Kenai is accessible by the Sterling Highway to Anchorage, Fairbanks, Canada and the lower 48 states. The City-owned Kenai Municipal Airport provides a 7,575′ asphalt runway, a 1,000′ turf strip, a float plane strip, and helicopter service.

A Flight Service Station is available. Float plane facilities are also available at Island Lake and Arness Lake. There are five additional privately-owned airstrips in the vicinity. The Kenai City Dock and boat ramp are located near the mouth of the Kenai River. There are also a number of private commercial fish processing docks, but no boat moorage.

The City is the center of the oil and gas industry, providing services and supplies for Cook Inlet’s oil drilling and exploration. Tesoro Alaska’s oil refining operations and Unocal’s urea plant are located in North Kenai.

Tourism is estimated as a $95 million per year industry on the Peninsula. Other important economic sectors include sport, subsistence and commercial fishing, fish processing, timber and lumber, agriculture, transportation services, construction and retail trade. 226 area residents hold commercial fishing permits.

The largest area employers are the Borough School District, Unocal, Peak Oilfield Services, the Borough, and Central Peninsula Hospital. Work is scheduled to begin during Summer 1998 on the Challenger Learning Center.

Two high-tech fire-fighting training facilities, totaling $15 million, will open in May 1998. Jointly called the Pacific Rim Institute of Safety Management, it consists of a City- and FAA-operated firefighter school at the airport, and a nearby industrial firefighter school, operated by a private firm.

Kenai is named after the Kenai Peninsula. The name Kenai is probably derived from Kenayskaya, the Russian name for the Cook Inlet and translates to “flat, barren land”. Or, it could refer to the Inuit word Kenai (black bear). Archaeological evidence suggests that the area was first occupied by the Kachemak people from 1000 B.C., until they were displaced by the Dena’ina Athabasca people around 1000 A.D.

Before the arrival of the Russians, Kenai was a Dena’ina village called Shk’ituk’t, which means “where we slide down.” When Russian fur traders first arrived in 1741, about 1,000 Dena’ina lived in the village. The traders called the people “Kenaitze,” or “Kenai people.” In 1791, a Russian trading post, Fort St. Nicholas, was constructed in the middle of the village for the purposes of fur and fish trading.

It was the second permanent Russian settlement in Alaska. Hostilities surfaced between the natives and settlers in 1797 when what is dubbed the battle of Kenai, an incident in which the Dena’ina attacked Fort St. Nicholas, resulting in over one hundred deaths from all involved parties. Later, in 1838, the introduction of smallpox killed one half of the Dena’ina population.

In 1869, after the Alaska Purchase the United States Army established a post called Fort Kenay. It was soon abandoned. In 1888 a prospector named Alexander King discovered gold on the Kenai Peninsula. The amount of gold was small compared to the later gold finds in the Klondike, Nome and Fairbanks. In 1894, the Holy Assumption of the Virgin Mary Russian Orthodox Church was built in the village. It is still in use today.
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As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 6,942 people, 2,622 households, and 1,788 families residing in the city. The population density was 89.6/km² (232.2/mi²). There were 3,003 housing units at an average density of 38.8/km² (100.4/mi²).

The racial makeup of the city was 82.76% White, 0.49% Black or African American, 8.74% Native American, 1.66% Asian, 0.23% Pacific Islander, 1.12% from other races, and 5.00% from two or more races. 3.82% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 2,622 households out of which 40.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.5% were married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.8% were non-families. 26.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.20. (more…)

Ever since the 1890’s, Alaska travelers have come to see glaciers, wildlife and wilderness beyond belief. Back then, vacationers boarded steam ships in Seattle to navigate the inside passage on a cruise North to Alaska.

Once they arrived safely on Alaska’s shore, they set out in all manner of transportation modes to explore Alaska’s interior in search of Alaska’s greatest treasures.

Kenai is a city in Kenai Peninsula Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 7,464. Kenai is the heart of Alaskan adventure, providing something for everyone.

The Kenai River is known for its world-class King Salmon fishing. Kenai industries include oil, natural gas, commercial fishing and tourism. Located near Seward and Homer, Alaska, Kenai is easily accessible from Anchorage via a 30-minute flight or a leisurely and beautiful 3-hour drive, approximately 150 miles to the south.

It has mountain playgrounds full of circuitous trails, lush vegetation, skittish wildlife and colorful wildflowers. It has winding rivers with surprisingly sandy beaches navigating a landscape littered with lakes both large and small. And it has a plethora of both secluded cabins and Kenai River lodging for travelers to stay in, giving you a glistening view of the entire peninsula.

