Ketchikan Alaska, the First City on the Inside Passage of Southeast Alaska welcomes you. This site provides information about local Travel, Lodging, Dining, Adventure, Shopping, Fishing, Charters, Tours, Native Culture, History, Wildlife, Weather, Attractions, Jobs, Education, Real Estate, and More. Locally owned and operated, KetchikanAlaska.Com is bringing the world to Southeast Alaska, one click at a time.
Facts at a Glance:
The population of Ketchikan is approximately 7,845 (2002). The approximate number of families is 3,360 (1990).The amount of land area in Ketchikan is 7.899 sq. kilometers. The amount of land area in Ketchikan is 3.4 sq. miles. The amount of surface water is 2.07 sq kilometers. Ketchikan is positioned 55.35 degrees north of the equator and 131.65 degrees west of the prime meridian.

Ketchikan is five hundred miles north of Seattle, is Alaska's "first city," and as the first port of call for many cruise ships, its historic downtown, wedged between water and forested mountains, becomes saturated in summer with elderly tourists. Beyond the souvenir shopping it can be a delight, built into steep hills and partly propped on wooden pilings, with boardwalks, wooden staircases and totem poles dotted throughout. By 1886, white settlers had opened the first of dozens of canneries in what was soon to be the "salmon capital of the world."
Forests of cedar, hemlock and spruce, which had provided timber for Tlingit homes and totems, also fed the town's sawmills. The timber and fishing industries have declined, and with the closure of the antiquated pulp mill in 1997 the town's economy is in a state of flux. The state's fourth largest city is a strong contender for the nation's wettest; annual precipitation averages 165 inches. The tourist board shrugs it off as "liquid sunshine" and, indeed, Ketchikan's perennial drizzle and sporadic showers won't spoil your visit.

Marine and freshwater sport fishing opportunities abound. Southeast Alaska is a place where the sport angler can stay busy year around fishing for wild trout, all five species of Pacific salmon, halibut, and a variety of other species. Roadside salmon fishing opportunities exist near most towns and cities.