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Ketchikan

Kichx̱áan
View from a cruise ship of the Newtown area of Ketchikan.  In the foreground is the intersection of Schoenbar Rd. and Water Street.
View from a cruise ship of the Newtown area of Ketchikan. In the foreground is the intersection of Schoenbar Rd. and Water Street.
Flag of Ketchikan
Flag
Nickname(s): 
Salmon Capital of the World, Rain Capital of Alaska, Alaska's First City
Ketchikan, Alaska is located in Alaska
Ketchikan, Alaska
Ketchikan, Alaska
Location in Alaska
Country  United States
State  Alaska
Borough Ketchikan Gateway
Incorporated August 25, 1900
Area
 • Total 4.90 sq mi (12.70 km2)
 • Land 3.81 sq mi (9.88 km2)
 • Water 1.09 sq mi (2.82 km2)
Elevation
0 ft (0 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 8,192
 • Density 2,147.88/sq mi (829.19/km2)
 • City and Borough
13,477
 • City and Borough Estimate (2014)
13,787
Time zone UTC−9 (AKST)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−8 (AKDT)
ZIP codes
99901, 99950
Area code 907
FIPS code 02-38970
GNIS feature ID 1423039, 2419408

Ketchikan ( ketch-IH-kan; Tlingit: [Kichx̱áan] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)) is a city in and the borough seat of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough of Alaska. It is the state's southeasternmost major settlement. Downtown Ketchikan is a National Historic District.

With a population at the 2020 census of 8,192, up from 8,050 in 2010, it is the sixth-most populous city in the state, and thirteenth-most populous community when census-designated places are included. The surrounding borough, encompassing suburbs both north and south of the city along the Tongass Highway (most of which are commonly regarded as a part of Ketchikan, albeit not a part of the city itself), plus small rural settlements accessible mostly by water, registered a population of 13,948 in that same census.

Incorporated on August 25, 1900, Ketchikan is the earliest extant incorporated city in Alaska, because consolidation or unification elsewhere in Alaska resulted in the dissolution of those communities' city governments. Ketchikan is located on Revillagigedo Island, so named in 1793 by Captain George Vancouver.

Ketchikan is named after Ketchikan Creek, which flows through the town, emptying into the Tongass Narrows a short distance southeast of its downtown. "Ketchikan" comes from the Tlingit name for the creek, Kitschk-hin, the meaning of which is unclear. It may mean "the river belonging to Kitschk"; other accounts claim it means "Thundering Wings of an Eagle". In modern Tlingit, this name is Kichx̱áan.

Geography

A panorama of downtown Ketchikan and surrounding terrain from the peak of Deer Mountain in October 2004. Pennock Island divides the Tongass Narrows on the left, and Gravina Island lies on the distant side of the Narrows.

Ketchikan is located on Revillagigedo Island, 700 miles (1,100 km) north of Seattle, Washington, and 235 miles (378 km) south of Juneau, Alaska. It is surrounded by the Tongass National Forest, which is managed by the United States Forest Service from headquarters in the Ketchikan Federal Building downtown.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.9 square miles (15.3 km2). 4.4 square miles (11.3 km2) of it is land and 1.5 square miles (4.0 km2) of it (29.14%) is water.

The ½-mile (800 m) wide channel called the Tongass Narrows separates Ketchikan from Gravina Island, where Ketchikan International Airport is located. Deer Mountain, a 3,001-foot (915 m) peak, rises immediately east of the city's downtown area.

Climate

Ketchikan Alaksa Rain Gauge
Ketchikan's Liquid Sunshine Gauge. The town experienced record annual rainfall in 1949, with 202.55 inches (5,144.77 mm) measured.

Ketchikan has a climate greatly modified and moderated by its maritime location, featuring an oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb) which is likened to Scotland or Northern Ireland though with much more rain. Winters are cool but far milder than its latitude alone may suggest: January has a 24-hour average of 33.6 °F (0.9 °C). Summers are mild, as August’s high averages 64.4 °F (18.0 °C). Another feature of the area’s climate is the high amount of rainfall, with an equivalent average of 153 inches (3,900 mm) per year, falling more heavily in autumn and winter. The climate is so moderated that even Tallahassee, Florida has recorded an all-time record minimum—−2 °F (−19 °C) in February 1899—lower than that of Ketchikan, although Tallahassee averages around 22 °F (12 °C) warmer over the year. Further east in North America, winters on these parallels are extremely cold.

