Anchorage is the largest city in South Central Alaska and lies on a narrow strip of coastal lowland at the head of the Cook Inlet approximately 300 kilometres from the Gulf of Alaska. The city is home to nearly 300,000 residents, roughly 40% of the state’s population, and is a unique urban environment set in the heart of the spectacular Alaskan wilderness. Anchorage nestles beneath the Chugach Mountains, which form an eastern boundary to the city, and overlooks the waters of the Cook Inlet in the southern Turnagain Arm, a fjord that has some of the world's highest tides, and the northern Knik Arm. These two tidal inlets consist mostly of treacherous mudflats which are formed from sticky alluvial deposits – so visitors beware!! The city is surrounded by six mountain ranges including those of the Chugach, Kenai, Talkeetna, Tordrillo, Aleutian and the Alaska Mountain Range, of which Mount McKinley forms part. Mount McKinley, or Denali, rises to 6,196 metres and is recognised as the highest mountain in North America. Denali, or the ‘High One’, is located approximately 200 kilometres north of Anchorage, and can be seen from the city on a clear day. The mountain dominates the Denali National Park and Preserve and has become one of Alaska’s major tourist destinations, with visitors drawn for the wildlife viewing, backpacking and mountaineering. Within 80 kilometres of Anchorage, 60 of the 100,000 glaciers in Alaska can be found with Portage Glacier being the most popular due to its location, as it lies just 70 kilometres south of the city.
The location where Anchorage now stands was, in 1914, chosen as a railway construction site and named Ship Creek Landing. The original site quickly grew to become a tent city and the town of Anchorage was incorporated on the 23rd November 1920. Today Anchorage has continued to grow and has become a flourishing modern metropolis providing local and visitors alike with big-city amenities, a lively arts and culture scene, streets lined with small cafes and quality restaurants, specialty shops and galleries which highlight Alaska’s finest artists, museums and theatres. Local attractions include the Oscar Anderson Home which is the oldest house in Anchorage and was constructed in 1915, the Alaska Zoo which focuses on the unique wildlife of the Arctic, and several interesting museums and galleries. The museums include the Alaska Native Heritage Centre where visitors can develop their understanding of Alaska’s first people the Aleut, Yupik and Tlingit tribes, the unusual Alaska State Trooper Museum, and the Anchorage Museum of History and Art which exhibits life-sized dioramas that trace 10,000 years of human activity in Alaska. Anchorage is well worth exploring, and to soak up some local colour why not visit the Anchorage Market and Festival which is held every week during the summer months, and the Anchorage Fur Rendezvous Festival and the Iditarod during the winter months. During this festival visitors can watch the ‘Running of the Reindeer’ and following the two week Fur Rendezvous Festival, witness the ceremonial start to the almost 1,800 kilometre Iditarod Trail Dog Sled Race which is run by 30 to 40 teams!! The Iditarod Dog Sled Race is recognised as the most popular winter event in Alaska.
Offering unsurpassed opportunities for outrageous downhill skiing in any one of Anchorage’s three top ski resorts, the Hilltop Ski Area, the Arctic Valley and the Alyeska Resort, plus endless chances of backcountry skiing in the untouched powder of the many easily accessible locations, Alaska has so much to offer the outdoor enthusiast it hard to know where to start. Anchorage is such a great place to fish, hunt, raft, climb or camp, and this can all be experienced just a few kilometres away in the Chugach State Park which is the third largest state park in the U.S. and has been listed as one of the top ten parks in the country.
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