Bundle up for a trivia trip where the mountains are enormous, the summer sun forgets bedtime, and moose occasionally hold up traffic.
These Alaska trivia questions explore Indigenous cultures, gold-rush history, glaciers, wildlife, wild cities, famous trails, local traditions, and life in America's biggest state.
Alaska on the Map
Q: What is the capital of Alaska?
A: Juneau.
Q: What is Alaska's largest city?
A: Anchorage.
Q: Which number state is Alaska?
A: The 49th.
Q: In what year did Alaska become a state?
A: 1959.
Q: What is Alaska's nickname?
A: The Last Frontier.
Q: Which country lies across the Bering Strait from Alaska?
A: Russia.
Q: Which Canadian territory borders Alaska to the east?
A: Yukon.
Q: Which Canadian province also shares a border with Alaska?
A: British Columbia.
Q: What ocean lies north of Alaska?
A: The Arctic Ocean.
Q: What ocean lies south of Alaska?
A: The Pacific Ocean.
Q: What sea separates Alaska and Russia?
A: The Bering Sea.
Q: What long chain of volcanic islands extends west from the Alaska Peninsula?
A: The Aleutian Islands.
Q: What is the largest island in Alaska?
A: Kodiak Island.
Q: What imaginary line crosses northern Alaska?
A: The Arctic Circle.
Q: By area, where does Alaska rank among U.S. states?
A: First.
Mountains, Glaciers, and Northern Skies
Q: What is the highest mountain in North America?
A: Denali.
Q: How high is Denali?
A: 20,310 feet.
Q: Which national park surrounds Denali?
A: Denali National Park and Preserve.
Q: What is Alaska's longest river?
A: The Yukon River.
Q: What is Alaska's largest lake by surface area?
A: Iliamna Lake.
Q: What is the largest glacier entirely within Alaska?
A: Bering Glacier.
Q: Which glacier is easily reached from Juneau by road?
A: Mendenhall Glacier.
Q: What national park contains the enormous Malaspina Glacier?
A: Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve.
Q: Which Alaska national park is the largest in the United States?
A: Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve.
Q: What active volcano near Anchorage is visible across Cook Inlet?
A: Mount Redoubt.
Q: What 1912 eruption created the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes?
A: Novarupta.
Q: Which national park protects the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes?
A: Katmai National Park and Preserve.
Q: What colorful lights appear when charged solar particles interact with Earth's atmosphere?
A: The aurora borealis, or northern lights.
Q: What summer phenomenon brings nearly continuous daylight to far northern Alaska?
A: The midnight sun.
Q: What winter phenomenon leaves far northern communities without a sunrise for weeks?
A: Polar night.
Alaska Native Peoples and Traditions
Q: What collective term refers to Alaska's Indigenous peoples?
A: Alaska Native peoples.
Q: Which Indigenous people have traditional homelands across northern Alaska?
A: The Iñupiat.
Q: Which Indigenous people traditionally inhabit the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta?
A: The Yup'ik.
Q: Which Indigenous people are associated with the Aleutian Islands and call themselves Unangan?
A: The Aleut.
Q: Which Alaska Native people have traditional lands in Southeast Alaska and western Canada?
A: The Tlingit.
Q: Which Indigenous people traditionally inhabit the Copper River region?
A: The Ahtna.
Q: Which Alaska Native people have traditional lands around Cook Inlet?
A: The Dena'ina.
Q: What waterproof outer garment was traditionally made from animal gut by some Alaska Native peoples?
A: A gut parka.
Q: What narrow skin boat traditionally used by Arctic hunters is called a qayaq?
A: A kayak.
Q: What larger open skin boat was used to carry people and supplies?
A: An umiak.
Q: What carved posts tell clan histories in many Northwest Coast cultures?
A: Totem poles.
Q: What Tlingit and Haida social groups are traced through the mother's line?
A: Clans.
Q: What 1971 law settled Alaska Native land claims and created regional corporations?
A: The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.
Q: How many regional Native corporations were originally established by that act?
A: Twelve within Alaska.
Q: What statewide event in Anchorage celebrates Alaska Native arts, dance, and traditions?
A: The Alaska Federation of Natives Convention.
Russian America, Purchase, and Statehood
Q: Which European empire colonized Alaska before the United States?
A: The Russian Empire.
Q: Which Danish explorer sailing for Russia reached Alaska in 1741?
A: Vitus Bering.
Q: What fur-bearing marine mammal drove much of Russia's early interest in Alaska?
A: The sea otter.
Q: What company administered Russian America from the late 18th century?
A: The Russian-American Company.
Q: Which Alaska city served as the capital of Russian America?
A: Sitka.
Q: Which U.S. secretary of state negotiated the purchase of Alaska?
A: William H. Seward.
Q: In what year did the United States purchase Alaska from Russia?
A: 1867.
Q: How much did the United States pay for Alaska?
A: $7.2 million.
Q: What nickname mocked the Alaska Purchase as a bad deal?
A: Seward's Folly.
Q: What date is celebrated as Alaska Day?
A: October 18.
Q: What does Alaska Day commemorate?
A: The formal transfer of Alaska from Russia to the United States.
Q: What 1890s gold rush brought prospectors through Alaska toward Canada's Yukon?
A: The Klondike Gold Rush.
Q: Which Alaska town became a gateway to the Klondike via the Chilkoot Trail?
A: Skagway.
Q: In what year was the first major oil discovered at Prudhoe Bay?
A: 1968.
Q: Which U.S. president signed the Alaska Statehood Act?
A: Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Anchorage, Juneau, and Remote Communities
Q: Which city began as a construction camp for the Alaska Railroad?
A: Anchorage.
