Alaska - (Cont)

There are European influences as well. Petersburg, in the Inside Passage, has a strong Scandinavian heritage. Cordova and Valdez bear names bestowed by a Spanish explorer; Cook Inlet is named for a British explorer; Russians left a legacy of the Orthodox Church in much of the state.

Makeup of the state
According to the 2000 census of Alaska's 626,932 people, the population can be described this way:

• White, 434,534, or 69.31 percent of the population
• American Indian or Alaska Native, 98,043, or 15.64 percent
• Two or more races, 34,146, or 5.45 percent
• Asian, 25,116, or 4.00 percent
• Black or African American, 21,787, or 3.48 percent
• Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, 3,308, or 0.53 percent
• Some other race, 9,997, or 1.60 percent

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