GetWiki

{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}

factoids

Alaska Senate>State senatorClick Bishop (Republican Party (United States)>R)Alaska House of Representatives>State rep.| leader_name2 = Mike Cronk (R)Municipal corporation>IncorporatedJUNEAU>PUBLISHER=ALASKA MUNICIPAL LEAGUE/ALASKA DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT>DATE=JANUARY 1996, 58, | area_magnitude = PUBLISHER=UNITED STATES CENSUS BUREAU, October 29, 2021, | area_total_km2 = 63.47| area_land_km2 = 45.72| area_water_km2 = 17.75| area_total_sq_mi = 24.51| area_land_sq_mi = 17.65| area_water_sq_mi = 6.852020 United States Census>2020| population_footnotes = | population_total = 472| population_density_sq_mi = 26.74Alaska Time Zone>Alaska (AKST)| utc_offset = -9| timezone_DST = AKDT| utc_offset_DST = -8| elevation_footnotes = | elevation_m = 39| elevation_ft = 12864261568region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}| postal_code_type = ZIP code| postal_code = 99741Area code 907>907North American Numbering Plan>Area codeFederal Information Processing Standard>FIPS code| blank_info = 02-27530Geographic Names Information System>GNIS feature ID1402457}}| website =weblink| footnotes = | pop_est_as_of = | pop_est_footnotes = | population_est = | unit_pref = Imperial| population_density_km2 = 10.32| native_name_lang = Denaakk'e Athabascan}}Galena ({{IPAc-en|ɡ|ə|ˈ|l|iː|n|ə}}) (Notaalee Denh in Koyukon) is a city in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. At the 2020 census the population was 472, slightly up from 470 in 2010.WEB,weblink 2020 Census Data - Cities and Census Designated Places, Web, State of Alaska, Department of Labor and Workforce Development, October 31, 2021, Galena was established in 1918, and a military airfield was built adjacent to the city during World War II. The city was incorporated in 1971.

History

Prehistory and early history

The Koyukon Athabascans had seasonal camps in the area and moved as the wild game migrated. In the summer many families floated on rafts to the Yukon River to fish for salmon. There were 12 summer fish camps located on the Yukon River between the Koyukuk River and the Nowitna River. Galena was established in 1920 near an Athabascan fish camp called Henry's Point. It became a supply and point for nearby lead ore mines that opened in 1918 and 1919, and from which Galena takes its name.state.ak.us

Military air base

In 1941 and 1942, during World War II, a military air field was built adjacent to the civilian airport, and the two facilities shared the runway and flight line facilities. This air field was designated Galena Air Force Station shortly after the split of the United States Air Force from the United States Army, which occurred as a result of the National Security Act of 1947. During the 1950s, the construction of additional military facilities at Galena and the nearby Campion Air Force Station, in support of Galena's mission as a forward operating base under the auspices of the 5072nd Air Base Group, headquartered at Elmendorf Air Force Base, near Anchorage, provided improvements to the airport and the local infrastructure, causing economic growth for the area.{{citation needed|date=October 2013}}Following the end of the Cold War, in 1993, operation of Galena Air Force Station was turned over to a contractor, and all military personnel were withdrawn with only small groups of active personnel visiting the base on an as-needed basis. The former military facility remains in use effectively as a forward operating location that is used{{citation needed|date=October 2013}} occasionally by the military. This use came under scrutiny by the Base Realignment and Closure Committee in the late 2000sWEB,weblink BRAC panel questions Galena status, and was officially closed October 1, 2010. The Air Force retains responsibility for toxin cleanup in the area and engineers from Eielson Air Force Base in Fairbanks still visit the site on occasion.{{citation needed|date=October 2013}} The base is now totally controlled by the City of Galena, the Galena School District and the Alaska Department of Transportation. The Alaska Wing of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) was pursuing{{when|date=October 2013}} retaining one of the F-16 fighter hangars as a CAP facility for the CAP Wing in Galena, the "Yukon Squadron".{{citation needed|date=December 2012}}

