Imagine someone offers to sell you a piece of land bigger than Texas, California, and Montana combined. The catch? It is covered in ice and snow for most of the year. On March 30, 1867, the United States said yes to exactly that deal. Secretary of State William Seward agreed to buy Alaska from Russia for 7.2 million dollars. That worked out to about two cents per acre. Many Americans thought he was foolish. Newspapers called the deal "Seward's Folly" and "Seward's Icebox." They could not imagine why anyone would want such a frozen wilderness. But Alaska turned out to be an incredible bargain. The land held enormous riches. Gold was discovered there in the 1890s, setting off a famous gold rush. Massive oil reserves were found in the 1960s. The fishing waters around Alaska produce billions of dollars worth of salmon and crab every year. Alaska also has geographic importance. It sits just 55 miles from Russia across the Bering Strait. That location became important during later conflicts between the United States and Russia. Today, Alaska is the largest state in America by far. It contains North America's tallest mountain, Denali, and more coastline than all other states combined.