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| History | |
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Main article: History of Anchorage, Alaska
The tent city (called "The White City" in the handwritten caption) in Rabbit Creek, photographed by Alberta Pyatt on July 1, 1915.
Russian presence in south central Alaska was well established in the 19th century. In 1867, U. S. Secretary of State William H. Seward brokered a deal to purchase Alaska from a debt-ridden Imperial Russia for $7.2 million (about two cents an acre). The deal was lampooned by political rivals as "Seward's folly", "Seward's icebox" and "Walrussia". By 1888, gold was discovered along Turnagain Arm.
In 1912, Alaska became a United States territory. Anchorage, unlike every other large town in Alaska south of the Brooks Range, was neither a fishing nor mining camp. The area within tens of miles of Anchorage is barren of significant economic metal minerals. While a number of Dena'ina settlements existed along Knik Arm for years, only two white men, Bud Whitney and Jack Brown, were reported to have lived in the Ship Creek valley in the 1910s prior to the large influx of settlers.
The city grew from its happenstance choice as the site, in 1914, of a railroad construction port for the Alaska Engineering Commission. Construction of the railroad, to be known as the Alaska Railroad, continued until its completion in 1923. The area near the mouth of Ship Creek, where the railroad headquarters was located, quickly became a tent city. A townsite was platted on higher ground to the south of the tent city, greatly noted in the years since for its order and rigidity compared with other Alaskan townsites. Anchorage was incorporated on November 23, 1920.[5]
The city's economy in the 1920s and 1930s centered on the railroad. Col. Otto F. Ohlson, the Swedish-born general manager of the railroad for nearly two decades, became a symbol of residents' contempt for the firm control he maintained over the railroad's affairs, which by extension became control over economic and other aspects of life in Alaska.
Between the 1930s and the 1950s, the city experienced massive growth as air transportation and the military became increasingly important. Aviation operations in Anchorage commenced along the firebreak south of town (today's Delaney Park Strip), which was also used by residents as a golf course. An increase in air traffic led to clearing of a site directly east of townsite boundaries starting in 1929, which became Merrill Field. Merrill Field served as Anchorage's primary airport during the 1930s and 1940s, when it was replaced by Anchorage International Airport upon its opening in 1951. Merrill Field still serves a significant amount of general aviation traffic to this day.
Fourth Avenue in 1953, looking east from near I Street. Just five years before, the area in the foreground was mostly home to lumber yards and other light industrial uses.
Elmendorf Air Force Base and Fort Richardson were constructed in the 1940s, and served as the city's primary economic engine until the 1968 Prudhoe Bay discovery shifted the thrust of the economy towards the oil industry. The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure process led to the combining of the two bases (along with Kulis Air National Guard Base) to form Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.
The Good Friday or "Great Alaska" Earthquake on March 27, 1964. View of Fourth Avenue.
On March 27, 1964, Anchorage was hit by the magnitude 9.2 Good Friday Earthquake, which killed 115 Alaskans and caused $311 million ($1.8 billion in 2007 U.S. dollars) in damage.[6][7] The earth-shaking event lasted nearly five minutes; most structures that failed remained intact the first few minutes, then failed with repeated flexing.[6][7] It was the second largest earthquake in the recorded history of the world.[6][7] Rebuilding dominated the remainder of the 1960s.
In 1968, oil was discovered in Prudhoe Bay, and the resulting oil boom spurred further growth in Anchorage. In 1975, the City of Anchorage and the Greater Anchorage Area Borough (which includes Eagle River, Girdwood, Glen Alps, and several other communities) merged into the geographically larger Municipality of Anchorage.[5] The city continued to grow in the 1980s, and capital projects and an aggressive beautification campaign took place.