Modern era

(File:Galena (13883832214).jpg|thumb|A home in Galena that was rebuilt after the flood of 2013)The City of Galena gained notoriety in 2011 when it was noted in media reports as being the US community which received the most benefits from lobbying efforts. The town evaded bankruptcy by aggressively lobbying for state and federal funds for the GILA boarding school in the town, which produced funds that turned the city's finances around.{{citation needed|date=October 2013}}In May 2013, Galena suffered a catastrophic flood when the spring breakup on the Yukon River caused an ice jam approximately 20 miles downstream, backing up the river and affecting 90% of homes in the city. This flood was on a scale never seen before by Galena residents. In the part of town closest to the river, houses were submerged to the roofs in water, and properties on higher ground suffered damage as well. Most of the residents were able to evacuate in thanks to the efforts of the local airlines, volunteer missionary pilots, and the Alaska National Guard. Some of the residents chose to stay behind and took refuge in the few last remaining dry parts of town. The flood dike the Air Force built around both the runway and the GILA boarding school managed to keep the river from reaching them.NEWS

Geography and climate

Galena is located at {{Coord|64|44|26|N|156|53|8|W|type:city}} (64.740643, -156.885462).WEB,weblink United States Census Bureau, April 23, 2011, February 12, 2011, US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990, Galena is located on the north bank of the Yukon River, {{convert|45|mi|km|abbr=on}} east of Nulato. The Innoko National Wildlife Refuge is southwest of Galena.According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of {{convert|24.0|sqmi|km2}}, of which, {{convert|17.9|sqmi|km2}} of it is land and {{convert|6.1|sqmi|km2}} of it (25.41%) is water.Galena is inaccessible by road to other parts of Alaska. Residents rely on river cargo in the brief summer season for the bulk of their needs, and planes, boats, or snowmachines to access the outside world.{{Weather box|single line=yesMean monthly maxima and minima (i.e. the highest and lowest temperature readings during an entire month or year) calculated based on data at said location from 1991 to 2020.}} extremes 1942–present{{efn|Temperature extremes from 1942 to 1993 are recorded by WRCC,WEB,weblink Maximum of Maximum Temperature (Degrees Fahrenheit), May 18, 2023, Western Regional Climate Center,weblink May 18, 2023, WEB,weblink Minimum of Minimum Temperature (Degrees Fahrenheit), May 18, 2023, Western Regional Climate Center,weblink May 18, 2023, WEB,weblink GALENA AP, ALASKA (503215), May 18, 2023, Western Regional Climate Center,weblink May 18, 2023, and extreme values from 1996 to the present are recorded by NOAA.