Alaska

If you entered our trivia contest last week, you will recall the question was, "What U.S. state shares the longest border with Canada?' The correct answer would be Alaska. The boundary between Alaska and Canada is 1,538 miles long. Comparatively, the border of Michigan and Canada is 721 miles.
Here is a list of some others:
Maine - 611 miles
Minnesota - 547 miles
Montana - 545 miles
New York - 445 miles
Washington - 427 miles
North Dakota - 310 miles
Ohio - 146 miles
Vermont - 90 miles
New Hampshire - 58 miles
Idaho - 45 miles
Pennsylvania - 42 miles

The Purchase*

Secretary of State William H. Seward arranged for the United States to purchase Alaska from Russia in 1867 for 7.2 million dollars, or 2 cents per acre. Check out this link from the National Archives, it shows the actual cancelled check for the purchase!http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=41

State Name:

The name "Alaska" is derived from the Aleut word "Alyeska," meaning "great land."

State Nick Name:

"The Last Frontier"

State Motto:

"North to the Future" - Our motto was chosen in 1967 during the Alaska Purchase Centennial and was created by Juneau newsman Richard Peter. The motto is meant to represent Alaska as a land of promise.

*Information mentioned here is found at http://alaska.gov/