Alaska History • Gold Rush Time- Alaska Becomes 49Th State! U.S
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Volume 1, Issue 1 MCKINLEY CREEKSIDE CABINS & CAFE Special points of interest: • Pipeline Facts Pg. 3 Alaska History • Gold Rush time- Alaska becomes 49th State! U.S. Buys Alaska line Pg. 4 from Russians On July 7th, 1958 Presi- government took their • Calendar of dent Dwight D. Eisen- time in responding to events Pg. 2 On April, 9 1867 United hower signed the Alaska these claims until oil was States Secretary of • Statehood Act. This cru- discovered at Prudhoe State William H. Seward United States cial event in Alaska Bay on the Arctic coast. purchase Alaska engineered the pur- State history paved the So that they could chase of Alaska from way for Alaska’s admis- lessen the difficulty of the Russians for $7.2 Inside this issue: sion as the 49th State on drilling at a remote loca- rd million dollars. For January 3 , 1959. In tion and transporting the years, the Alaskan terri- the years that followed oil to the lower 48 tory would becomes a Alaska-49th State 1 the quest for an Alaskan states, the government major gold rush site. culture would inspire in- decided to build a pipe- Gold rush timeline pg. 4. digenous groups to play line that would carry the Pipeline to be 1 an active role in their oil across Alaska to the built state and local govern- port of Valdez. At Val- ment. Native American dez, the oil would be $7.2 Million 1 groups became united in loaded onto tanker ships well spent their quest to claim title and sent to the lower 48 Where guests to the areas that were states. Annual Temp. 1 stolen form them. The become friends! & daylights Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act Early Alaska 2 Signed-Pipeline to be built! History Oil was discovered at Claims Settlement Act Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic How Big is 2 Prudhoe Bay in 1968. was signed. The Native Ocean with the terminal at Alaska Although the plan was Americans relinquished Valdez, the northernmost approved, the permit to aboriginal claims to their ice-free port in the West- Pipeline Facts 3 construct the pipeline lands in exchange for 44 ern Hemisphere. The flow was denied. However, million acres of land in from this pipeline accounts there was a caveat. The other parts of Alaska. for roughly 20 percent of pipeline would cross the They were also paid 963 U.S. oil production annu- lands that were involved million dollars. As a re- ally. in the Alaskan culture sult, Native American This created the biggest Phone: 907-683-2277 argument. The Alaskan Alaskan culture is alive boost to the Alaska econ- Fax: 907-683-1558 culture dispute needed and well, and can be omy since the gold rush 1-888-5DENALI (533- to be settled before the seen all throughout the days. pipeline could be built. state. 6254) PO Box 89 Since petroleum dollars The 48-inch diameter, Continued on page 3. Denali National Park were now on the line, in 800-mile pipeline links AK 99755 1971, the Alaska Native Volume 1, Issue 1 MCKINLEY CREEKSIDE CABINS & CAFE Page 2 Early Alaska History Calendar of Events January Although Alaska be- 1741.When the crew re- Charlie decided that both Polar Bear Jump Off came part of the United turned to Russia, they the Russians and the Festival -- Seward States in 1867, early brought with them some Natives were formidable February Alaska history begins in of the finest otter furs in enemies. As a result, he Fur Rendezvous -- the Paleolithic period. the world. When Alaska abandoned his efforts at Anchorage Alaska history books tell became a Russian hunt- trying to claim any of Iceworm Festival -- us that the earliest Alas- ing and trading post, Alaska’s territory for Cordova kan inhabitants were of Catherine the Great Spain. March Asiatic decent. The urged the hunters to Iditarod -- Anchorage- population was divided treat the Native Aleuts During this time frame, Nome into three categories: with compassion. How- the British also tried to Winter Carnival -- Fair- honorables, which in- ever, the hunters’ obses- claim a piece of the ac- banks cluded the respected sive quest for furs made tion. When Captain April whalers and elders; com- this impossible. The next James Cook set sail to Alaska Folk Festival -- mon people; and slaves. years in Alaska State explore the Alaskan terri- Juneau The honorables were history were character- tory in 1778, his crew Extreme Skiing Cham- mummified at death. Oc- ized by conflicts with the was also impressed by pionships -- Valdez casionally, a slave was Native American indige- the