}})|Jan record high F = 43|Feb record high F = 48|Mar record high F = 50|Apr record high F = 64|May record high F = 85|Jun record high F = 92|Jul record high F = 91|Aug record high F = 87|Sep record high F = 75|Oct record high F = 59|Nov record high F = 45|Dec record high F = 44|year record high F = 92|Jan avg record high F =27.3|Feb avg record high F =32.9|Mar avg record high F =36.5|Apr avg record high F =53.1|May avg record high F =72.8|Jun avg record high F =80.7|Jul avg record high F =82.5|Aug avg record high F =78.2|Sep avg record high F =64.0|Oct avg record high F =47.1|Nov avg record high F =30.5|Dec avg record high F =26.1|year avg record high F =84.4|Jan high F = -2.7|Feb high F = 9.0|Mar high F = 18.6|Apr high F = 37.7|May high F = 56.6|Jun high F = 68.7|Jul high F = 69.4|Aug high F = 62.4|Sep high F = 51.7|Oct high F = 31.4|Nov high F = 11.6|Dec high F = 2.7|year high F = 34.8|Jan mean F = -9.8|Feb mean F = -0.3|Mar mean F = 6.9|Apr mean F = 27.2|May mean F = 45.6|Jun mean F = 58.0|Jul mean F = 60.2|Aug mean F = 54.0|Sep mean F = 43.5|Oct mean F = 25.5|Nov mean F = 5.5|Dec mean F = -4.4|year mean F = 26.0|Jan low F = -16.8|Feb low F = -9.5|Mar low F = -4.8|Apr low F = 16.8|May low F = 34.6|Jun low F = 47.3|Jul low F = 51.1|Aug low F = 45.6|Sep low F = 35.4|Oct low F = 19.6|Nov low F = -0.6|Dec low F = -11.5|year low F = 17.3|Jan avg record low F = -49.6|Feb avg record low F = -41.1|Mar avg record low F = -28.1|Apr avg record low F = -9.5|May avg record low F = 19.4|Jun avg record low F = 37.3|Jul avg record low F = 41.2|Aug avg record low F = 33.3|Sep avg record low F = 21.7|Oct avg record low F = -2.9|Nov avg record low F = -26.3|Dec avg record low F = -39.5|year avg record low F = -51.3|Jan record low F = -70|Feb record low F = -64|Mar record low F = -54|Apr record low F = -35|May record low F = -7|Jun record low F = 25|Jul record low F = 28|Aug record low F = 28|Sep record low F = 2|Oct record low F = -31|Nov record low F = -52|Dec record low F = -62|year record low F= -70|precipitation colour = green|Jan precipitation inch = 0.60|Feb precipitation inch = 0.75|Mar precipitation inch = 0.59|Apr precipitation inch = 0.33|May precipitation inch = 0.44|Jun precipitation inch = 1.59|Jul precipitation inch = 2.04|Aug precipitation inch = 2.47|Sep precipitation inch = 1.75|Oct precipitation inch = 1.18|Nov precipitation inch = 1.24|Dec precipitation inch = 0.95|year precipitation inch = 13.93|unit precipitation days = 0.01 inch|Jan precipitation days = 7.4|Feb precipitation days = 9.4|Mar precipitation days = 7.0|Apr precipitation days = 5.6|May precipitation days = 6.0|Jun precipitation days = 9.3|Jul precipitation days = 11.2|Aug precipitation days = 14.5|Sep precipitation days = 11.9|Oct precipitation days = 11.1|Nov precipitation days = 10.0|Dec precipitation days = 10.8|year precipitation days = 114.2|Jan snow inch = 11.0|Feb snow inch = 14.9|Mar snow inch = 9.1|Apr snow inch = 4.6|May snow inch = 0.4|Jun snow inch = 0.0|Jul snow inch = 0.0|Aug snow inch = 0.0|Sep snow inch = 0.3|Oct snow inch = 8.3|Nov snow inch = 12.8|Dec snow inch = 15.8|year snow inch = 77.2|unit snow days = 0.1 inch|Jan snow days = 7.5|Feb snow days = 9.2|Mar snow days = 6.8|Apr snow days = 4.0|May snow days = 0.4|Jun snow days = 0.0|Jul snow days = 0.0|Aug snow days = 0.0|Sep snow days = 0.2|Oct snow days = 6.7|Nov snow days = 9.9|Dec snow days = 10.9|year snow days = 55.6|source 1= NOAAWEB, Summary of Monthly Normals 1991–2020,weblink May 18, 2023,weblink May 18, 2023, National Weather Service, WEB, NOAA Online Weather Data – NWS Fairbanks,weblink May 12, 2023, National Weather Service, }}

