Information About

Ketchikan

Quick Facts

Open in The Map Ketchikan on The Map

Location

55 ° 20' 31.999" N,
131 ° 38' 46" W

Region

Ketchikan Gateway

Elevation

20 ft (6.1 m)

Ketchikan in Detail.

Getting There


About

population 6,483, on S coast of Revillagigedo I., on N shore of Tongass Narrows, Alex. Arch.

Ketchikan is a small remote city in Southeast Alaska and a popular port for cruise ships and fishing vessels. It's known for places like Creek Street, and Misty Fjords as well as its many totem poles and Tlingit art.

Many people coming to Ketchikan will take a Misty Fjords flightseeing tour. Or spend the day browsing the gift shops. If you have more time fishing and exploring the area are also popular activities.


History

Industrial city and port of entry, established as a fishing town when a cannery was built in 1887. The town became a supply center during the gold rush period in the late 1890's. Its population was 40 in 1890; 1,613 in 1910; 2,458 in 1920; 3,796 in 1930; 4,695 in 1939; and 5,305 in 1950. The Ketchikan post office was established in 1892. The city was named after Ketchikan Creek.

Ketchikan Gallery

Pictures of, from, or near Ketchikan.

Birds Sighted Here

Sorted by Most Common to Least Common Viewings

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

Places Near Ketchikan
Archipelagos:

Blank Islands, Tatoosh Islands,

Areas:

Cutter Rocks, Tatoosh Rocks, Upper Nickeyville,

Bars:

Bailey Rock, Bolles Ledge, California Rock, Fillmore Rock, Idaho Rock, Kelp Rocks, Lewis Reef, Lively Rock, Martin Rock, Morse Rock, Ohio Rock, Pennock Reef, Phocena Rocks, Pond Reef, Potter Rock, Rosa Reef, Spire Island Reef, Walden Rocks,

Bays:

Port Chester, Annette Bay, Bald Headed Cove, Black Sand Cove, Blank Inlet, Bostwick Inlet, California Cove, Clam Cove, Coon Cove, Dall Bay, George Inlet, Grant Cove, Hassler Harbor, Hemlock Bay, Herring Bay, Knudson Cove, Leask Cove, Mud Bay, Nadzaheen Cove, Nehenta Bay, Nelson Cove, Open Bay (not official), Phocana Bay, Phocena Bay, Radenbough Cove, Refuge Cove, Seal Cove, Sylburn Harbor, Totem Bight, Tsa Cove, Vallenar Bay, Ward Cove, Whisky Cove,

Beaches:

Black Sand Beach,

Capes:

Point Higgins, Bar Point, Bat Point, Betton Point, Blank Point, Bostwick Point, California Head, Carroll Point, Charcoal Point, Copper Point, Dall Head, Driest Point, Gravina Point, Green Point, Inlet Point, Lewis Point, Mountain Point, Peninsula Point, Pilot Point, Potter Point, Race Point, Reef Point, Rock Point, Survey Point, Tatoosh Point, Vallenar Point, Village Point, Walden Point,

Channels:

Clover Passage, Nichols Passage, Tongass Narrow, Tongass Narrows, Tongass Narrows,

Cities:

Ketchikan, Metlakatla, Saxman,

Dams:

Carlanna Lake Dam, Ketchikan Debris Control Dam, Ketchikan Diversion Dam, Ketchikan Lakes Dam, Lake Connell Dam, Lower Silvis Lake Dam, North Fawn Lake Dam, Saxman Dam, Saxman Lower Reservoir Dam, South Fawn Lake Dam, Upper Silvis Lake Dam, Whitman Lake Dam,

Fictional Places:

Elmo,

Hills:

Brush Hill, Cove Mountain, Judy Hill, Level Mountain, Trout Hill,

Islands:

Back Island, Betton Island, Bull Island, Channel Island, Clover Island, Coon Island, Cynthia Island, Danger Island, East Clump, East Island, Granite Island, Grant Island, Gravina Island, Gravina Islands, Gull Island, Hemlock Island, Hub Rock, Hump Island, Joe Island, Murdo Island, Pennock Island, Pup Island, Scrub Island, Seal Cove Rocks, Spire Island, Vallenar Rock, Warburton Island,

Lakes:

Blue Lake, Bostwick Lake, Carlanna Lake, Connell Lake, Downdraft Lake, Lake Emery Tobin, Fawn Lake, Fawn Lake, Fawn Lake, Granite Basin, Harriet Hunt Lake, Hassler Lake, Helen Todd Lake, Hussler Lake, Leask Lake, Lower and Upper Ketchikan Lakes, Lower Ketchikan Lake, Lower Silvis Lake, Lower Wolf Lake, Mahoney Lake, Melanson Lake, Lake Perseverance, Salt Lagoon, Scout Lake, Talbot Lake, Trout Lake, Upper Ketchikan Lake, Upper Mahoney Lake, Upper Silvis Lake, Upper Wolf Lake, Ward Lake, Whitman Lake,

Mountains:

Achilles Mountain, Anvil Mountain, Betton Head, Bingo Mountain, Brown Mountain, Buck Mountain, Bush Mountain, Chapin Peak, Chenango Mountain, Cone Mountain, Curve Mountain, Deer Mountain, Deer Mountains, Diana Mountain, Doe Mountain, Dude Mountain, Fawn Mountain, Fish Mountain, Flat Mountain, High Mountain, House Mountain, Irvin Thompson Mountain, Janesville Mountain, John Mountain, Juno Mountain, Leadville Mountain, Mahoney Mountain, Minerva Mountain, Nipple Mountain, Northbird, Nubbins Mountain, Plain Mountain, Pop Mountain, Punch Hill, The Puppets, Red Mountain, Round Mountain, Roy Jones Mountain, Signal Mountain, Smooth Mountain, Spine Mountain, Spot Mountain, Sullivan Mountain, Thornton Mountain, Tired Mountain, Twin Peaks, Ward Mountain,

Parks:

Black Sands Beach State Marine Park, Dall Bay State Marine Park, Totem Bight State Historical Park,

Mountain Ranges:

California Ridge,

Ridges:

Dall Ridge, Dall Ridge, Slide Ridge,

Rivers:

White River,

Streams:

Beaver Falls Creek, Bostwick Creek, Carlanna Creek, First Waterfall Creek, Government Creek, Hoadley Creek, Ketchikan Creek, Leask Creek, Lunch Creek, Perseverance Creek, Second Waterfall Creek, Signal Creek, Trollers Creek, Vallenar Creek, Walsh Creek, Ward Creek, Whipple Creek, Whitman Creek,

Routes:

Carlanna Lake Trail, Coast Guard Beach Trail, Connell Lake Trail, Deer Mountain National Recreation Trail, Dude Mountain Trail, Mahoney Mountain Spur, Minerva Mountain Trail, Perseverance Trail, Silvis Lakes Trail, Silvis Lakes Traverse, Ward Lake Trail,

Cities:

Beaver Falls, Carlanna, Clover Pass, Dairy, Herring Cove, Mountain Point, Mud Bay, Peninsula Point, Pennock Island, Port Higgins, Refuge Cove, Shoreline Drive, Ward Cove,

Waterfalls:

Beaver Falls,