In June 1942, Japan met little resistance when they invaded the island of Attu in the Aleutians, roughly equidistant between Tokyo and Juneau. American forces returned in May 1943; after 19 days of fighting, the Battle of Attu ended with a U.S. victory. Today tourists intrepid enough to visit this remote island will find the area still littered with unexploded ordnance.

Alaska deposits 25% of revenue it makes from mineral royalties, such as the money oil companies pay to drill in their state, into a special fund. The money in that fund is invested in global stocks, bonds, and private equity. The earnings from those investments are then divided equally among all Alaskans, who are sent a check every September that usually amounts between $1,000 and $2,000.

The northernmost community in the United States, Utqiaġvik (formerly known as Barrow) is located well above the Arctic Circle. Its position means the village is in constant daylight from mid-May to the beginning of August, and then plunges into a two-month-long state of perpetual darkness from mid-November to January.

Earning the nickname “The Last Frontier,” roughly 80% of Alaskan communities are not located by any kind of road system. Instead, they depend on aviation to move goods as well as people, which means there is a great need for people who know how to operate planes. Nearly one in every 58 Alaskans are registered pilots, six times more per capita than the rest of the country.

Alaska is home to many natural wonders. At 20,310 feet, Denali (formerly known as Mount McKinley) is North America’s tallest mountain. Over the last four decades Alaska has averaged about two volcanic eruptions a year. The Tongass National Forest is the largest remaining temperate rainforest (located in mild climates) on Earth. But Alaska’s Yukon River is only the third-longest in the U.S., after the Missouri and Mississippi.

Named after the Yupik word for “stir,” akutaq is sometimes called Alaskan or Eskimo Ice Cream for its appearance — although the ingredients are certainly not typical of conventional ice cream. Recipes vary from region to region, but classic northern Alaskan akutaq involves whipping animal fats (such as caribou or muskox) with the oils of fish or seal and berries into a light foam.

A 13-year-old boy designed Alaska's eventual state flag during a contest in 1927, back when Alaska was still a territory. The Big Dipper, also known as Ursa Major or The Great Bear, represents strength. The blue background symbolizes the Alaskan sky and its official state flower, the forget-me-not. Finally, the North Star represents Alaska’s geographical location and its future (at the time) statehood.

Chosen before the much larger city of Anchorage even existed, Juneau became Alaska’s capital in 1906. Its relative closeness to Seattle worked in its favor then, but these days it’s a disadvantage — Juneau is far from other population centers in Alaska, and is inaccessible by road. Since Alaska became a state in 1959, several voter initiatives to move the capital have appeared on the ballot.

The last Monday in March is celebrated statewide as Seward’s Day. The holiday is named for former Secretary of State William Seward, who orchestrated a deal to pay Russia $7.2 million for the Alaska territory in 1867. The area’s vast gold and oil deposits were unknown at the time, and many in Congress were critical of the deal, which was quickly dubbed “Seward’s Folly”.

In the 1800s, hopeful miners looking for gold used dog sleds to traverse the large snowy swaths of the Alaskan frontier. Dog mushing later received national attention in 1925 when it was used to deliver life-saving diphtheria medicine to the village of Nome. Today, sledders reenact that same route each year during the annual Iditarod dog sled race.