Ketchikan, Alaska is a located in southeast Alaska and is known as Alaska’s First City or Gateway City because it’s the first city of notable size when anyone comes to Alaska from the lower 48 states. It’s located on an island called Revillagigedo Island. (Sounds like Revilla-gi-GAY-doe) It’s name is often shortened to just Revilla Island.
Ketchikan is also known as the Salmon Capital of the World and Rain Capital of Alaska. It’s population is approx. 8000.
It’s located in a mountainous rain forest and is very beautiful. Ketchikan averages 140 inches of rain a year with mostly moderate temperatures. Most people think of Alaska as being very cold and snowy. A great deal of Alaska is that way but in the southeast part of the state we’re known as being the rainiest city in America. The temperatures in the summer are usually in the 60′s or 70′s and in the winter it mostly stays in the 30′s. We do have snow but far less than the northern part of Alaska.

Since we live on an island, visitors have to come here either by airplane or boat. There are no trains to or on our island and no bridges from other islands to ours. Our airport is tiny but busy with only one airline-Alaska Airlines. It’s on a neighboring island known as Gravina Island. A person has to take a short ferry ride to and from the airport. The ride only takes about 3 minutes.
Another very popular means of transportation are the float planes. Ketchikan is one the world’s busiest float plane harbors. Since Ketchikan is the largest city of any size for miles and miles around, the float planes run people, mail and other supplies from Ketchikan to all the outlying communities, fishing lodges, logging camps and people who live in the bush (very remote areas). The float planes also act as a taxi taking people to and from places that couldn’t be reached by any other means. They’re used for medical purposes too, and so are helicopters.

Our town has many great locally owned restaurants but only one fast food place which is McDonald’s. We have very few stores which would be recognized by visitors from the lower 48. They are Walmart, Safeway, Godfather’s Pizza, Radio Shack and NAPPA Auto Parts. Lots of people do their shopping online or wait until they travel to shop.

Gardening is difficult here because of all the rain and lack of sunshine. It rains an average of 300 days out of the year but just because it’s not raining doesn’t mean we see the sun shining. Most days are gray and overcast. People who live in Ketchikan really, really appreciate the sunshine. Our town really hustles and bustles on sunny days! Everyone wants to be outside soaking it up!
Because it rains so much, the playgrounds in the schools are often times covered so the children can go outside to play even in the rain.
Flat Stanley visited a unique elementary school where the school is built on pilings which are big heavy posts, and the playground is under the school!
Because our island is so mountainous and rocky, many homes are built on pilings as well but I don’t know of any that have a playground under them. Also, many neighborhoods are built going up the side of a steep hill. There are stairs and boardwalks that lead to the houses. These stairways are called “stair streets”. Until December of last year we lived on a stair street. We had 6 flights of stairs to climb to get to our house. All the houses in the neighborhood are connected by boardwalks which are like wooden sidewalks on pilings.

We have many beautiful beaches here on our island but they’re not like the ones most people envision when they think of a beach. Our sand is very coarse and rocky. There are tons of logs that float up on the beach that have fallen down along the shore or were cut down in the forest.
It’s best to wear shoes on our beaches but we do enjoy them a great deal!

There are a lot of fascinating animals on and around our island. Ketchikan Creek which runs through town often has seals during the salmon spawning season. There are lots of seagulls and other birds too but my favorite are the majestic bald eagles soaring overhead. The bald eagle is our National bird. It’s the one on the back of a quarter and our dollar bills. Since we live so close to the ocean, many times you can see eagles eating salmon or occasionally flying overhead with a salmon in its clutches. One time two eagles that were fighting over a fish flew right into a woman’s living room while she was napping on the couch! They left the fish in her living room and flew back out the large window they broke. They must have been terribly embarrassed, don’t you think?
We have mountain goats, deer, elk, wolves, river otters, ermine, marten, chipmunks, grouse, hummingbirds, and porcupines to name just a few.
We also have a lot of black bears. They even come right into town foraging for food if they’re hungry enough. They’re a problem some times because they love to get into people’s trash cans,cars and boats looking for goodies. Their favorite thing to eat is salmon and berries but in the years when those are more scarce they really annoy the townsfolk.
Although it’s rare, occasionally there are brown bears on our island. They’re bigger and more dangerous than the black bears. But brown, black, green or purple, who wants to run into a bear? So if you come here, keep your eyes open!
If you watch the ocean long enough you will certainly be able to see some very lovely sights that you will remember for a long time. There are humpback and killer whales (orcas) that frolic and feed in the water, as well as seals and sea lions. The seals try to keep their distance from the killer whales because if they’re not very careful they’ll turn into a nice meal! Yikes!
Not long ago we got to watch the amazing sight of watching humpback whales bubble feeding right from our kitchen window! Bubble feeding is when the whales find a school of fish, (herring) swim beneath it and then they trap herring by blowing big rings or clouds of bubbles that the herring can’t swim out of, then the whales go up real fast and scoop them up in their enormous mouths. They don’t have teeth like the killer whales do. Humpback whales have baleen instead of teeth which acts like a strainer. They spit the water out and collect the yummy fish in their mouths then down the hatch! They can feed this way either alone or in large groups. It takes a LOT of food to feed the whales.

