CITY OF ANCHORAGE, ALASKA
Anchorage, Alaska Vital Links:
City of Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage Chamber of Commerce
Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau
Official State of Alaska Web Site
Anchorage Daily News
Anchorage, Alaska is a consolidated city-borough (officially called the Municipality of Anchorage) in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is also a census area. With 260,283 residents according to the 2000 census, Anchorage is the largest city in the state of Alaska, comprising more than two-fifths of the state's population. The population is somewhat misleading as the area of Anchorage is larger than that of Rhode Island. The Census Bureau's official population estimate as of 2005 was 275,043. The center of population of Alaska is located approximately 40 miles east of Anchorage. Anchorage is administrated by an elected mayor and assembly, and a city manager.
Anchorage is located in South Central Alaska, at 61 °13'06"North latitude (about the same as Stockholm and St. Petersburg), -149 °53'57"West longitude (about the same as Hawaii), northeast of the Alaska Peninsula, Kodiak Island, and Cook Inlet, due north of the Kenai Peninsula, northwest of Prince William Sound and Alaska Panhandle, and nearly due south of Mount McKinley/Denali. The city is situated on a triangular peninsula bordered on the east by the rugged, scenic, and eminently hike-worthy Chugach Mountains, on the northwest by the Knik Arm, and on the southwest by the Turnagain Arm, upper branches of the Cook Inlet, which itself is the northernmost reach of the Pacific Ocean. Despite this, the city lacks coastal beaches, instead having wide, treacherous mudflats. Adjacent to the north is Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska. To the south is Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska, and to the east is Valdez-Cordova Census Area, Alaska.
Anchorage is a major port, receiving over 95% of all freight entering Alaska passes, as well as a major hub of the famous Alaska Railroad. Major industries include government and military, Petroleum, and tourism. There are two strategically important U.S. military bases bordering Anchorage on the north: Elmendorf Air Force Base and Fort Richardson. Nearly all Alaska Interior-bound tourists pass through Anchorage at some stage of their journeys in Alaska. Not surprisingly, summer is tourist season, and downtown Anchorage, as well as the highways leading north and south of town, are typically teeming with tourists.
The city of Anchorage currently provides three municipal facilities large enough to hold major events such as concerts, trade shows and conventions. Downtown facilities include the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts, William A. Egan Civic & Convention Center and the soon to be completed Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center, which will be connected via skybridge to form the Anchorage Civic & Convention District. The Sullivan Arena hosts sporting events as well concerts and annual trade shows. The Anchorage Football Stadium and Mulcahy Stadium are also noteworthy sports venues.
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