Gakona (Alaska)

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Gakona
Gakona (Alaska)
Gakona
Gakona
Location in Alaska
Basic data
State : United States
State : Alaska
Borough : Valdez-Cordova Census Area
Coordinates : 62 ° 18 ′  N , 145 ° 16 ′  W Coordinates: 62 ° 18 ′  N , 145 ° 16 ′  W
Time zone : Alaska ( UTC − 9 / −8 )
Residents : 218 (as of 2010)
Population density : 1.4 inhabitants per km 2
Area : 158.9 km 2  (approx. 61 mi 2 ) of
which 158.9 km 2  (approx. 61 mi 2 ) is land
Height : 434 m
Area code : +1 907
FIPS : 02-27420
GNIS ID : 1402448

Gakona is a census-designated place in the Valdez-Cordova Census Area of Alaska . The village is located at the confluence of the Gakona River with the Copper River at the Tok Cut-Off , a few kilometers east of the Richardson Highway . The Wrangell St. Elias National Park borders the municipality to the southeast .

history

Alaskan indigenous people from the Ahtna people lived in the lowlands of the Copper River up to 7000 years ago. Gakona was used as a warehouse for wood and fish for a long time and later became a permanent settlement.

Roadhouse in Gakona

In 1904 Doyle's Roadhouse was built at the intersection of the Valdez-Eagle and Valdez-Fairbanks-ways ( Valdez Trail ). In addition to the rest house, a post office, a stagecoach station and a blacksmith's shop were built in Gakona. Some of these buildings still stand today. Gakona Lodge , built in 1929, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and shows finds from the gold rush times of the late 19th century.

The HAARP facility has been located northeast of Gakona since 1993 , a civil and military research program in which high-frequency electromagnetic waves are used to study the upper atmosphere.

With the Native Village of Gakona there is a state-recognized indigenous group in the village. Almost 20% of the inhabitants of Gakona are indigenous people or their descendants.

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