Notes

{{notelist}}

Demographics

{{US Census population|1890= 15|1930= 67|1940= 44|1950= 176|1960= 261|1970= 302|1980= 765|1990= 833|2000= 675|2010= 470|2020= 472PUBLISHER=CENSUS.GOV, June 4, 2015, }}Galena first appeared on the 1890 U.S. Census as the unincorporated native village of "Notaloten".WEB,weblink Geological Survey Professional Paper, 1949, It would not appear again until 1930, when it would first return as the village of Galena. It formally incorporated as a city in 1971.As of the censusWEB,weblink United States Census Bureau, March 17, 2015, U.S. Census website, of 2010, there were 470 people, 190 households, and 123 families residing in the city. The population density was {{convert|26.3|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 264 housing units at an average density of {{convert|14.7|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the city was 29.4% White, 0.0% Black or African American, 63.6% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 0.20% from other races, and 6.2% from two or more races. 2.3% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 29.3% under the age of 18, 11.0% from 20 to 29, 20.8% from 30 to 44, 27.6% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.8 years. There were 229 females, 166 of whom were 18 years and over, and 241 males, 171 of whom were 18 years and over. {{citation needed|date=December 2012}}The median income for a household in the city was $60,313, and the median income for a family was $62,917. The per capita income for the city was $26,551. About 11.5% of the population were below the poverty line and 18.9% were below 125 percent of the poverty line.WEB, Community and Regional Affairs,weblink Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development, March 17, 2015,

Government and public safety

The headquarters for the Koyukuk/Innoko/Nowitna National Wildlife Refuge is located in Galena.WEB, Koyukuk National Wildlife Refuge,weblink fws.gov, March 17, 2015, March 14, 2015,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20150314072225weblink">weblink dead, The City of Galena is incorporated as a first-class city, governed by a city council. The city's mayor is Edward Pitka Jr.Galena is the seat of the Galena Village, also known as the Louden Tribal Council, a Federally Recognized Tribal Government. The Tribal Council is elected to represent the local Athabascan Native community. The current council's tribal chief is Charlie Green.WEB, Tribes,weblink National Congress of American Indians, July 21, 2016,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160721002306weblink">weblink July 21, 2016, (File:AK - Galena Police.jpg|thumb|Patch of the Galena Police Department.)The City of Galena operates a full-time police department. There is an Alaska State Troopers post in Galena with two troopers and a trooper-pilot.{{citation needed|date=January 2012}}Galena has a volunteer search and rescue squad, and a volunteer fire department.

Education

As Galena is incorporated as a first-class city and located in the Unorganized Borough, it is required by state law to operate its own schools, Galena City School District, apart from the Rural Education Attendance Areas which otherwise prevail outside of incorporated boroughs. Along with other such cities across Alaska, Galena's school district operates a boarding school and a correspondence study program, to increase state funding which would not otherwise be available with the local pupil base.Galena has three schools. Galena City School is primarily for local K–12 students. There is a public library located in the Sidney C. Huntington School. Sidney Huntington (1915–2015)Sidney Huntington dies at 100 was a longtime resident and leader in Galena and the author of Shadows on the Koyukuk, a popular book on Alaska.The vocational Galena Interior Learning Academy (GILA) is a boarding school which draws students from around the state. GILA is located on the site of the former Galena Air Force Station and is one of three public boarding high schools in Alaska; the second in size behind Mount Edgecumbe High School in Sitka. The third is the Nenana Living School in Nenana. GILA uses the former barracks as a dorm, the former PX and headquarters buildings as class rooms and the dining hall as a cafeteria, along with the gym and other facilities. Recently, a new STEM building was constructed to replace one of the old air force buildings that had been used for classrooms. GILA provides educational and vocational training to young men and women from all over Alaska, grades 9-12, with most students coming from remote Native Alaskan villages from the Interior, North Slope and Aleutian Islands. GILA hosts various training and regional conferences throughout the year. GILA student enrollment grew from 110 to 180 in the 2009–10 school year.Galena's third school is Interior Distance Education of Alaska (IDEA), a statewide homeschool support program that serves 3,500 students across the state. As correspondence programs are tabulated by the Alaska Department of Education & Early Development as a single school, IDEA is considered the largest school by enrollment in all of Alaska.

