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Anchorage
Anchorage (officially called the Municipality of Anchorage) is a unified home rule municipality in thesouthcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost city in the United States with more than 100,000 residents and the largest community in North America north of the 60th parallel. With 291,826 residents in 2010 (and 380,821 residents within its Metropolitan Statistical Area, which combines Anchorage with the neighboring Matanuska-Susitna Borough), it is Alaska's largest city and constitutes more than 40 percent of the state's total population; amongst the 50 states, only New York has a higher percentage of residents who live in the state's largest city.
Anchorage has been named All-America City four times, in 1956, 1965, 1984/1985 and 2002, by the National Civic League. It has also been named by Kiplinger as the most tax friendly city in the United States.
Climate
| Climate data for Anchorage (Ted Stevens Anchorage Int'l), 1981−2010 normals | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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) | 86 (30) | 84 (29) | 85 (29) | 73 (23) | 64 (18) | 62 (17) | 53 (12) | 86 (30) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Average high °F (°C) | 23.0 (−5.0) | 26.8 (−2.9) | 34.5 (1.4) | 45.2 (7.3) | 56.6 (13.7) | 63.5 (17.5) | 66.0 (18.9) | 63.9 (17.7) | 55.3 (12.9) | 40.6 (4.8) | 27.6 (−2.4) | 24.4 (−4.2) | 43.95 (6.64) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Average low °F (°C) | 11.2 (−11.6) | 13.8 (−10.1) | 19.2 (−7.1) | 28.9 (−1.7) | 39.2 (4.0) | 47.3 (8.5) | 51.8 (11.0) | 49.6 (9.8) | 41.5 (5.3) | 28.9 (−1.7) | 16.7 (−8.5) | 13.3 (−10.4) | 30.12 (−1.05) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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) | .74 (18.8) | .73 (18.5) | .60 (15) | .47 (11.9) | .76 (19.3) | .96 (24.4) | 1.83 (46.5) | 3.24 (82.3) | 2.98 (75.7) | 2.03 (51.6) | 1.17 (29.7) | 1.12 (28.4) | 16.63 (422.4) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Snowfall inches (cm) | 11.5 (29.2) | 11.0 (27.9) | 10.0 (25.4) | 4.1 (10.4) | .4 (1) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | .4 (1) | 7.8 (19.8) | 13.3 (33.8) | 17.0 (43.2) | 75.5 (191.8) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mean monthly 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 | 2,066.0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Source #1: NOAA, The Weather Channel (extremes) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Source #2: HKO (sun only, 1961−1990)
WILDLIFE!!
A diverse wildlife population within 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. Approximately 30 wolves live in the Anchorage area, in 2007 several dogs were killed by wolves while on walks with their owners. 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. Within the Municipality there are also a number of streams that host salmon runs. Fishing for salmon at Ship Creek next to downtown is popular in the summer.
POPULATIONS
Economy
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 "great circle" routes between Asia and the lower 48. In addition, the airport has an abundant supply of jet fuel from in-state refineries located in North Pole and Kenai. This jet fuel is transported to the Port of Anchorage, then by rail or pipeline to the airport.
The Port of Anchorage receives 95 percent of all goods destined for Alaska. Ships from Totem Ocean Trailer Express and Horizon Lines arrive twice weekly from the Port of Tacoma in Washington. Along with handling these activities, the port is a storage facility for jet fuel from Alaskan refineries, which is utilized at both TSAIA and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER).
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