[edit] Tags:Borough,Joint Base Elmendorf-richardson,Eagle River,United States,State,Alaska,Incorporated,Anchorage,Seward's Folly,United States Territory,Dena'ina,White,Ship Creek,Railroad,Construction,Port,Alaska Railroad,Tent City,Swedish,Air Transportation,Military,Delaney Park Strip,Golf Course,Merrill Field,Anchorage International Airport,General Aviation,Prudhoe Bay Discovery,2005 Base Realignment And Closure Process,Kulis Air National Guard Base,Prudhoe Bay,Girdwood,1920,1930,1940,1950,1960,1980, | |
| Geography | |
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Anchorage is located in Southcentral Alaska. At 61 degrees north, it lies slightly farther north than Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki and Saint Petersburg, but not as far north as ReykjavÃk or Murmansk. It is northeast of the Alaska Peninsula, Kodiak Island, and Cook Inlet, due north of the Kenai Peninsula, northwest of Prince William Sound and the Alaska Panhandle, and nearly due south of Mount McKinley/Denali.
Panorama of Anchorage as viewed at night from the Glen Alps neighborhood, near Flattop Mountain.
The city is on a strip of coastal lowland and extends up the lower alpine slopes of the Chugach Mountains. Point Campbell, the westernmost point of Anchorage on the mainland, juts out into Cook Inlet near its northern end, at which point it splits into two arms. To the south is Turnagain Arm, a fjord that has some of the world's highest tides. Knik Arm, another tidal inlet, lies to the west and north. The Chugach Mountains on the east form a boundary to development, but not to the city limits, which encompass part of the wild alpine territory of Chugach State Park.
The city's seacoast consists mostly of treacherous mudflats. Newcomers and tourists are warned not to walk in this area because of extreme tidal changes and the very fine glacial silt. Unwary victims have walked onto the solid seeming silt revealed when the tide is out and have become stuck in the mud. The two recorded instances of this occurred in 1961 and 1988.[8]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the municipality has a total area of 1,961.1 square miles (5,079.2 km²); 1,697.2 square miles (4,395.8 km²) of which is land and 263.9 square miles (683.4 km²) of it is water. The total area is 13.46% water.
Boroughs and census areas adjacent to the Municipality of Anchorage are Matanuska-Susitna Borough to the north, Kenai Peninsula Borough to the south and Valdez-Cordova Census Area to the east. The Chugach National Forest, a national protected area, extends into the southern part of the municipality, near Girdwood and Portage.
[edit] Tags:Southcentral,Matanuska-susitna Borough,Southcentral Alaska,Oslo,Stockholm,Helsinki,Saint Petersburg,ReykjavÃk,Murmansk,Alaska Peninsula,Kodiak Island,Cook Inlet,Kenai Peninsula,Prince William Sound,Alaska Panhandle,Mount Mckinley,Denali,Chugach Mountains,Arms,Chugach State Park,Mudflats,Silt,Kenai Peninsula Borough,Valdez-cordova Census Area, | |
| Climate | |
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Main article: Climate of Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage as viewed from atop Flattop during 0 °F (−18 °C) weather.
Anchorage has a subarctic climate (the Köppen climate classification is Dfc) but with strong maritime influences that moderate temperatures. Average daytime summer temperatures range from approximately 55 to 78 °F (13 to 26 °C); average daytime winter temperatures are about 5 to 30 °F (-15 to -1.1 °C). Anchorage has a frost-free growing season that averages slightly over 101 days.
