Alaska Is Not What You Think

Russia sold Alaska to the United States for about two cents an acre. It is the westernmost state and the easternmost, it was invaded in World War II, shaken by the strongest earthquake in North American history, made rich by oil — and it pays almost every resident just for living there. 0:00 Hook 0:55 The sale 1:44 Seward's Folly 2:31 Bigger than you think 3:14 East, west, and tomorrow 4:01 The gold rush 4:45 The forgotten battle 5:28 Four and a half minutes 6:12 Black gold 7:01 Paid to live there 7:48 The strangest towns 8:34 A state that is changing 9:18 Outro SOURCES U.S. National Archives / Library of Congress — Treaty with Russia for the Purchase of Alaska (1867) U.S. Census Bureau — 2025 population estimate (738,737); Alaska Beacon — 13th straight year of net out-migration USGS — 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake (M9.2) Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. — historic throughput (1988 peak; 2025 all-time low) Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation — Fund value (2026) Alaska Department of Revenue — 2026 Permanent Fund Dividend ($1,000 + $200 energy relief) National Park Service — Aleutian World War II National Historic Area (Battle of Attu) KTOO / Alaska Public Media — Newtok relocation to Mertarvik PHOTO CREDITS (Wikimedia Commons) CC BY 2.0: Arthur T. LaBar, Bob Keefer, Boris Radosavljevic, Forest Service Alaska Region, USDA, Frank K., James Brooks, Mike Baird, NPS Climate Change Response, Paxson Woelber, Pierre Markuse, Ron Reiring, saintpo2007, sf-dvs, © Tony Hisgett CC BY 2.5: Bluewoodland at English Wikipedia CC BY 3.0: 5533tomo CC BY 4.0: Laura Alier, Mudflattop, Quintin Soloviev, Richard N Horne CC BY-SA 2.0: Joseph CC BY-SA 2.5: Luca Galuzzi (Lucag), Unknown authorUnknown author CC BY-SA 3.0: Ansgar Walk, Don Ramey Logan, Paxson Woelber, Sbork, Yathin S Krishnappa CC BY-SA 4.0: Alexgilmore85, Bobjgalindo, Charles J. Sharp, Cullen328, Dankarl, Diego Delso, Enrico Blasutto, Explorer1940, Gabriel Ziegler, Gillfoto, Ifly6, Islander61, Jrozwado, Kbh3rd, Leonid Berger, Mark Yasuda, Monteuxs, Ovedc, Rhododendrites, Stockstill, Tiffany, Walter Holt Rose, Warren McKenzie Full list with file links: sources.csv / on request. Other images: public domain (U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, NOAA, USGS, NPS, NASA, Library of Congress) and CC0. Satellite flyover: Google Earth. MUSIC "Singularity", "Laniakea", "Spaghettification" — The Grey Room / Density & Time (YouTube Audio Library) Sound effects: Pixabay Narration is AI-generated (synthetic voice). #Alaska #Geography #History