Alaska! If any state merits exciting state symbols, this is it.
Just listening to Alaska’s nicknames can be exciting: The Great Land, The Last Frontier, Land of the Midnight Sun. They are a reminder that Alaska is the biggest and wildest state.
That last nickname recalls the fact that, in summer, the sun sometimes never sets north of the Arctic Circle. It’s daylight at midnight!
In winter, things get very dark. Some people then jokingly call Alaska Land of the Noon Moon.
Alaska’s winter skies are sometimes lit up by the aurora borealis, better known as the northern lights. The northern lights shimmer like a heavenly curtain. They can be yellow, green, red, blue, violet, orange or white. This famous light show is depicted on Alaska’s state seal. (Continued below)
| Nicknames & Slogans | |||
| Nicknames | The Last Frontier, Land of the Midnight Sun, The Great Land | ||
| Symbols of State | |||
| Motto | North to the Future | 1967 | > |
| Song | Alaska’s Flag | 1955 | > |
| EcoSymbols | |||
| Flower | forget-me-not (Myosotis alpestris) | 1955 | > |
| Tree | Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) | 1962 | > |
| Bird | willow ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus) | 1955 | > |
| Land Mammal | moose (Alces alces) | 1998 | > |
| Marine Mammal | bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) | 1983 | > |
| Dog | Alaskan Malamute (Canis lupus familiaris) | 2010 | > |
| Fish | king salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) | 1962 | > |
| Insect | four spot skimmer dragonfly (Libellula quadrimaculata) | 1995 | > |
| Mineral | gold | 1968 | > |
| Gem | jade | 1968 | > |
| Fossil † | woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) | 1986 | > |
| Soil | Tanana (unofficial)  |
> | |
| Cultural Symbols | |||
| Sport | dog mushing | 1972 | > |
| Language | English + 20 | 2014 | > |
| Bolt-Action Rifle | Pre-1964 Winchester Model 70 bolt-action rifle (multiple caliber) | 2014 | > |
The introduction at the top of the page is excerpted from My State Symbols Book. The symbols listed in the table above are linked to pages on my master symbols site, Geobop’s Symbols.
You can learn still more about the symbols of the 50 states in the books Flag Quest, Grading the States, and—if you’re really hard core—Geobop’s State Symbols.
After you spend some time exploring Alaska’s symbols, you can come back here and tell us what you think about the symbols of our Last Frontier.