Average January low and high temperatures at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (PANC) are 9 to 22 °F (-13 to -6 °C) with an average winter snowfall of 70.6 inches (179 cm).[9] The 1954–1955 winter had 132.8 in (337.3 cm), which made it the snowiest winter on record.[10] The coldest temperature ever recorded at the original weather station located at Merrill Field on the East end of 5th Avenue was −38 °F (−38.9 °C) on February 3, 1947.[11]
Summers are typically mild (although cool compared to the contiguous US and even interior Alaska), and it can rain frequently. Average July low and high temperatures are 52 to 66 °F (11 to 19 °C) and the hottest reading ever recorded was 86 °F (30.0 °C) on June 25, 1953.[11] The average annual precipitation at the airport is 16.08 inches (408 mm).[12] Anchorage's latitude causes summer days to be very long and winter daylight hours to be very short. The city is often cloudy during the winter, which decreases the amount of sunlight experienced by residents.[13]
Owing to its proximity to active volcanoes, ash hazards are a significant, though infrequent, occurrence. The most recent notable volcanic activity centered on the multiple eruptions of Mount Redoubt during March–April 2009, resulting in a 25,000-foot (7,600 m) high ash cloud as well as ash accumulation throughout the Cook Inlet region. Previously, the most active recent event was an August 1992 eruption of Mount Spurr, which is located 78 miles (126 km) west of the city.[14] The eruption deposited about 3 mm (0.1 in) of volcanic ash on the city. The clean-up of ash resulted in excessive demands for water and caused major problems for the Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility.
Climate data for Anchorage (Anchorage Int'l)
Month
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Year
Record high °F (°C)
56
(13)
57
(14)
56
(13)
72
(22)
82
(28)
92
(33)
84
(29)
85
(29)
73
(23)
64
(18)
62
(17)
53
(12)
92
(33)
Average high °F (°C)
22.2
(−5.4)
25.8
(−3.4)
33.6
(0.9)
43.9
(6.6)
54.9
(12.7)
62.3
(16.8)
65.3
(18.5)
63.3
(17.4)
55
(13)
40
(4)
27
(−3)
23.7
(−4.6)
43.08
(6.16)
Average low °F (°C)
8
(−13)
11
(−12)
17
(−8)
28.7
(−1.8)
38.9
(3.8)
47.0
(8.3)
51.5
(10.8)
49.4
(9.7)
41.4
(5.2)
28
(−2)
15
(−9)
11.4
(−11.4)
28.9
(−1.7)
Record low °F (°C)
−35
(−37)
−38
(−39)
−24
(−31)
−15
(−26)
1
(−17)
29
(−2)
34
(1)
31
(−1)
19
(−7)
−6
(−21)
−21
(−29)
−36
(−38)
−38
(−39)
Precipitation inches (mm)
.68
(17.3)
.74
(18.8)
.65
(16.5)
.52
(13.2)
.70
(18)
1.06
(26.9)
1.70
(43.2)
2.93
(74.4)
2.87
(72.9)
2.09
(53.1)
1.09
(27.7)
1.05
(26.7)
16.08
(408.4)
Snowfall inches (cm)
7.4
(18.8)
9.8
(24.9)
8.7
(22.1)
3.9
(9.9)
.1
(0.3)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
.2
(0.5)
7.3
(18.5)
9.6
(24.4)
12.6
(32)
59.6
(151.4)
Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in)
8.1
7.2
6.8
5.5
7.0
8.2
11.3
13.8
14.5
12.3
9.3
11.1
115.1
Avg. snowy days (≥ 0.1 in)
7.0
5.9
5.8
3.4
.2
0
0
0
.2
4.3
7.0
8.8
42.6
Sunshine hours
83.7
121.5
195.3
234.0
288.3
276.0
251.1
204.6
159.0
117.8
81.0
52.7
2,065.0
Source no. 1: NOAA (normals, 1971−2000) [15]
Source no. 2: HKO (sun only, 1961−1990) [16], Weather.com (extreme temps) [17]
[edit] Tags: | |
| Wildlife | |
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A moose in a yard.
