Ketchikan, AlaskaKetchikan, translated from it's Tlingit Indian name means "Thundering Wings of an Eagle". Its long main street skirts a waterfront built on pilings over the sea. Short side streets and steep wooden stairways lead to residential areas on the bluff above.
Similar to other western towns, Ketchican received a huge boost from of the the many gold rushes that burned through the Northwest in the late 1800's. It was incorporated as a mining town in 1900 and a customs house was set up to make it Alaska's first port of entry. But, much of the gold and copper in the area had been exhausted by World War I, and the mines were shut down.
Fishing is the main industry today. A salmon fishery was established in 1887, and by the 1930's eleven canneries were processing nearly two million salmon a year.
We were docked in Ketchican from 2:30 p.m until 8:30 p.m. Not a full day, but enough time to walk around and take in some of the highlights, none of which we have pictures of.....
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