Transportation, utilities and other facilities

Galena's Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport (Code GAL) is the former Galena Air Force Station field and with a paved runway of over 8000 feet is the largest public, state-maintained airport in the Interior of Alaska.{{Clarify|date=September 2012|reason="The Interior of Alaska" covers a lot of ground, no pun intended. I don't think this airport is as large as Fairbanks International.}} The control tower was demolished when the Air Force vacated the facility in 2007. The Airport is also the home of the "Yukon Squadron" of the AK Wing, Civil Air Patrol (CAP), which covers much of lp the interior region to the Bering Sea for Search and Rescue (SAR). A CAP Cessna-172 aircraft is stationed at Galena.Heavy durable goods, such as oil, vehicles and building materials are transported by river barge in the summer.+Communities we serveWEB,weblink Cargo Delivery by Barge, November 6, 2016, November 26, 2016,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20161126055146weblink">weblink dead, The City of Galena, as a first-class city, operates various vital services such as water and sewer.{{citation needed|date=January 2012}} The city also owns Nollner Health Clinic operated by Tanana Chiefs Conference, a Native health clinic that offers 24-hour emergency care and routine health care. Eye and dental services are provided to residents on a visiting provider basis. Medical emergencies are stabilized at Nollner Clinic and flown by air ambulance to Fairbanks or Anchorage. Dire pediatric emergencies are flown to Seattle Children's Hospital.Public radio station KIYU-FM, based in Galena, serves the city.

Energy

{{further|Galena Nuclear Power Plant}}Galena's remote location, apart from Alaska's urban transportation and utility distribution networks, means that the city must transport and store fuel oil in large-volume quantities. In 2004, the Galena City Council tentatively accepted a proposal from Toshiba Corporation to build the Galena Nuclear Power Plant, a small, self-contained nuclear power plant. In 2010, the plan was abandoned after local start-up costs to build a $27 million reactor core proved prohibitive for the community.JOURNAL,weblink Nuclear power: Obama team touts mini-nukes to fight global warming - CSMonitor.com, The Christian Science Monitor, March 30, 2010, The demonstration plant, the prototype for a line which Toshiba hoped to sell to similar communities in the U.S. and Canada, would have been the first civilian nuclear plant in Alaska; Fort Greely, Alaska,{{citation needed|date=December 2012}}had a small military SM-4 reactor until the early 1970s.Buske, Norman, Pamela Miller & Lorraine Eckstein, "The Nuclear Reactor at Fort Greely." (Anchorage: Alaska Community Action on Toxins, 2000) There is currently an attempt at a movement towards solar power for Galena, which would reduce energy costs.WEB, August 9, 2023, Galena hopes solar energy will reduce cost of generating power,weblink December 5, 2023, KUAC.org, en,

Sports

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race goes through Galena (on even years), as does the Tesoro Iron Dog trans-Alaska snowmobile race. Galena is the halfway point of the Yukon 800, an annual summer speedboat race beginning in Fairbanks and taking place along the Tanana and Yukon Rivers.Galena school sports include volleyball, cross-country running, basketball, swimming, skiing, and native youth Olympics (NYO).The Galena high school boys' and girls' basketball teams were regional champions from 2004 to 2007. The boys' basketball team won the state championship in 2008.

In popular culture

Frostbite, a character from the G.I. Joe 3.5" action figure toy line, is from Galena.WEB,weblink Frostbite (V1) G.I. Joe Action Figure - YoJoe Archive, In the video game Metal Gear Solid, Colonel Campbell announces to Solid Snake that two F-16 fighter jets have been dispatched from Galena as part of a diversionary tactic.In the 1983 film WarGames, USAF General Beringer, played by Barry Corbin, scrambles two fighter jets from Galena, AK to intercept two invading radar indicated bombers. The bombers are a computer projection and once the fighters are within intercept range they disappear.

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

{{commons category}}

• Galena City School District
• Hawk Highlights, the student newspaper for Galena city schools
• uaf.edu, Galena: Nuclear Energy?
• Koyukuk National Wildlife Refuge {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130530111327weblink |date=May 30, 2013 }}
• Nowitna National Wildlife Refuge {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130213202911weblink |date=February 13, 2013 }}
• Performing Artist Karrie Pavish Anderson

{{Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska}}{{Authority control}}