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Friday, June 25, 2010

Juneau, Alaska

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The City and Borough of Juneau is a unified municipality located on the
Gastineau Channel in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Alaska. It has been
the capital of Alaska since 1906, when the government of the then-Alaska
Territory was moved from Sitka. The municipality unified in 1970 when the
city of Juneau merged with the city of Douglas and the surrounding borough
to form the current home rule municipality.

The area of Juneau is larger than that of Rhode Island and Delaware
individually and almost as large as the two states combined. Downtown Juneau
is nestled at the base of Mount Juneau and across the channel from Douglas
Island. As of the 2000 census, the City and Borough had a population of 30
711. The U.S. Census Bureau's 2008 population estimate for the City and
Borough was 30,988.

Juneau is named after gold prospector Joe Juneau, though the place was for a
time called Rockwell and then Harrisburg (after Juneau's co-prospector,
Richard Harris — several books credit the Tlingit Chief Kowee with showing
these prospectors where the gold was). The Tlingit name of the town is
Dzántik'i Héeni "river where the flounders gather", and Auke Bay just north
of Juneau proper is called Aak'w "little lake" in Tlingit. The Taku River,
just south of Juneau, was named after the cold t'aakh wind, which
occasionally blows down from the mountains.

Downtown Juneau sits at sea level, with tides averaging 16 feet (4.9 m),
below steep mountains about 3,500 to 4,000 feet (1,200 m) high. Atop these
mountains is the Juneau Icefield, a large ice mass from which about 30
glaciers flow; two of these, the Mendenhall Glacier and the Lemon Creek
Glacier, are visible from the local road system; the Mendenhall glacier has
been generally retreating; its front face is declining both in width and
height.

The current Alaska State Capitol is an office building in downtown Juneau,
originally built as the Federal and Territorial Building in 1931. Originally
housing federal government offices, the federal courthouse, and a post
office, it became the home of the Alaska Legislature and the offices for the
governor of Alaska and lieutenant governor of Alaska. Through the years,
there has been discussion on relocating the seat of state government and
building a new capitol, without significant development.

History

Long before European settlement in the Americas, the Gastineau Channel was a
favorite fishing ground for local Tlingit Indians, known then as the Auke
and Taku tribes, who had inhabited the surrounding area for thousands of
years. The native cultures are rich with artistic traditions including
carving, weaving, orating, singing and dancing, and Juneau has become a
major social center for the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian of Southeast
Alaska.

In 1880, Sitka mining engineer George Pilz offered a reward to any local
chief who could lead him to gold-bearing ore. Chief Kowee arrived with some
ore and several prospectors were sent to investigate. On their first trip,
to Gold Creek, they found deposits of little interest. However, at Chief
Kowee's urging Pilz sent Joe Juneau and Richard Harris back to the Gastineau
Channel, directing them to Snow Slide Gulch (the head of Gold Creek) where
they found nuggets "as large as peas and beans," in Harris' words.

On October 18, 1880, the two men marked a 160-acre (0.65 km2) town site
where soon a mining camp appeared. Within a year, the camp became a small
town, the first to be founded after Alaska's purchase by the United States.

The town was originally called Harrisburg, after Richard Harris; some time
later, its name was changed to Rockwell, after Lt. Com. Charles Rockwell. In
1881, the miners met and renamed the town Juneau, after Joe Juneau. In 1906,
after the diminution of the whaling and fur trade, Sitka, the original
capital of Alaska, declined in importance and the seat of government was
moved to Juneau. Juneau was the largest city in Alaska during the inter-war
years, passing Fairbanks in the 1920 census and displaced by Anchorage in
1950.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area
of 3,255.0 square miles (8,430 km2), making it the second-largest
municipality in the United States by area (the largest is Sitka, Alaska). 2
716.7 square miles (7,036 km2) of it is land and 538.3 square miles (1,394
km2) of it (16.54%) is water.

Central (downtown) Juneau is located at 58°18′07″N 134°25

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Skagway, Alaska

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Skagway is a first-class borough in Alaska, on the Alaska Panhandle. It was
formerly a city first incorporated in 1900 that was re-incorporated as a
borough on June 25, 2007. As of the 2000 census, the population of the city
was 862. However, the population doubles in the summer tourist season in
order to deal with more than 900,000 visitors.

The port of Skagway is a popular stop for cruise ships, and the tourist
trade is a big part of the business of Skagway. The White Pass and Yukon
Route narrow gauge railroad, part of the area's mining past, is now in
operation purely for the tourist trade and runs throughout the summer months
Skagway is also part of the setting for Jack London's book The Call of the
Wild.

Skagway (originally spelled Skaguay) is from the Tlingit name for the area,
Skagua" or "Shgagwèi" meaning "a windy place with 'white caps on the water."

History

The area around present-day Skagway was inhabited by Tlingit people from
prehistoric times. They fished and hunted in the waters and forests of the
area and had become prosperous by trading with other groups of people on the
coast and in the interior.

