 | This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. (November 2023) |
Sitka
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|---|---|
| City and Borough of Sitka | |
 Downtown Sitka in 1984 | |
 Flag  Seal | |
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| Coordinates: 57°03′12″N 135°20′05″W / 57.05333°N 135.33472°W | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Alaska |
| Colonized | 1799, 1804 |
| Incorporated[1] | November 5, 1913 (city) September 24, 1963 (borough) December 2, 1971 (unified municipality) |
| Named for | Tlingit for "People on the outside of Shee" |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Steven Eisenbeisz[2] |
| • State senator | Bert Stedman (R) |
| • State rep. | Rebecca Himschoot (I) |
| Area | |
| 4,815.14 sq mi (12,471.16 km2) | |
| • Land | 2,870.06 sq mi (7,433.42 km2) |
| • Water | 1,945.09 sq mi (5,037.75 km2) |
| • Urban | 2 sq mi (5 km2) |
| Elevation | 26 ft (8 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
| 8,458 | |
• Estimate (2022) | 8,382  |
| • Density | 2.95/sq mi (1.14/km2) |
| • Urban | 7,668 |
| Time zone | UTC-9 (Alaska (AKST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-8 (AKDT) |
| ZIP Code | 99835 |
| Area code | 907 |
| FIPS code | 02-70540 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1414736 |
| Website | www |
Sitka (Tlingit: Sheetʼká; Russian: Ситка) is a unified city-borough in the southeast portion of the U.S. state of Alaska. It was under Russian rule from 1799 to 1867. The city is situated on the west side of Baranof Island and the south half of Chichagof Island in the Alexander Archipelago of the Pacific Ocean (part of the Alaska Panhandle). As of the 2020 census, Sitka had a population of 8,458,[4] making it the fifth-most populated city in the state.
With a consolidated land area of 2,870.3 square miles (7,434 square kilometers) and total area (including water) of 4,811.4 square miles (12,461 km2), Sitka is the largest city by total area in the U.S.
- ^ From November 1867 to February 1873, the earliest American settlers in Sitka established and conducted affairs under a "provisional city government", as Alaskan communities were prohibited from legally incorporating until the U.S. Congress passed legislation allowing them to do so in 1900. Mayors of Sitka under this government included William Sumner Dodge and John Henry Kinkead. See Atwood, Evangeline; DeArmond, Robert N. (1977). Who's Who in Alaskan Politics. Portland, Oregon: Binford & Mort for the Alaska Historical Commission. p. 24.; Wheeler, Keith (1977). "Learning to cope with 'Seward's Icebox'". The Alaskans. Alexandria, Virginia: Time–Life Books. pp. 57–64. ISBN 0-8094-1506-2.
- ^ "City and Borough of Sitka Alaska - Government - City Assembly". www.cityofsitka.com. City of Sitka. Archived from the original on July 31, 2017. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
- ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
- ^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 20, 2023.