Community Type: 2nd Class City
Current Population: 232
Borough Name: Unorganized
Regional Native Corporation: Doyon, Limited
REAA/School District: Yukon Koyukuk School District
Kaltag is located on the west bank of the Yukon River, 75 miles west of Galena and 335 miles west of Fairbanks.
Kaltag was established in the early 1900s. The site was used as a cemetery for surrounding villages. It was named by the Russians for the Yukon Indian word: Ggaal doh. Translated from Koyukon, it means King Salmon Camp. Three nearby bands of Athabaskans moved to Kaltag in the 1900s. Steamboat traffic related to gold prospecting peaked in 1900.
Kaltag's residents are Koyukon Athabaskans. The Stick Dance Festival draws visitors to Kaltag from many neighboring villages. This one-week festival of potlatches is sponsored by relatives of the recently deceased in appreciation of those who helped during their time of mourning.
Subsistence is an important part of the local economy. Most cash jobs are with the school, local government, BLM emergency fire fighting, commercial fishing or fish processing. 19 residents hold commercial fishing permits. A seafood processing plant is under construction in Kaltag.
The State-owned airstrip provides Kaltag with year-round air service, although the river is the primary transportation mode in the summer. Local trails and the Old Mail Trail to Unalakleet are used during the winter for woodcutting and trap lines. Cargo barges deliver several times a year.
The area experienced a cold, continental climate with extreme temperature differences. Temperatures range from below zero to the low 70s. Average annual precipitation is 16 inches, with 74 inches of snowfall.
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