(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Ketchikan Alaska is located in the Ketchikan Gateway Borough and is the fifth most populous city in Alaska. As of 2004, there were 8,044 people in the City.

Geography
Ketchikan is located in Southeast Alaska on Revillagigedo Island, 90 miles (145 km) north of Prince Rupert, British Columbia and 235 miles (378 km) south of Juneau, Alaska.

History
Ketchikan is named after Ketchikan Creek, which flows through the town. Ketchikan comes from the Tlingit name for the creek, Kitschk-hin, the meaning of which is unclear, it may mean "the river belonging to Kitschk." Other accounts claim it means "Thundering Wings of an Eagle."

Climate
Average annual rainfall is 152 inches (3861 mm) and the annual average snowfall is 37 inches (940 mm).

The average high temperature in July is 57 degrees Fahrenheit (14 degrees Celsius), and the average high temperature in January is 33 degrees Fahrenheit (0.5 degrees Celsius).

Transportation
Ketchikan serves as a both an air and marine transportation hub for southern Southeast Alaska.

The Ketchikan International Airport both serves as a gateway for Alaska Airlines jet service from Seattle and a bush carrier and charter aircraft hub for destinations like Hyder, Metlakatla, Alaska, and Prince of Wales Island. Ketchikan also serves as the base for L.A.B. Flying Service's regular flights to Klawock.

Ketchikan receives service to two separate ferry lines. Ketchikan sits on the Alaska Marine Highway's Inside Passage route and sees a large number of ships northbound (to the rest of Alaska) and southbound (to Prince Rupert, British Columbia — where a connection can be made to the BC Ferries system — and Bellingham, Washington). Ketchikan also sees regular day service from the Alaska Marine Highway vessel M/V Lituya, a day boat that shuttles between Ketchikan and Metlakatla, its homeport.

The Inter-Island Ferry Authority serves Ketchikan daily (twice daily in summer) with the day boat M/V Prince of Wales from its homeport in Hollis on Prince of Wales Island. Ketchikan often serves as a connection between the Prince of Wales and mainline Alaska Marine Highway vessels that run to the rest of Southeast Alaska.

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