Wrangell, Alaska

Wrangell, Alaska
Ḵaachx̱ana.áakʼw
View of the city in 2016
Shakes Glacier in the Stikine-LeConte Wilderness
Fishing boat docked at harbor
Post Office and Customs House
Ferry M/V Stikine arriving
Flag of Wrangell, Alaska
Official seal of Wrangell, Alaska
Wrangell, Alaska is located in Alaska
Wrangell, Alaska
Wrangell, Alaska
Location of Wrangell within Alaska
Wrangell, Alaska is located in North America
Wrangell, Alaska
Wrangell, Alaska
Wrangell, Alaska (North America)
Coordinates: 56°23′06″N 132°05′11″W / 56.38500°N 132.08639°W / 56.38500; -132.08639
Country United States
State Alaska
Founded1834 (1834)
English1839
American1867
Incorporated1903 (as a city); May 30, 2008 (as a borough)
Named forFerdinand von Wrangel
Government
 • MayorPatricia Gilbert
Area
 • Unified Borough3,476.61 sq mi (9,004.37 km2)
 • Land2,555.99 sq mi (6,620.00 km2)
 • Water920.61 sq mi (2,384.38 km2)
 • Urban
71 sq mi (180 km2)
Elevation
69 ft (21 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Unified Borough2,070
 • Density0.83/sq mi (0.32/km2)
Time zoneUTC-9 (AKST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-8 (AKDT)
ZIP code
99929
Area code907
FIPS codes02-275, 02-86380
GNIS feature IDs1415843, 2418874
Websitewrangell.com

Wrangell[2] (Tlingit: Ḵaachx̱ana.áakʼw, Russian: Врангель, romanizedVrangel') is a borough in Alaska, United States. As of the 2020 census the population was 2,127,[3] down from 2,369 in 2010.[4]

Incorporated as a Unified Home Rule Borough[2] on May 30, 2008, Wrangell was previously a city in the Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area,[2] which was afterwards renamed the Petersburg Census Area (the Petersburg Borough was formed from part of this census area). Its Tlingit name is Ḵaachx̱ana.áakʼw ("Ḵaachx̱ans Little Lake" with áa-kʼw 'lake-diminutive'). The Tlingit people living in the Wrangell area, who were there centuries before Europeans, call themselves the Shtaxʼhéen Ḵwáan after the nearby Stikine River. Alternately they use the autonym Shxʼát Ḵwáan, where the meaning of shxʼát is unknown.

The central (urban) part of Wrangell is located at 56°28′15″N 132°22′36″W / 56.47083°N 132.37667°W / 56.47083; -132.37667, in the northwest corner of Wrangell Island. The borough also encompasses the entire eastern half of the former Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area, in addition to the area around Meyers Chuck, which was formerly in the Prince of Wales-Outer Ketchikan Census Area. It includes Thoms Place, a former census-designated place on Wrangell Island.[5]

  1. ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference DCRA was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "2020 Census Data - Cities and Census Designated Places" (Web). State of Alaska, Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  4. ^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on October 19, 2011. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
  5. ^ "Map: Alaska Department of Labor" (PDF). Labor.alaska.gov. Retrieved June 25, 2022.