Information About

Sitka

Quick Facts

Open in The Map Sitka on The Map

Location

57 ° 3' 11.002" N,
135 ° 19' 48" W

Region

Sitka

Elevation

33 ft (10.06 m)

Sitka in Detail.

About

population 3,237, on W coast of Baranof I., 95 mi. SW of Juneau, Alex. Arch.

History

After the destruction in 1802 of "Fort Archangle Gabriel" (see Old Sitka), a new Russian settlement was established in 1804 several miles from the old fort under the direction of A. A. Baranov. This new settlement, built around a fortification on Castle Hill, was named "Mikhailovsk" or Novo Arkhangelsk," meaning "New Archangel," for Saint Michael Archangel. This became the headquarters of the Russian American Company and capital of Russian America. When Russian America was purchased by the United States the town was named Sitka, a Tlingit Indian name, said to mean "by the sea" or "on Shi", the native name for Baranof Island. Sitka was the capital of Alaska until 1900 when territorial administration was transferred to Juneau. the population of the town was 968 in 1867; 1,039 in 1910; 1,175 in 1920; 1,05 6 in 1930; 1,987 in 1939; and 1,985 in 1950. The Sitka post office was established in 1867. A proposal to change the name Sitka to Port Alexander was submitted in June 1977; the proposal was withdrawn by the Bo

Sitka Gallery

Pictures of, from, or near Sitka.

Birds Sighted Here

Sorted by Most Common to Least Common Viewings

Glaucous-winged Gull, Snow Goose, Iceland Gull, Common Murre, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Surfbird, Common Gull, Herring Gull, Pacific Loon, Pine Siskin, Red-necked Phalarope, Canada Goose, Green-winged Teal, American Crow, Common Redpoll, Long-tailed Duck, Dark-eyed Junco, Mallard, White-winged Scoter, Bald Eagle, Common Starling, Black Turnstone, Harlequin Duck, Barrow's Goldeneye, Black-legged Kittiwake, Greater Scaup, Varied Thrush, Greater White-fronted Goose, Common Merganser, Pelagic Cormorant, Surf Scoter, Common Raven, American Robin, Cackling Goose, Northern Shoveler, Rhinoceros Auklet, Bonaparte's Gull, American Wigeon, Northern Pintail, Vaux's Swift, Greater Yellowlegs, Marbled Murrelet, Savannah Sparrow, Trumpeter Swan, Western Sandpiper, Bohemian Waxwing, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Buff-bellied Pipit, Black Oystercatcher, Song Sparrow, Ring-necked Duck, Least Sandpiper, Lesser Scaup, Red-breasted Merganser, Semipalmated Plover, Rock Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Swainson's Thrush, Red Crossbill, Bufflehead, Gray-crowned Rosy Finch, Marbled Godwit, Common Goldeneye, Sandhill Crane, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Townsend's Warbler, Sanderling, Aleutian Cackling Goose, Double-crested Cormorant, Tree Swallow, Dunlin, Wilson's Snipe, Tufted Puffin, Fork-tailed Storm-petrel, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Horned Grebe, Whimbrel, Pacific Wren, Fox Sparrow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Pine Grosbeak, Orange-crowned Warbler, Eurasian Collared Dove, Hermit Thrush, Steller's Jay, Barn Swallow, Wilson's Warbler, Rufous Hummingbird, Common Loon, Great Blue Heron, American Coot, Spotted Sandpiper, Wandering Tattler, Pigeon Guillemot, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Lincoln's Sparrow, Blue-winged Teal, Black Scoter, Ancient Murrelet, Belted Kingfisher, Northern Flicker, American Dipper, Cedar Waxwing, White-crowned Sparrow, Gadwall, Willow Ptarmigan, Red-necked Grebe, Anna's Hummingbird, Lesser Yellowlegs, California Gull, Caspian tern, Lapland Longspur, American Tree Sparrow, Yellow Warbler, Tundra Swan, Wood Duck, Black-bellied Plover, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Short-billed Dowitcher, Long-billed Dowitcher, Thick-billed Murre, Hairy Woodpecker, Peregrine Falcon, Brown Creeper, Red-winged Blackbird, Eurasian Wigeon, Redhead, Hooded Merganser, Pied-billed Grebe, Pacific Golden-Plover, Hudsonian Godwit, Red Knot, Cassin's Auklet, Glaucous Gull, Arctic Tern, Red-throated Loon, Osprey, Golden Eagle, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Downy Woodpecker, Western Wood-Pewee, White-throated Sparrow, Rusty Blackbird, Palm Warbler, Emperor Goose, Cinnamon Teal, Canvasback, Ruddy Duck, Western Grebe, Mourning Dove, Common Cuckoo, American Golden Plover, Killdeer, Ruddy Turnstone, Ruff, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Baird's Sandpiper, Solitary Sandpiper, Horned Puffin, Sabine's Gull, Franklin's Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Western Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Slaty-backed Gull, Yellow-billed Loon, Laysan Albatross, Leach's Storm-petrel, Sooty Shearwater, Northern Harrier, Northern Goshawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Western Screech-Owl, Snowy Owl, Great Horned Owl, Northern Pygmy-owl, Short-eared Owl, Northern Saw-whet Owl, American Kestrel, Merlin, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Tropical Kingbird, Western Kingbird, Warbling Vireo, Brown Shrike, Northern Shrike, Black-billed Magpie, Horned Lark, Violet-green Swallow, Bank Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Mountain Bluebird, Townsend's Solitaire, Dusky Thrush, Brambling, Purple Finch, Snow Bunting, Rustic Bunting, Chipping sparrow, Harris's Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Northern Waterthrush, Black-and-white Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Nashville Warbler, MacGillivray's Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Cape May Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Black-headed Grosbeak, Rock Pigeon