possible uses for the May killed in honor of the de- nous people. sea otters. When they Kachemak Bay Shore- ceased. returned to England to bird Festival -- Homer Meanwhile, King show off their newly- Whale Festival -- Ko- Most of the documented Charles the III of Spain killed fur coats, the Brit- diak Alaska history dates was none too pleased ish decided to send out June back to the European with this Russian expan- more expeditions to Edward Albee Theater settlement, when a Dan- sion. Between the years Alaska. As a result, the Conference -- Valdez ish navigator aboard a 1774 and 1791, he sent town of Wrangell be- July Russian ship discovered out a few expeditions to came subject to British July 4 Mount Mara- the territory in the area. Eventually, rule. thon Run -- Seward Soapy Smith's wake -- Skagway August Ship Creek Silver Salmon Derby -- An- chorage Silver Salmon Derby -- Seward Alaska State Fair -- Palmer How Big is Alaska? Mountains: Bluegrass Festival -- Alaska contains 586,412 square miles of land. It is Alaska has 17 of the 20 Talkeetna one-fifth the size of the lower 48 states, 488 times highest mountains in Gold Rush Days -- larger than Rhode Island, two and a half times lar- North America with Mt Valdez ger than Texas. With Alaska's 2003 estimated McKinley being the high- September population at 648,818 that equals .90 square miles est at 20,320 ft. The sec- Equinox Marathon -- per person. Alaska is about 1390 miles tall and ond highest is Mt Saint Fairbanks 2210 miles wide. The mean elevation is 1900 ft. Elias, at 18,008 ft, in the October The Aleutian Islands are 1100 miles long. Alaska Wrangell-St.Elias National Alaska Federation of has both the eastern, western and northern most Park. Natives Convention -- points in the U.S. Anchorage November Great Alaska Shootout -- Anchorage Bald Eagle Festival -- Volume 1, Issue 1 MCKINLEY CREEKSIDE CABINS & CAFE Page 3 "The Freshness, the Freedom, the Farness Oh, God! how I’m stuck on it all" Excerpt from Spell of Why is some of the pipeline Why does the pipeline zig zag? the Yukon, above ground? Alyeska’s engineers designed the trans- 420 miles of the 800 mile trans- Alaska to zig zag so it can move sideways Robert Service Alaska pipeline is elevated above when the pipe expands or contracts due to ground to protect the delicate per- temperature changes. When the first warm mafrost. Permafrost is perma- oil was put in the pipeline during the start- nently frozen soil and covers ap- up in 1977, the above ground pipe length- ened almost four feet per mile! A straight, proximately 75% of the pipeline Annual Temperature corridor. Vertical supports elevate above ground pipeline would not have the daylights hours the pipe 5 to 15 feet above ground flexibility to absorb that much growth. The to prevent heat of the pipeline zig zag pattern also allows for movement Day during earthquakes. Where the pipeline Date Sunrise Sunset hours from melting the permafrost. The other 380 miles of pipe are buried crosses the Denali Fault, it is designed to 4:42 10:57 slide up to 20 feet horizontally and 5 feet May 12 18:15 in ground that remains stable. a.m. p.m. even if it thaws and refreezes. vertically. 3:54 11:46 May 26 19:52 a.m. p.m. 3:14 12:29 Pipeline Facts June 9 21:15 a.m. a.m. • The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System was designed and constructed to move June 2:59 12:48 21:49 oil from the North Slope of Alaska to the northern most ice- free port- Val- 23 a.m. a.m. dez, Alaska. • 3:26 12:24 Length: 800 miles. July 7 20:58 • Diameter: 48 inches. a.m. a.m. • Crosses three mountain ranges and over 800 rivers and streams. 4:11 11:42 • Cost to build: $8 billion in 1977, largest privately funded construction project July 21 19:31 at that time. a.m. p.m. • Construction began on March 27, 1975 and was completed on May 31, August 4:59 10:53 1977. 17:54 • First oil moved through the pipeline on June 20, 1977. 4 a.m. p.m. • Over 14 billion barrels have moved through the Trans Alaska Pipeline Sys- August 5:46 10:03 tem. 16:17 18 a.m. p.m. • First tanker to carry crude oil from Valdez: ARCO Juneau, August 1, 1977. • Tankers loaded at Valdez: 16,781 through March 2001. 6:29 9:12 Sept. 1 14:43 • Storage tanks in Valdez- 18 with total storage capacity of 9.1 million barrels a.m. p.m. total. • The mission of Alyeska’s Ship Escort Response Vessel System is to safely Sept. 7:12 8:20 13:08 escort tankers through Prince William Sound. 15 a.m. p.m. McKinley Creekside Cabins & Café August 16, 1896-Discovery of gold in the Klondike by George and Kate Carmack, Skookum Jim and Dawson Charlie.