag consisting of a dark blue field (background) showing Polaris (the North Star) and the Ursa Major (Great Bear) constellation in gold or yellow. The territories of the United States typically did not have flags of their own prior to statehood. Alaska nevertheless held a competition in 1926, sponsored by the American Legion, which sought a distinctive territorial flag. The following year the Alaskan legislature approved the winning design, which remained unchanged when the territory became a state in 1959. The creator of the flag was Benny Benson, a 13-year-old boy living in an orphanage. He chose straightforward symbols that struck a chord with Alaskans of all ages and backgrounds. The flag's dark blue colour symbolizes the Alaskan sky and the ubiquitous forget-me-not flowers that announce the arrival of spring. The stars emblazoned on this background can be seen clearly in the Alaskan sky. The North Star is an appropriate symbol for Alaska as the northernmost part of the United States; the two previously northernmost states, Minnesota and Maine, also show the North Star in their flags. Whitney Smith U.S. state flag consisting of a dark blue field (background) showing Polaris (the North Star) and the Ursa Major (Great Bear) constellation in gold or yellow. The territories of the United States typically did not have flags of their own prior to statehood. Alaska nevertheless held a competition in 1926, sponsored by the American Legion, which sought a distinctive territorial flag. The following year the Alaskan legislature approved the winning design, which remained unchanged when the territory became a state in 1959. The creator of the flag was Benny Benson, a 13-year-old boy living in an orphanage. He chose straightforward symbols that struck a chord with Alaskans of all ages and backgrounds. The flag's dark blue colour symbolizes the Alaskan sky and the ubiquitous forget-me-not flowers that announce the arrival of spring. The stars emblazoned on this background can be seen clearly in the Alaskan sky. The North Star is an appropriate symbol for Alaska as the northernmost part of the United States; the two previously northernmost states, Minnesota and Maine, also show the North Star in their flags. Whitney Smith broad inlet of the North Pacific on the south coast of Alaska, U.S. Bounded by the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island (west) and Cape Spencer (east), it has a surface area of 592,000 sq mi (1,533,000 sq km). The coast is deeply indented by fjords and other inlets, including Cook Inlet and Prince William Sound (on either side of the Kenai Peninsula). The gulf receives the Susitna and Copper rivers. Large glaciers cast off huge icebergs, which are taken out to sea by the Alaska Current. Rising from the gulf's shores in Alaska are the high Chugach, Kenai, Fairweather, and St. Elias mountains. Ports along the gulf include Anchorage, Seward, and North America's northernmost ice-free harbour, Valdez, which is the trans-Alaskan pipeline terminal. Oil has been found along Cook Inlet and beneath Controller Bay. The British navigator Captain James Cook entered the gulf in 1778 and proceeded as far north as Prince William Sound.