One prominent resident of early Skagway was William "Billy" Moore, a former
steamboat captain. As a member of an 1887 boundary survey expedition, he had
made the first recorded investigation of the pass over the Coast Mountains,
which later became known as White Pass. He believed that gold lay in the
Klondike because it had been found in similar mountain ranges in South
America, Mexico, California, and British Columbia. In 1887, he and his son
Ben claimed a 160-acre (650,000 m²) homestead at the mouth of the Skagway
River in Alaska. Moore settled in this area because he believed it provided
the most direct route to the potential goldfields. They built a log cabin, a
sawmill, and a wharf in anticipation of future gold prospectors passing
through.

The Klondike gold rush changed everything. In 1896, gold was found in the
Klondike region of Canada's Yukon Territory. On July 29, 1897 the steamer
Queen docked at Moore's wharf with the first boat load of prospectors. More
ships brought thousands of hopeful miners into the new town and prepared for
the 500-mile journey to the gold fields in Canada. Moore was overrun by lot
jumping prospectors and had his land stolen from him and sold to others.

The population of the general area increased enormously and reached 30,000,
composed largely of American prospectors. Some realized how difficult the
trek ahead would be on route to the gold fields, and chose to stay behind to
supply goods and services to miners. Within weeks, stores, saloons, and
offices lined the muddy streets of Skagway. The population was estimated at
8,000 residents during the spring of 1898 with approximately 1,000
prospective miners passing through town each week. By June 1898, with a
population between 8,000 and 10,000, Skagway was the largest city in Alaska.

Between 1897-1898, Skagway was a lawless town, described by one member of
the Northwest Mounted Police as "little better than a hell on earth." Fights
prostitutes and liquor were ever-present on Skagway's streets. The most
colorful resident of this period was bad man Jefferson Randolph "Soapy"
Smith. He was a sophisticated swindler who liked to think of himself as a
kind and generous benefactor to the needy. He had gracious manners and he
gave money to widows and stopped lynchings, while at the same time operating
a ring of thieves who swindled prospectors with cards, dice, and the shell
game. His telegraph office charged five dollars to send a message anywhere
in the world. Prospectors sent news to their folks back home without
realizing there was no telegraph service to or from Skagway until 1901.
Smith also controlled a comprehensive spy network, a private militia called
the Skaguay Military Company, the newspaper, the Deputy U.S. Marshall and an
array of thieves and con-men who roamed about the town. Smith was shot and
killed by Frank Reid on July 8, 1898. Smith managed to return fire—some
accounts claim the two men fired their weapons simultaneously—and Frank Reid
died from his wounds twelve days later. However, there are also accounts
that another man, Jesse Murphy, was also involved in the shoot-out and was
actually the one who killed Smith.

Geography

Skagway is located at 59°28′7″N 135°18′21″
Skagway is located in a narrow glaciated valley at the head of the Taiya
Inlet, the north end of the Lynn Canal, which is the most northern fjord on
the Inside Passage on the south coast of Alaska. It is in the Alaska
panhandle 90 miles northwest of Juneau, Alaska's capital city.

Skagway is one of three Southeast Alaskan communities that is connected to the road system; Skagway's connection is via the Klondike Highway, completed in 1978. This allows access to the lower 48, Whitehorse, the Yukon, northern British Columbia, and the Alaska Highway. This also makes Skagway an important port-of-call for the Alaska Marine Highway — Alaska's ferry system — and serves as the northern terminus of the important and heavily-used Lynn Canal corridor. (The other Southeast Alaskan communities with road access are Haines and Hyder.)

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Ketchikan, Alaska

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ketchikan is a city in Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska, United States, the

southeasternmost sizable city in that state. With an estimated population of

14,070 in 2010, it is the fifth most populous city in the state.

Ketchikan's economy is based upon tourism and fishing, and the city is known

as the "Salmon Capital of the World." The Misty Fjords National Monument is
one of the area's major attractions.

Ketchikan is named after Ketchikan Creek, which flows through the town.
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."

Ketchikan's secondary post office box ZIP code, 99950, is the highest ZIP
code ever assigned in the United States. Most residents use the ZIP code
99901. Ketchikan also has the world's largest collection of standing totem
poles, located at three major locations: Saxman Village, Totem Bight, and
the Totem Heritage Center.

Geography

Ketchikan is located on Revillagigedo Island, 90 miles (145 km) north of
Prince Rupert, British Columbia and 235 miles (378 km) south of Juneau,
Alaska.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4

1 sq mi (10.7 km²). 3.4 sq mi (8.7 km²) of it is land and 0.8 sq mi (2.0
km²) of it (18.60%) is water.

* Average annual rainfall is 152 inches (3,900 mm); annual average
snowfall is 37 inches (94 cm).
* The average high temperature in July is 65 °F (18 °C), and the average
high temperature in January is 39 °F (4 °C).

The ½-mile-wide channel called the Tongass Narrows separates Ketchikan from Gravina Island, where Ketchikan International Airport is located. In August 2005 the 2005 Highway Bill provided for $223m to build the Gravina Island Bridge (nicknamed "the Bridge to Nowhere" by its critics) between Ketchikan and Gravina Island. The bridge would have connected the island of Ketchikan to Gravina island where the airport is located so one can drive to the airport rather than taking the ferry across the waters. After years of national and international ridicule over the expense of this project, the Alaska government ultimately chose not to build the bridge, and will spend the appropriated funds elsewhere.