Alaska , northernmost and westernmost state of the United states ,and the largest state of the Union. It occupies the extreme northwestern region
of the North American continent and is separated from Asia by the 82 km wide Bering strait. Alaska has belonged to the United states since 1867, when it was bought from Russia by Secretary of State William H. Seward.
The United states paid Russia $7.2 million for the rights of the Russian American Company in Alaska.