| Landscapes and Community - Southeast Alaska | ||||
|
||||
| Sitka Sitka is a city of about 8,700 people nestled beside the forested mountains of Baranof Island in southeast Alaska. The climate is mild with temperatures from the mid-20's to 30's in the winter, and to the 50's and 60's degrees Fahrenheit in the summer. They receive approximately 100 inches of rain and average about 3 feet of snow each year. The primary industry is fishing, seafood canning, and commercial timber. The city was founded in 1799 by the Russian Aleksandr Baranov and was the capital of Russian America for many years. Conflicts arose between the Tlingit and Russians over the fur trade and ended in a battle in 1802. When Alaska was purchased by the United States in 1867, the transfer ceremony was held in Sitka, and it remained the capital of the territory until Juneau replaced it in 1906. The island abounds in wildlife. In and near
the ocean are whales, sea lions, harbor seals, sea otters, and the
nesting rookeries of a variety of seabirds. In the spruce/hemlock
rain forest there are brown bears, Sitka black-tailed deer, and bald
eagles. |
||||