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Totem & Clan House @ Totem Bight State History
Park |
Tourists Kayaking in Front of Creek Street |
downtown |
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As the “Gateway to Alaska”, Ketchikan is the state’s
southernmost city. Without rail or road access, all
supplies, visitors and residents either come by sea or
air. Much of the city is built on piles over the water
or perched on the hillside with wooden ramps for
streets. Ketchikan has many names, the Tlingit word
means “thundering wings of an eagle” but it’s also known
as the salmon capital of the world and “the wettest town
on the North American continent,” averaging 162 inches
(410 centimetres) of rainfall a year!
www.visit-ketchikan.com
Attractions:
- Ketchikan boasts the largest collection of totem poles
in the world at several sites. Totem Bight, 10 miles (16
km) north of the city, has poles in a park-like setting
along with a replica Tlingit community house. Saxman
Village, 3 miles south of town, has 22 poles and working
Native artisans. The Totem Cultural Heritage Center,
located in town, has the largest collection of original,
unaltered poles in Alaska and offers demonstrations and
classes in various Native art forms.
- Creek Street is the town’s famous – or infamous –
former red-light district with some restored houses,
including Dolly’s Historic Museum, built on pilings over
Ketchikan Creek. Nearby is the Great Alaskan Lumberjack
Show.
- The Southeast Alaska Discovery Center provides
information, displays and audiovisual programs about the
south Tongass National Forest and southeast Alaska.
- A flight seeing trip or day cruise to Misty Fjords
National Monument is a popular shore side excursion that
features glaciers, waterfalls, lakes and sheer granite
cliffs rising thousands of feet above the narrow fjords.
- Fishing charters are easily arranged for whatever
species of salmon is in season.
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