Much like the rest of the Alaskan wilderness, the Kenai Peninsula caters to adventurers and sportsmen. Kenai River fishing is a popular pastime, with salmon and halibut rushing along the many rivers of Kenai Alaska ” the Russian River, Kasilof River, and Anchor River and, of course, the Kenai River all offer chartered boats for the avid fisherman. Or you can merely step outside your Kenai River lodging and toss your line into the water.

Anglers usually flock to the Central Kenai Peninsula area, along the Kenai River, famous for their salmon runs. If you plan to jaunt off into the Pacific, you can take your chances with whale spotting ” giant Belugas occasionally break through the ocean’s surface, much to the delight of those on the whale watching tours. (more…)

Its location on an island makes transportation to and from Sitka inherently difficult, expensive, and inconvenient. By air, Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport offers service from jet and regional carrier Alaska Airlines and charter and bush community carrier Harris Aircraft Services. However, cancellations due to Sitka’s weather are frequent.

The much cheaper option for travel is that of the Alaska Marine Highway System (ferry). The ferry terminal is located seven miles north of downtown but receives very spotty service. Sitka’s location on the outer coast of Alaskan Panhandle and thus far off mainline routes, and the tides of Peril Strait that allow mainline vessels through only at slack tide compound for no designated service by a vessel and minimal service overall.

However, the AMHS is often the mode of transportation of choice when the schedule proves convenient especially for lower income groups because of its much cheaper cost. Alaska Marine Lines, a barge and freight company, also has the ability to move cars to other communities connected to the mainland by road systems.

Alaska Raptor Center

Alaska’s premier bald eagle hospital and educational center welcomes visitors to its 17-acre campus to view resident bald and golden eagles, hawks, owls, falcons, and other permanent residents up-close.

Isabel Miller Museum

Learn about the lives and histories of the people who have lived in Sitka–the Tlingits, the Russians, and the early American settlers in the 13th colony. Informative and attractive displays–a must-see first stop! Visit the museum gift shop featuring many exclusives. Located in the Harrigan Centennial Hall (home of the New Archangel Dancers), close to downtown and the lightering docks.

Sheldon Jackson Aquarium

A local artisan’s mural of Southeast Alaska greets you as you enjoy a hands-on experience with many sea creatures, including starfish, sea anemones, and abalone. The Aquarium is part of the hands-on experience that Sheldon Jackson College students receive. (more…)

As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 8,835 people, 3,278 households, and 2,219 families residing in the borough. The population density was 1.2/km² (3.1/mi²). There were 3,650 housing units at an average density of 0.5/km² (1.3/mi²).

The racial makeup of the borough was 68.50% White, 0.32% Black or African American, 18.57% Native American, 3.79% Asian, 0.35% Pacific Islander, 0.94% from other races, and 7.53% from two or more races. 3.28% of the populations were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 1.87% reported speaking Tlingit at home, while 1.62% speak Tagalog, 1.05% Spanish, and 1.00% Ilokano.

There were 3,278 households out of which 36.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.0% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.3% were non-families. 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.15. (more…)

The area was originally settled by the native Tlingit (Kolosh) Indians. Old Sitka was founded in 1799 by Alexandra Baranov, the governor of Russian America. Baranov arrived under the auspices of the Russian-American Company, a “semi-official” colonial trading company chartered by Tsar Paul I. In 1802 a group of Tlingit destroyed the original establishment (an area today called the “Old Harbor”) and massacred most of the Russian inhabitants.

Baranov was forced to levy 10,000 rubles in ransom for the safe return of the surviving settlers. Baranov returned to Sitka in 1804 with a large contingent of Russians and Aleuts aboard the Russian warship Neva. The ship bombarded the natives’ village, forcing the Tlingit’s to retreat into the surrounding forest. Following their victory at the Battle of Sitka the Russians established a permanent settlement in the form of a fort, named “Novo-Arkhangelsk” (or “New Archangel,” a reference to the largest city in the region where Baranov was born). In 1808, with Baranov still governor, Sitka was designated the capital of Russian America.

In 1799, Alexander Baranof built Fort Redoubt St. Archangel Michael six miles north of the present day Sitka (near the ferry terminal). This settlement was destroyed two years later by Tlingit warriors, and in 1804, Baranof returned from Kodiak to re-stake a settlement in the Sitka area. Following the battle at Indian River with the Tlingit, the Russians were able to settle in the former Indian site which is now Sitka, and the Indians evacuated the area until about 1822.

Flying the flags of many nations, explorers and traders followed on the heels of the discoverers, seeking the fur wealth of the sea-otter. The first major development effort, however, was that of Gregor Shelikof, the Russian Merchant Prince. Shelikof organized the Russian American Company and founded the headquarters on Kodiak Island in 1784. Alaska was officially transferred to the United States at Sitka on October 18, 1867. Sitka remained the capital until 1912, when the territorial government was moved to Juneau. (more…)