The record high temperature in Ketchikan was 89 °F (32 °C) on June 20, 1958, and August 14, 1977. The record low temperature was −1 °F (−18 °C) on December 15, 1964, and January 5, 1965. The wettest year was 1949 with 202.55 inches (5,145 mm) and the driest year was 1995 with 88.45 inches (2,247 mm). The most rainfall in one month was 42.69 inches (1,084 mm) during October 1974 and the most rainfall in 24 hours was 8.71 inches (221 mm) on October 11, 1977. The most snowfall in one month was 45.1 inches (115 cm) in January 1971.

Climate data for Ketchikan, Alaska
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 62
(17)
63
(17)
60
(16)
75
(24)
87
(31)
89
(32)
87
(31)
89
(32)
80
(27)
69
(21)
65
(18)
62
(17)
89
(32)
Average high °F (°C) 38.4
(3.6)
41.3
(5.2)
43.6
(6.4)
49.3
(9.6)
55.1
(12.8)
60.4
(15.8)
64.0
(17.8)
64.5
(18.1)
59.1
(15.1)
50.8
(10.4)
43.5
(6.4)
39.9
(4.4)
50.8
(10.4)
Average low °F (°C) 28.8
(−1.8)
31.2
(−0.4)
33.0
(0.6)
36.7
(2.6)
41.8
(5.4)
47.1
(8.4)
51.4
(10.8)
52.1
(11.2)
47.1
(8.4)
40.7
(4.8)
34.1
(1.2)
31.0
(−0.6)
39.6
(4.2)
Record low °F (°C) −1
(−18)
0
(−18)
3
(−16)
10
(−12)
27
(−3)
33
(1)
39
(4)
37
(3)
29
(−2)
17
(−8)
5
(−15)
−1
(−18)
−1
(−18)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 13.88
(353)
12.74
(324)
11.28
(287)
11.19
(284)
9.25
(235)
7.37
(187)
7.43
(189)
10.80
(274)
14.22
(361)
22.17
(563)
17.26
(438)
15.65
(398)
153.24
(3,893)
Average snowfall inches (cm) 13.3
(34)
8.9
(23)
5.4
(14)
0.8
(2.0)
0.1
(0.25)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0.1
(0.25)
2.3
(5.8)
8.6
(22)
39.5
(101.3)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 inch) 20 18 20 19 17 16 15 16 19 24 23 22 229

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1890 40
1900 459 1,047.5%
1910 1,613 251.4%
1920 2,458 52.4%
1930 3,796 54.4%
1940 4,695 23.7%
1950 5,305 13.0%
1960 6,483 22.2%
1970 6,994 7.9%
1980 7,198 2.9%
1990 8,263 14.8%
2000 7,922 −4.1%
2010 8,050 1.6%
2020 8,192 1.8%
U.S. Decennial Census

Ketchikan first appeared on the 1890 U.S. Census as the unincorporated village of "Kichikan." Of its 40 residents, 26 were Native, 9 were White and 5 were Creole (Mixed Russian & Native). It returned as Ketchikan beginning in 1900 and in every successive census. It incorporated as a city also in 1900.

Ketchikan AK
Ketchikan's Newtown neighborhood, between Downtown and the West End, its two largest neighborhoods. First Lutheran Church, at the right edge of this photo, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. East of the church (beyond view of the photo), three adjoining streets were named Warren, G, and Harding following President Harding's visit to Alaska in 1923.
Ketchikan From Dock
Ketchikan as seen from the dock near the cruise terminal.
Misty Fjords Ranger Station
The Ketchikan Misty Fjords Ranger station.

As of 2010, there were 8,050 people, 3,259 households, and 1,885 families residing in the city. As of 2017, The population density was 1,829.5 per square mile (714.1/km2). There were 3,731 housing units at an average density of 848.0 per square mile (330.2/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 60.7% White, 16.7% Native American (8.3% Tlingit-Haida, 1.9% Tsimshian), 10.8% Asian (9.4% Filipino), 10.0% from two or more races, 0.8% Black or African American, 0.3% Pacific Islander, and 0.7% some other race. 4.4% of the population were Hispanic or Latino (2.6% Mexican) of any race.

