Anchorage, AK Summary

photo by gusto

With about 40 percent of the state’s population, Anchorage is the metropolitan launching pad for Alaska’s outdoor wonders. A city of 250,000 people, it is embraced by the Knik and Turnaggain arms of the Cook Inlet. A plain-looking collection of buildings, Anchorage is redeemed by its handsome mountain vistas.

Most visitors to Alaska fly into the city for business or tourist itineraries, or pass through by car, as the city is the hub of the state’s road system. A number of bus and van companies provide service to most places in the state that are accessible by road. The Alaska Railroad runs daily service to Fairbanks and Denali National Park, except for mid-September to mid-May, when it runs only on Saturdays.

Anchorage is relatively dry compared to much of the rest of the state, as the Kenai Mountains north of the city protect it from heavy rainfall. The natural bowl in which Anchorage is located also excludes it from the extreme conditions of the interior so that average winter temperatures are freezing but well above zero, and in the height of summer remain in the 60\260 to 70\260F range, whereas the interior can range from 90\260 to 60\260F.

Visitors may be surprised to find that, despite being surrounded by wilderness, Anchorage is a sophisticated place, offering the comforts and attractions enjoyed by many larger US cities. It offers good lodging, cultural activities, and plenty of entertainment.

Sometimes the wilderness creeps in and wolves and moose are seen in the middle of the city. Nearby are glaciers, mountains, hiking trails, and whitewater rivers. The Kenai Peninsula as well as several state and national preserves offer many outdoor activities, such as camping, hiking, and fishing and are only a few hours away by car.

Many local companies offer cruises, float, and air trips to nearby rivers, islands, glaciers, and bays, as well as railway visits to Denali National Park, 237 miles away.

In 1778 Captain James Cook sailed up what would become known as Cook Inlet searching for the Northwest Passage. Later, with the arrival of the Alaska Railroad, a city was founded in 1914. Agriculture in the Matanuska Valley attracted farmers in the 1930s, and the population further expanded when military bases were set up here during World War II. The discovery of oil in Prudhoe Bay in 1968 also increased community numbers.

There were setbacks, such as the largest earthquake ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere—9.2 on the Richter Scale—which struck in 1964, devastating the entire city, but the oil boom revitalized the economy and Anchorage now wields rare political clout, often vying with its chief rival, Fairbanks, for favorable state budgets.

Anchorage is the starting point for the famous Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race which begins the first Saturday in March. Huskies pull sleds driven by “mushers” from here over the Alaska Range and across frozen Norton Bay—a distance of 1,161 miles—arriving in Nome nearly two weeks later.

The Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum displays 39 vintage aircraft, memorabilia, and photographs that chronicle the history of aviation in Alaska, a place where air transport is vital for everyday survival. A domed screen at the Alaska Experience Center shows footage of the state filmed from planes, river rafts, and trains, and there is an earthquake exhibit.

Located on a site of 26 wooded acres, the Alaska Native Heritage Center presents information about the Native American groups who inhabit Alaska. There is a gathering place for storytelling, dance, and musical performances, and a theater for films. The Hall of Cultures focuses on traditions and customs such as moose-hunting, weaving, fishing, philosophy, and dancing, and also displays replicas of different dwellings.

The outstanding Anchorage Museum of History and Art presents exhibits on the art, history, and cultures of Alaska. Objects in the Alaska Gallery date from prehistoric times through European exploration, Russian settlement, the gold rush, World War II, and statehood in 1959. Visitors can see drawings, paintings, and a display of the Trans Alaska Pipeline. Full-scale dioramas illustrate an Athabaskan tent, Yupik, Tlingit, and Aleut houses, examples of a goldminer’s cabin and a typical early Anchorage house, moose boats, and some Quonset huts from World War II.