“In June 2004, my mother and I put her two kayaks on top of the camper van, and set out on the long drive from Seattle to Prince Rupert. From there we caught the ferry to Ketchikan, and spent three weeks kayaking around Revillagigedo Island, which I still have no idea how to pronounce. Despite the fact that all the weather statistics show the area to be a rainforest, almost every day of the trip was gorgeously sunny, and often hot.”READ THE REST HERE.

The Salmon Capital of the World: The story of Ketchikan

John D. Murphy, 71, died Dec. 19 in Ketchikan. He and his wife, Brenda, started Ketchikan Welding in 1969, he took over Ketchikan Welding Works in 1973 and then established Alaska Ship and Drydock in 1987. He was a master machinist, welder and fabricator.

Business and Community Links

Ketchikan Online
A compendium of business sites…

Ketchikan Visitors Bureau
Welcome to our town…

Greater Ketchikan Chamber of
Commerce
Invites you to learn more about…

Ketchikan Gateway
Borough
Local government, services, news, economic development…

City of Ketchikan or Other Links
Local government, monthly calendar…

State of
Alaska Data
Department of Commerce…

Ketchikan
Daily News
Published Monday through Saturday…

The Local
Paper
Free weekly paper…

Sitnews
Storiesand opinions online…

KRBD
105.3 FM,Community radio for Southern Southeast…

KTKN
930 AM,Serving Ketchikan, Prince of Wales and Wrangell…

KFMJ
99.9 FM, Alaska’s home of good-time oldies…

Education and Lifestyle

Ketchikan Gateway Borough School District
“Gateway to educational excellence”…

University of Alaska Southeast
“Learn, Engage, Change” at the Ketchikan campus…

First City Libraries
is a consortium including…

Alaska Native Culture
Heritage of the First Alaskans…

Transportation

Alaska Marine HighwayorFerry Reservations
Ferry schedules, vessels, ports…

Ketchikan Gateway Borough Transit System
Bus routes and fares…

Alaska Airlines
Ferry service on the half hour daily to the airport…

Charter Flights
Ten local companies serving southern southeast Alaska…

Inter-Island Ferry
Cruise to intimate island destinations…

Business and Community Links

Ketchikan Parks and Recreation
Leisure and recreational activities for…

Community Groups
Guide to over 25 organizations outside the school day…

Ketchikan Log Rolling Team
Alaska State Champions…

Medical Facilities

Ketchikan General Hospital
Prides itself on being at the forefront of…

Health Care Professionals
Listing of 12 independent…

Ketchikan Indian Community Tribal Health Clinic
907.228.4900

The Arts

Ketchikan Area Arts and Humanities
Council
One of the top 10 small arts communities in the nation…

First City Players
Ketchikan’s community theatre program presents approximately…

Ketchikan Theatre Ballet
Five instructors work with hundreds of students each year…

Callto Artists
Bringing opportunities both local and abroad…..

Capitan Joe’s Universal health repair.

Don’t try this at home, because the proper way to remove a treble hook, is to cut the other two hooks off, then snatch the remaining hook out only if the barb is not buried. If the barb is buried, push it through first, cut off the barb and simply slide the hook out out. Any boyscout knows that, but this way makes a much cooler video.