Anchorage

Port and largest city in Alaska, at the head of Cook Inlet; population (2000 est) 260,300. It is an important centre of administration, communication, and commerce for much of central and western Alaska. Local industries include oil and gas extraction, tourism, and fish canning.

The Anchorage area has been inhabited by aboriginal groups since around 3000 BC. The modern settlement was established in 1915 as the main supply base for the construction of the Alaska railroad to Fairbanks. Incorporated in 1920, its development surged when the railway was completed in 1923 and also during World War II when it became the headquarters for the US Alaska Defense Command. Anchorage was incorporated as a city in 1975. Two nearby US military bases, Fort Richardson and Elmendorf Air Force Base, remain important local employers. The Trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline passes through the city, and is important to the local economy.

The city was severely damaged in 1964 by an earthquake which killed 114 people; it was the most powerful earthquake in North American recorded history (registering 8.6 on the Richter scale). Alaska Pacific University (1959) and a branch of the University of Alaska (1954) are located in Anchorage. The annual Fur Rendezvous winter carnival is held here, and the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race has started here annually since 1973.