St John's Episcopal Church and hospital, Ketchikan, Alaska, August 1904 (COBB 285)
St John's Episcopal Church and a mission hospital, August 1904

There were 3,259 households. 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.6% were headed by married couples living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.2% were non-families. 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.0% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41, and the average family size was 3.07.

The population was spread by age ranges, with 23.9% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 29.3% from 45 to 64, and 10.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.5 males.

In 2017, the ACS-estimated median and average annual incomes for a household in the city were $56,372 and $70,490, respectively. The median and average incomes for a family were $68,438 and $84,518, respectively. The per capita income for the city was $30,474. About 12.4% of the population, including 19.8% of those under 18-years old, were below the poverty line. 90.0% spoke English, 5.98% Tagalog, 1.81% Spanish, and 0.7% Tsimshian as their first language.

Transportation

Puerto de Ketchikan, Alaska, Estados Unidos, 2017-08-16, DD 49
Port of Ketchikan
Ketchikan, Alaska, Estados Unidos, 2017-08-16, DD 03
Port of seaplanes, one of the main transportation means.

Ketchikan serves as both an air and marine transportation hub for southern Southeast Alaska.

The Ketchikan International Airport serves as both a gateway for Alaska Airlines nonstop jet service to and from Seattle, Juneau, Sitka and Wrangell, with direct service to Anchorage, and as a bush carrier and charter aircraft hub for destinations such as Hyder, Metlakatla and Prince of Wales Island communities. Flying time to/from Seattle, Washington is approximately ninety minutes, making Ketchikan easily accessible to travelers from the continental U.S. Delta Air Lines began operating seasonal service to Seattle in May 2015.

Ketchikan receives service from two separate ferry lines. Ketchikan is a major port along the Alaska Marine Highway System's Inside Passage route. Vessels depart northbound to Alaskan ports of call and southbound to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, a six-hour trip, — where a connection can be made to the BC Ferries system — and Bellingham, Washington, a thirty-six-hour voyage. Sailings depart several times each week. Ketchikan also sees regular day service from the Alaska Marine Highway vessel M/V Lituya, a day boat that shuttles between its homeport in Metlakatla, AK and Ketchikan.

The Inter-Island Ferry Authority serves Ketchikan with daily service from its homeport in Hollis on Prince of Wales Island.

Sister cities and twin towns

Ketchikan twin towers
The West End (or Westend), located in the valleys of Carlanna and Hoadley creeks and across Tongass Narrows from Ketchikan International Airport, is Ketchikan's largest commercial and residential area. Shown are the city's tallest buildings, the Marine View Building and Tongass Towers. Ketchikan High School is partially visible at upper right.

Ketchikan's former sister city of Kanayama, Japan, in Gifu Prefecture, was incorporated along with four other cities into the larger city of Gero on March 1, 2004. An educational exchange program has been active between the two towns since 1986. Every year, Ketchikan and Kanayama exchange one teacher each to instruct middle-school level language classes in their respective tongues. In addition, Kanayama sends a group of students to Ketchikan during the spring, and students from Ketchikan travel to Kanayama the following summer. Ketchikan students travel across Japan, with the majority of their time spent in Kanayama with home-stay families, attending classes and touring the town.

In popular culture

  • In The Young Pope series, the eponymous pope Pius XIII sends several cardinals who upset him there as a punishment. Ketchikan is depicted as a frozen wasteland.

Economy and industries

Street scene, Ketchikan, Alaska, September 18, 1908 (COBB 13)
A main street in Ketchikan, September 1908
Fishermen dressing and packing halibut on dock, Ketchikan, Alaska, October 3, 1910 (COBB 127)
Fishermen dressing and packing halibut at a dock in Ketchikan, October 1910

A major and first port of entry into Alaska, Ketchikan's economy has been based on fishing industries, canneries in particular, tourism, government, and forestry. Average annual civilian employment in 2017 was 4,070, with a substantial seasonal work force peaking in July.

Ketchikan's economy is currently based upon government services, tourism and commercial fishing. Civic boosters have dubbed the community the "Salmon Capital of the World."

Ketchikan also receives a large number of tourists, both by air and sea, due to its popularity as a cruise ship stop. In 2018, Ketchikan Harbour saw 40 different cruise ships making more than 500 stops in the harbour and bringing more than 1,073,000 visitors to Ketchikan.