See also: Bears in Anchorage, Alaska
A diverse wildlife population exists in urban Anchorage and the surrounding area. Approximately 250 black bears and 60 grizzly bears live in the area. Bears are regularly sighted within the city. Moose are a common sight. In the Anchorage Bowl, there is a summer population of approximately 250 moose, increasing to as many as 1000 during the winter. They are a hazard to drivers, with over 100 moose killed by cars each year. Two people have been stomped to death by moose in recent years in Anchorage. Cross-country skiers and dog mushers using city trails have been charged by moose on numerous occasions; the Alaska Dept of Fish and Game has to kill some individual aggressive moose in the city every year. Mountain goats can be commonly sighted along the Seward Highway between Anchorage and Girdwood, and Dall sheep are often viewed quite close to the road at Windy Point.[18] Approximately 30 wolves live in the Anchorage area, in 2007 several dogs were killed by wolves while on walks with their owners.[19][20] There are also beaver dams in local creeks, and it is common to see foxes and kits in parking lots close to wooded areas in the spring. Along the Seward Highway headed toward Kenai, there are common sightings of whales in the Turnagain Arm. Lynx are occasionally sighted in Anchorage as well.
[edit] Tags:Country, | |
| Demographics | |
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Historical populations
Census
Pop.
%±
1920
1,856
—
1930
2,277
22.7%
1940
3,495
53.5%
1950
11,254
222.0%
1960
44,237
293.1%
1970
48,081
8.7%
1980
174,431
262.8%
1990
226,338
29.8%
2000
260,283
15.0%
2010
291,826
12.1%
source:[21][22]
As of the 2005–2007 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, White Americans made up 69.8% of Anchorage's population; of which 66.4% were non-Hispanic whites. Blacks or African Americans made up 6.3% of Anchorage's population; of which 6.1% were non-Hispanic blacks. American Indians and Alaska Natives made up 5.5% of the city's population; of which 5.3% were non-Hispanic.[23][24]
Asian Americans made up 6.1% of the city's population; of which 6.0% were non-Hispanic. Pacific Islander Americans made up 1.0% of the city's population. Individuals from some other race made up 2.7% of the city's population; of which 0.1% were non-Hispanic. Individuals from two or more races made up 8.5% of the city's population; of which 7.4% were non-Hispanic. In addition, Hispanics and Latinos made up 7.7% of Anchorage's population.[23][24]
As of the 2000 census, there were 260,283 people, 94,822 households and 64,099 families residing in the municipality. The population density was 153.4 per square mile (59.2/km²). There were 100,368 housing units at an average density of 59.1 per square miles (22.8/km²). The racial makeup of the municipality was 72.2% White, 5.8% African American, 7.3% Native American (a category that includes both Alaska Natives and American Indians not of Alaskan origin), 5.6% Asian, 0.9% Pacific Islander, 2.2% from other races, and 6.0% from two or more races. 5.7% were Hispanics or Latinos of any race. 4.0% reported speaking Spanish at home, while 1.5% speak Tagalog and 1.4% Korean.[25]
There were 94,822 households out of which 38.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.1% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.4% were non-families. 23.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.19.
The age distribution was 29.1% under 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 33.9% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 5.5% who were 65 or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 101.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.4 males.
The median income for a household in the municipality was $55,546, and the median income for a family was $63,682. Males had a median income of $41,267 versus $31,747 for females. The per capita income for the municipality was $25,287. About 5.1% of families and 7.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.8% of those under the age of 18 and 6.4% of those 65 and older.
As of September 7, 2006, 94 languages were spoken by students in the Anchorage School District.[26]
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| Economy | |
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Sister cities[27]
Chitose, Japan
Darwin, Australia
Harbin, PRC
Incheon, South Korea
Magadan, Russia
Tromsø, Norway
Whitby, United Kingdom
This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2009)
Anchorage's largest economic sectors include transportation, military, municipal, state and federal government, tourism, corporate headquarters (including regional headquarters for multinational corporations) and resource extraction. Large portions of the local economy depend on Anchorage's geographical location and surrounding natural resources. Anchorage's economy traditionally has seen steady growth, though not quite as rapid as many places in the lower 48 states. With the notable exception of a real estate-related crash in the mid to late 1980s, which saw the failure of numerous financial institutions, it does not experience as much pain during economic downturns.
The Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (TSAIA) is the world's third busiest airport for cargo traffic, surpassed only by Memphis and Hong Kong. This traffic is strongly linked to Anchorage's location along " Tags: | |
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