Your Alaska Tour Guide

Today I drove down the road following a camper whose logo caused me to log it as yet another Alaska reference in my near periphery. The camper had a graphic of stylized mountains in swirling clouds with the caption "Denali." It hit me that the state park where the largest mountain on the continent resides bears that very name: Denali. So this blog may see frequent edits as I add the things that I come across in my on-going investigation of Alaska and why it bears significance in my world right now.

• Alaska, the gold rush state and also known as the land of the midnight sun.
• A place where many diverse species of birds spend part of the year. "Most birds migrate long distances to frequent the park. The champion marathoner of the bird world, the arctic tern, flies some 12,000 miles to breed in Denali, repeating the journey to winter in the Antarctic," says the Denali State Park website.
• ' "Denali" means "The High One". Denali is the original name for Mt. McKinley.' same website resource.
• In mid-summer, almost 21 hours of possible daylight give ample opportunities for recreational activities. (well lookey there, another 21, too)
• The Aleutian Islands cross longitude 180°, so Alaska can be considered the easternmost state as well as the westernmost. Alaska and, especially, the Aleutians are one of the extreme points of the United States. The International Date Line jogs west of 180° to keep the whole state, and thus the entire continental United States, within the same legal day. (Info now lifted from Wikipedia.)
• The Good Friday Earthquake: The Good Friday Earthquake (also called the Great Alaska Earthquake) of Friday, March 27, 1964, 5:36 P.M. ADT (03:36 3/28 UTC) was the most powerful earthquake in U.S. and North American history, and the fourth most powerful ever measured by seismograph. The epicenter was about 10km east of the mouth of College Fiord, approximately 90 km west of Valdez and 120 km east of Anchorage. The epicenter was located at Lat. 61.04N, Lon. 147.73W, at a depth of approximately 25km. The duration of rupture lasted approximately 4 minutes (240 seconds.) As of 2006, The magnitude 9.2 earthquake, which resulted in 115 deaths, was centered in Prince William Sound off the coast of South Central Alaska. The powerful earthquake also caused some parts of Alaska to be liquefied, causing much damage to property and leading to landslides...The earthquake lasted for three to five minutes in most areas. Ocean floor shifts created large tsunamis (up to 67 meters (220 ft) in height), which resulted in many of the deaths and much of the property damage. Vertical displacement of up to 11.5 m (38 feet) occurred, affecting an area of 250,000 km² (100,000 miles²) within Alaska. (This earthquake occurred on the Easter weekend that was just a couple of months after I was born.)
• Other things on this date of March 27: It is Victory Day in the country of Angola, a country whose 'motto is "Virtus Unita Fortior", a Latin phrase meaning "Unity Provides Strength".'
• It also marked notable deaths: of two popes: Clement III and Gregory XI, and of kings, Alfonso of Castile, called the Avenger, who was the only European monarch to fall to the Black Plague as well as the date of death of James I of England.
• Finally on the liturgical calendar, it is the feast day of Rupert of Salzburd and is also for some reason tied to St. John of Egypt. I didn't know there was a St. John of Egypt. But here is a link to info on one St. John of Egypt: www.newadvent.org/cathen/03404a.htm and here's info on another link to a different St. John (last name of an author now) of Egypt: www.columbia.edu/cu/cup/catalog/data/071031/071031129X.HTM
• And famous events on this date:
  1513
  Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon sighted Florida.
  1625
  Charles I ascended the English throne upon the death of James I.
  1794
  President George Washington and Congress authorized creation of the U.S. Navy.
  1836
  The first Mormon temple was dedicated, in Kirtland, Ohio.
  1884
  The first long-distance telephone call was made, between Boston and New York City.
• 1977: Hundreds dead in Tenerife plane crash
  At least 560 people die when two jumbo jets collide on a runway in the popular holiday destination of Tenerife.
• Big things happened on this date I guess, but back to Alaska coverage. The tour bus rolls onward.

To be continued.