Places Near Sitka
Cities:

The Redoubt, Silver Bay,

Archipelagos:

Apple Islands, Gavanski Islands, Gillmore Islands, Kutchuma Islands, Taigud Islands,

Areas:

Old Sitka Rocks, Sawmill Creek Recreational Area,

Bars:

Alexander Rock, Alice Island, Bare Rock, Black Rock, Channel Rock, Ferebee Rock, Frosty Reef, Harbor Rock, Keene Rock, Liar Rocks, Makhnati Rock, Middle Rock, Mitchell Rock, Nicholson Rocks, Rocky Patch, Rose Rock, Sentinel Rock, Shoal Island, Simpson Rock, Tsaritsa Rock, Usher Rock, Vasilief Bank,

Basins:

Billy Basin,

Bays:

Aleutkina Bay, Bear Cove, Birdsnest Bay, Camp Coogan Bay, Cedar Cove, Crane Cove, Crescent Bay, Deep Inlet, DeGroff Bay, Eastern Bay, Herring Cove, Jamestown Bay, Kanga Bay, Katlian Bay, Kidney Cove, Kliuchevoi Bay, Leesoffskaia Bay, Marsh Bay, Mielkoi Cove, Nakwasina Bay, Nakwasina Sound, No Thorofare Bay, Pirate Cove, Promisla Bay, Redoubt Bay, Samsing Cove, Sandy Cove, Sawmill Cove, Sealing Cove, Silver Bay, Sitka Harbor, Sitka Sound, Starrigavan Bay, Symonds Bay, Thimbleberry Bay, Thomsen Harbor, Three Entrance Bay, Whiting Harbor,

Capes:

Point Woodhouse, Allan Point, Cape Burunof, Creek Point, Dog Point, Eastern Point, Entry Point, Halibut Point, Halleck Point, Hanus Point, Harbor Point, Kresta Point, Krugloi Point, Lisianski Peninsula, Lisianski Point, Olga Point, Peresheek Point, Povorotni Point, Silver Point, Watson Point,

Channels:

