1. In 1981, Mount Saint Helens erupted, sending ash as far north as Anchorage, Alaska. The ashfall caused disruption to air travel and coating buildings and cars.

2. In 1868, the first Russian ship sailed into the harbor in Sitka, Alaska to officially transfer ownership of the territory from Russia to the United States.

3. In 1975, the Trans-Alaska pipeline was completed after three years of construction. It is a pipeline spanning 800 miles, transporting oil from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez.

4. In 1915, the Great Alaska Earthquake hit the coastline, registering a magnitude of 7.3 on the Richter scale. It caused significant damage in the town of Seward, nearly wiping it out.

5. In 1947, a U.S. military airplane crashed into the side of Mount Gilbert, near Anchorage. All 52 crew members on board perished, and the wreckage was not found until years later.