Alaska Is Big!

You could fit Iowa into Alaska 12 times! One-fifth the size of the Lower 48, Alaska is bigger than Texas, California, and Montana combined!
Alaska is also far-flung: 7.3 times wider (east to west) and 6.3 times taller (north to south) than Iowa. From north to south, Alaska measures 1420 miles, the distance from Denver to Mexico City, and east to west 2500 miles, the distance from Savannah, GA to Santa Barbara, CA. See detailed Alaska maps.
Alaska also has the most northern point (Point Barrow) and the most western point (Cape Wrangell, Alaska -- further west than Hawaii) in the U.S.

Water & Coastline

Alaska has 166 times as much inland water (in lakes, reservoirs, and rivers) as Iowa. In fact, Alaska has 3 million lakes over twenty acres big.
Alaska has more than 50% of the entire U.S. coastline, or 6,640 miles. Iowa has 0 miles of coastline!

Iowa has 53 times more people per square mile.
If Iowa's population density were the same as Alaska’s, only 55,624 people would live in Iowa rather than 2,944,062 (based on 2003 data).

Alaska’s high point, Mt. Denali (20,320 feet), rises 3.5 miles above Iowa’s high point, Hawkeye Point, at 1,670 feet.
Not only is Mt. Denali the highest mountain in North America, but Alaska has 15 other peaks higher than any in the continental U.S.

Alaska has 640 sq. miles of land for every mile of paved road. Iowa has 18 sq. miles of land for every mile of road. In other words, Alaska’s land-to-road ratio is 36.6 times greater.
Only 20% of Alaska’s roads are paved versus on average 91% for the other 49 states. During the long, cold grip of winter, Alaskans build ice roads to traverse rivers and ground that is otherwise too soft to drive.