Website to link to:http://www.escapetoanchorage.com
Keywords: alaska, wilderness
Title: Anchorage: Gateway to The Last Frontier

In a holding pattern at five thousand feet in a clear blue sky, from the port window the amazing city of Anchorage Anchorage suddenly came into view. Situated on the shore of the Cook Inlet with the rugged Chugach Mountains in the expansive background, it was obvious that our plane was about to land in the heart of an incredible wilderness.

Historically, scientific research shows that the first human occupation of the site was by Eskimos as early as 3,000 BC, and their initial contact with European culture happened in 1778, when Captain James Cook explored and described the area on his third voyage of discovery.

Russian adventurers had established themselves in southern Alaska by 1784, but economic problems in Moscow forced the sale of all their holdings to America in 1867, for a paltry 2 cents per acre. The transaction became known as "Seward's Folly", and gold mining activity throughout the area sparked a flood of new inhabitants, starting in 1868.

In 1915, US President Wilson authorized funds for the construction of the Alaska Railroad, and a "Tent City" immediately sprang up in the wilderness at Anchorage, in the midst of grizzly bears, moose, elk and other wildlife.

The arrival of US troops and military activity in the late 1930's and early 1940's marked a period of incredible expansion for Anchorage, as the threat of a Japanese invasion prompted an unprecedented expansion of military personnel and aircraft. After World War II, the tensions of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and America ensured the tumultuous growth of Anchorage, to the point where 275,000 people now live there; nearly half of the total population of Alaska.

Alaska attained statehood in 1959, but the decade of the 1960's was dominated by a disastrous event that happened on March 27, 1964. Dubbed "The Big One" by residents, the largest earthquake ever recorded in North America (8.6 on the Richter scale) was epicentered only 80 miles from Anchorage, and damage in the City ran to hundreds of millions of dollars.

In 1968, oil was discovered on the Arctic Slope and in 1972 Congress authorized construction of a pipeline, which quadrupled prices in Anchorage in less than three years. Literally overnight, the City was bursting at the seams and new construction spread like wildfire. The people also devoted attention to culture and the arts, as the Performing Arts Center , the Egan Civic Center and The Sullivan Arena were built.

In 2002, Anchorage was named an "All-America City" by the National Civic League.

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