Q: What body of water borders Anchorage?
A: Cook Inlet.
Q: What long-distance trail begins ceremonially in Anchorage each March?
A: The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
Q: Which city is the only U.S. state capital inaccessible by road from the rest of the state?
A: Juneau.
Q: What mountain rises behind downtown Juneau and is reached by an aerial tramway?
A: Mount Roberts.
Q: Which Interior Alaska city is known for aurora viewing and extreme temperature swings?
A: Fairbanks.
Q: What university in Fairbanks houses the Museum of the North?
A: The University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Q: What city at the end of the Iditarod Trail is famous for a gold rush?
A: Nome.
Q: What is the northernmost U.S. city, formerly known as Barrow?
A: Utqiaġvik.
Q: Which island city is known for brown bears and a major fishing fleet?
A: Kodiak.
Q: Which Southeast Alaska town is famous for totem poles and cruise ships?
A: Ketchikan.
Q: What island community is known for the Sitka National Historical Park?
A: Sitka.
Q: Which small town is home to the Alaska SeaLife Center?
A: Seward.
Q: Which community near Prince William Sound was devastated by the 1964 earthquake and tsunami?
A: Valdez.
Q: What town sits at the base of the Alyeska ski area?
A: Girdwood.
Bears, Whales, and Wild Neighbors
Q: What is Alaska's state land mammal?
A: The moose.
Q: What is Alaska's state bird?
A: The willow ptarmigan.
Q: What is Alaska's state fish?
A: The king salmon.
Q: Which bear species is abundant on Kodiak Island?
A: The Kodiak brown bear.
Q: Which bears gather at Brooks Falls to catch salmon?
A: Brown bears.
Q: Which bear species lives along Alaska's Arctic coast?
A: The polar bear.
Q: What member of the deer family has the largest antlers?
A: The moose.
Q: Which hoofed Arctic animal forms the Western Arctic Caribou Herd?
A: Caribou.
Q: What shaggy Ice Age survivor was reintroduced to Alaska in the 1930s?
A: The musk ox.
Q: Which white whale gathers in Cook Inlet?
A: The beluga whale.
Q: Which giant marine mammal migrates to Alaska to feed each summer?
A: The humpback whale.
Q: Which sea mammal uses rocks to open shellfish?
A: The sea otter.
Q: Which horned seabird nests on Alaska's coastal cliffs?
A: The horned puffin.
Q: What Arctic fox color phase stays dark through winter?
A: The blue phase.
Q: What enormous eagle with a white head is common along Alaska's coasts and rivers?
A: The bald eagle.
Trails, Oil, and Life in the North
Q: What pipeline carries oil from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez?
A: The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System.
Q: About how long is the Trans-Alaska Pipeline?
A: 800 miles.
Q: What highway reaches north from Fairbanks toward Prudhoe Bay?
A: The Dalton Highway.
Q: Which railroad connects Seward and Anchorage with Fairbanks?
A: The Alaska Railroad.
Q: What marine highway links coastal communities by ferry?
A: The Alaska Marine Highway System.
Q: What annual payment shares investment earnings from Alaska's oil wealth with residents?
A: The Permanent Fund Dividend.
Q: What is the name of Alaska's oil-wealth savings fund?
A: The Alaska Permanent Fund.
Q: Which seafood industry is especially important in Bristol Bay?
A: Salmon fishing.
Q: What kind of salmon is the focus of Bristol Bay's huge commercial run?
A: Sockeye salmon.
Q: What term describes permanently frozen ground?
A: Permafrost.
Q: What elevated storage structure keeps food away from bears?
A: A cache.
Q: What small aircraft is commonly used to reach remote Alaska communities?
A: A bush plane.
Q: What name is given to pilots who fly Alaska's remote routes?
A: Bush pilots.
Q: What highway built during World War II links Dawson Creek with Delta Junction?
A: The Alaska Highway.
Q: Which Alaska town marks the official northern end of the Alaska Highway?
A: Delta Junction.
Dog Teams, Local Flavor, and Northern Fame
Q: What nearly 1,000-mile sled dog race runs from Anchorage to Nome?
A: The Iditarod.
Q: What do you call the driver of a dog sled team?
A: A musher.
Q: Which musher won the first official Iditarod in 1973?
A: Dick Wilmarth.
Q: Which dog became famous for leading the final leg of the 1925 serum run to Nome?
A: Balto.
Q: Which sled dog led the longest and most dangerous portion of that serum relay?
A: Togo.
Q: What annual Fairbanks competition features intricate sculptures made from ice?
A: The World Ice Art Championships.
Q: What summer fair in Palmer celebrates Alaska agriculture?
A: The Alaska State Fair.
Q: What unusually large vegetables are showcased at the Alaska State Fair?
A: Giant cabbages.
Q: What berry with orange or red drupelets is prized in western Alaska?
A: Salmonberry.
Q: What rich frozen dessert was traditionally made with whipped fat and berries?
A: Akutaq.
Q: What smoked fish is a classic Alaska snack?
A: Salmon.
Q: Which author set The Call of the Wild in the Klondike Gold Rush era?
A: Jack London.
Q: Which television series follows a fictional radio host in Cicely, Alaska?
A: Northern Exposure.
Q: Which singer-songwriter grew up in Homer, Alaska, and released “Who Will Save Your Soul”?
A: Jewel.
Q: Which Alaska-born athlete became an Olympic champion in cross-country skiing in 2018?
A: Kikkan Randall.
The Last Frontier, Conquered
If you crossed every glacier, gold trail, and dog-sled checkpoint, your score is officially frontier-tough. Travel somewhere warmer with our Greece trivia, or meet more trailblazers in famous people trivia.
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