Biorka Channel, Eastern Channel, Hayward Strait, Islet Passage, Koka Island Passage, Middle Channel, Nakwasina Passage, Olga Strait, Western Channel,

Cities:

Sitka,

Dams:

Blue Lake Dam, Cascade Creek Dam, Indian River Dam, Sheldon Jackson College Dam,

Fictional Places:

Port Anna,

Hills:

Castle Hill,

Islands:

Aleutski Island, Arguello Island, Ball Islets, Bamdoroshni Island, Bart Island, Battery Island, Beardslee Islands, Beehive Island, Belknap Islands, Berry Island, Bieli Rocks, Big Gavanski Island, Biorka Island, Blackbird Island, Boidarkin Island, Border Rocks, Breast Island, Calligan Island, Calming Island, Cannon Island, Caution Island, Chaichei Islands, Charcoal Island, Cobb Island, Crosswise Islands, Crow Island, Dove Island, The Eckholms, Emgeten Island, Entrance Islet, Error Island, Fankuda Islet, Fassett Island, Fragrant Island, Fritz Island, Fruit Island, Fruit Islands, Gagarin Island, Galankin Island, Glagolm Island, Gold Island, Gold Island, Griffith Island, Guertin Island, Guide Island, Gull Islet, Halleck Island, Hanus Islet, Harbor Island, Harris Island, Ilput Island, Japonski Island, Kamennoi Island, Kanga Island, Kasiana Islands, Katz Island, Kayak Islands, Kirushkin Island, Kita Island, Koka Island, Kolash Island, Korga Island, Krestof Island, Kulichkof Rock, Kutkan Island, Limit Island, Line Island, Little Gavanski Island, Little Wrangell Island, Long Island, Love Island, Luce Island, Makhnati Island, Marshall Island, Martin Island, McClellan Group, Mertz Island, Middle Island, Minett Island, Mogilnoi Island, Morne Island, Naerie Rock, Nepovorotni Rocks, Neva Island, Nevski Island, Obsechki Island, Parker Group, Passage Islands, Peisar Island, Pritchard Rock, Rashimosti Island, Ring Island, Road Island, Rockwell Island, Rockwell Island, Round Island, Sasedni Island, Sheep Island, Siginaka Islands, Signal Island, Smith Island, Sosnovoi Island, Stewart Island, Stewart Island, Surf Rock, Taigud Island, Torsar Island, Turning Island, The Twins, Ulinoi Island, Unishka Island, Viesokoi Rock, Virublennoi Island, Vitskari Island, Volga Island, Whale Island, Wrangell Island, Zenobia Rock,

Lakes:

Bear Lake, Beaver Lake, Cold Storage Lake, Heart Lake, Hogan Lake, Lake Irina, Luna Lake, Medvejie Lake, Redoubt Lake, Salmon Lake, Swan Lake, Thimbleberry Lake,

Mountains:

Arrowhead Peak, Bear Mountain, Camel Mountain, Clarence Kramer Peak, Cross Mountain, Mount Dranishnikof, Eureka Mountain, Harbor Peak, Mount Katlian, Mount Kinkaid, Mount Kliuchef, Krestof Mountain, Mount Longenbaugh, Sugarloaf Mountain, Mount Verstovia,

Mountain Passes:

Ellsworth Cut, Western Anchorage,

Mountain Ranges:

The Pyramids, The Sisters,

Ridges:

Gavan Hill,

Rivers:

Coxe River, Dranishnikov River, Indian River, Katlian River, Vodopad River,

Streams:

Cascade Creek, Granite Creek, Kizhuchia Creek, Peterson Creek, Salmon Creek, Sawmill Creek, Starrigavan Creek,

Routes:

Mount Verstovia Trail, Blue Lake to Glacier Lake Trail, Gavan Hill Trail, Harbor Mountain - Gavan Hill Trail, Herring Cove Trail, Indian River Trail, Redoubt Lake Trail, Sitka Cross Trail, Sitka’s Cross Trail, Starrigavan Fish Viewing Trail,