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