The Misty Fiords National Monument is one of the area's major attractions, and the Tongass National Forest has long been headquartered in Ketchikan, mostly in the city's historic Federal Building. For most of the latter half of the 20th century, a large portion of Ketchikan's economy and life centered on the Ketchikan Pulp Company pulp mill in nearby Ward Cove. The mill closed in 1997 in the wake of the passage of the Tongass Timber Reform Act of 1990, which reduced timber harvest targets in the national forest.

Downtown Ketchikan, with seasonal storefronts along Front Street shown in the foreground. Cruise ship tourism drives a large part of the local economy from May to September each year.

Lumber

Ketchikan Pulp Company (KPC), a subsidiary of Louisiana-Pacific Corp., was headquartered just outside Ketchikan's city limits on the shores of Ward Cove. The company's pulp mill opened in the cove in 1954. A 1995 joint EPA and FBI investigation of the company revealed it had dumped contaminated wastewater and sludge in the waters around Ward Cove, leaving them classified as "impaired" by the EPA. KPC plead guilty to the charges and agreed to pay a $3 million fine.

In 1996, following the Clinton Administration's refusal to reinstate the original terms of KPC's timber contract, Louisiana-Pacific Corp. announced it would be shutting down the pulp mill, and did so in March 1997. A total of 514 direct year-round jobs and more than 500 indirect jobs were lost as a result.

Marine

Salmon in Ketchikan Creek
Salmon travel up the creek during spawning season to lay their eggs.

The Ketchikan Shipyard consists of two dry-docks (10,000 ton and 2,500 ton) owned and operated by Alaska Ship & Drydock, a subsidiary of Vigor Industrial. It successfully launched the M/V Susitna in April 2010. A prototype ferry craft for use by Alaska's Matanuska-Susitna Borough, the Susitna is the result of planning by Admiral Jay M. Cohen, former chief of the Office of Naval Research, and former Navy captain Lew Madden, then working as a project manager for Lockheed Martin.

Dubbed E-Craft (for Expeditionary use), the Susitna will serve as the engineering and feasibility platform for a Navy vessel of approximately double the size to assist troops in landing at undeveloped beaches around the world.

Fishing fleet, Ketchikan, Alaska, June 29, 1911 (COBB 20)
Fishing Fleet at Ketchikan June 29, 1911

The contract for two new Alaska-class day ferries in the Alaska Marine Highway was awarded to the shipyard on September 20, 2014,at a cost of $101 million.

Power and telecom

Companies involved in power and telecommunications include Ketchikan Public Utilities (KPU), which is city-owned, as well as GCI and Alaska Power and Telephone Company (AP&T).

Education

Colleges and universities

The former Ketchikan Community College became the Ketchikan campus of the University of Alaska Southeast during the late 1980s restructuring of the University of Alaska System. The campus is located on the uphill side of Ketchikan's West End neighborhood and consists of two buildings, the Paul Building and the Ziegler Building. Both are named for prominent Ketchikan residents of the early and mid 20th century, William Lewis Paul and Adolph Holton Ziegler, respectively.

Public education

  • Ketchikan Gateway Borough School District
    • Ketchikan High School
    • Revilla Junior/Senior High School
    • Schoenbar Middle School

Notable people

  • Danny Edwards (born 1951), professional golfer
  • Nathan Jackson (born 1938), Tlingit artist famous for his carving of totem poles
  • Roy Jones (1893–1974), first person to fly commercially in Alaska
  • Jerry Mackie (born 1962), Alaska state legislator and businessman, born in Ketchikan
  • Frank Murkowski (born 1933), former United States Senator and Governor of Alaska; Murkowski grew up in Ketchikan, where his father was vice-president of the First National Bank of Ketchikan, which exists today as a Southeast regional bank called First Bank
  • Lisa Murkowski (born 1957), second daughter of Frank Murkowski and his successor as U.S. Senator, born in Ketchikan
  • Rudy Pankow (born 1998), American actor
  • William Paul (1885–1977), (Shgúndi), Tlingit statesman and leader in the Alaska Native Brotherhood born near Ketchikan. Paul was the first Alaska Native to become an attorney and first elected to the Alaska Territorial legislature
  • Ray Troll (born 1954), artist famous for blending art and science in his fish-laden drawings

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Ketchikan para niños

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