Anchorage, Alaska

Anchorage is a unified municipal consolidated city-borough in the U.S. state of Alaska, on the West Coast of the United States. With an estimated 288,000 residents in 2019, it is Alaska’s most populous city and contains nearly 40% of the state’s population. The city limits span 1,961. 1 square miles, encompassing the urban core, a joint military base, several outlying communities and almost all of Chugach State Park.

About Anchorage, Alaska in brief

Summary Anchorage, AlaskaAnchorage is a unified municipal consolidated city-borough in the U.S. state of Alaska, on the West Coast of the United States. With an estimated 288,000 residents in 2019, it is Alaska’s most populous city and contains nearly 40% of the state’s population. The city limits span 1,961. 1 square miles, encompassing the urban core, a joint military base, several outlying communities and almost all of Chugach State Park. Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport is a common refueling stop for international cargo flights and home to a major FedEx hub. Anchorage has won the All-America City Award four times: in 1956, 1965, 1984–85, and 2002, from the National Civic League. Kiplinger has named it the United US’ most tax-friendly city. Anchorage is in Southcentral Alaska, at the terminus of the Cook Inlet, on a peninsula formed by the Knik Arm to the north and the Turnagain Arm toThe south. In 1867, U. S. Secretary of State William H. Seward brokered a deal to purchase Alaska from Imperial Russia for USD 7.2 million, or about two cents an acre. In 1888, gold was discovered along Turnagain arm just south of modern-day Anchorage. Alaska became an organized incorporated United States territory in 1912. Anchorage, unlike every other large town in Alaska south of the Brooks Range, was neither a fishing nor mining camp. The area surrounding Anchorage lacks significant economic metal minerals. Anchorage lies within ​9 1⁄2 hours by air of nearly 90% of industrialized world.

It is almost equidistant from New York City and Tokyo, and lies within 9.1 1/2 hours of Anchorage by road. In 1915, territorial governor John Franklin Alexander Strong encouraged residents to change the city’s name to one that had \”more significance and local associations\”. In the summer of that year, residents held a vote to change it to ‘Alaska City’ However, the territorial government ultimately declined to changing the city’s name. Anchorage was incorporated on November 23, 1920. Between the 1930s and the 1950s, the city experienced massive growth as air transportation became increasingly important as the firebreak south of Anchorage commenced. Fort Richardson’s primary air base served as Anchorage’s primary airport until 1951, when Merrill Field replaced it in 1951. Merrill Field still sees a significant amount of general aviation traffic, and served as the primary airfield until the 1960s and 1970s. In the 1980s and 1990s, Anchorage’s main airport was replaced by Ted Stevens International Airport, which became the primary airport for the city. In 2009, Anchorage was named one of the most livable cities in the world by CNN.com. In 2010, CNN named Anchorage the No. 1 city in America for the first time ever, with a population of more than 300,000 people. In 2011, CNN also named Anchorage as the most liveable city in the United State.