| Summary: | Alaskan Town Has Virginia Climate: Temperature Seldom Falls much Below Freezing. ALASKAN TOWN HAS VIRGINIA CLIMATE Temperature Seldom Falls Much Below Freezing. Washington.—Ketchikan, Alaska, is going Into the public utility business. The city has arranged to buy up local light, power, water and telephone ' properties. "This is only another indication that Ketchikan Is a , strictly modern city, with very few of the characteristic popularly attributed to Alaskan towns," says the National Geographic society. "Its population of 3.800 would scarcely rate it a metropolitan standing in the states, but in Alaska it Is second only to the capital, Juneau. More Rain Than in Panama. "Situated at the very southernmost tip of the long, Alaskan panhandle that reaches down the coast of British Columbia, Ketchikan Is first port of call for all steamers entering Alaska through the Inland passage. It is perched on a rocky hillside that falls abruptly Into the waters of Tongass Narrows. Around it rise steep, wooded hills, green the year around, for winters In Ketchikan are as mild as in Richmond, Va. The temperature seldom drops much below freezing, and there is practically no snow. The winding sea channel and swift, mountain streams never freeze. But there is rain, plenty of it; over 13 feet a year, which is worse than Panama. Yellow oilskins are the prevailing fashion in all seasons. "The bare, rock foundations of the city provide neither soil nor level space for roads, so the streets are built of wooden planks. The business district, is set on piles, close to the long line, of wharfs. Stairs and winding board roads lead up to the residential part of town. There almost every home has a hit of lawn or garden, probably planted on Imported earth. Is Busy Place. "Business is. good In Ketchikan. It is shipping center and supply base for a large district. The shops and stores are stocked with foods and merchandise fresh from the states. After all, Seattle is only 660 miles away, with regular steamer service winter and summer. Huge salmon canneries are frantically busy during the short season when salmon are running. Often the little river that rushes through Ketchikan, incidentally supplying it with electric power, Is packed solid with pink and silver fish. The Chinook, or king salmon. Is the principal variety of the Ketchikan district. Halibut fishing is another big industry, and there are great cold storage plants where the fish are frozen before they are shipped south. "Although there are several sawmills, lumbering has not been developed on a very large scale. But Ketchikan has all the potential resources for a great pulpwood mdtistry—unlimited, year round water power and almost Inexhaustible timber. The forests, which are mostly spruce and hemlock, mixed with some elder, willow, and cottonwood, are controlled by the United States forest service:'''.
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