![]() ![]() Whittier is located at the northern tip of the world's northernmost temperate rainforest, the Tongass.Ĭlimate data for Whittier, 1981–2010 normals, elevation: 46.9 m or 154 ft, extremes 1943–2011 It is the wettest city in Alaska and the United States, receiving significantly more annual precipitation than Yakutat and Ketchikan which are the second- and third-wettest cities in Alaska, respectively. Whittier has a subpolar oceanic climate ( Cfc) using the −3 ☌ isotherm and a subarctic climate ( Dfc) using the 0 ☌ isotherm under the Köppen climate classification, and has an annual precipitation of 197.8 inches (5,024 mm). Īccording to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 19.7 square miles (51 km 2), of which, 12.5 square miles (32 km 2) of it is land and 7.2 square miles (19 km 2) of it (36.36%) is water. It is 58 miles (93 kilometers) southeast of Anchorage. The town is on the northeast shore of the Kenai Peninsula, at the head of Passage Canal, on the west side of Prince William Sound. The only land access is through the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel, a mixed-use road and rail tunnel. Whittier is in the Chugach School District and has one school serving approximately 48 students from preschool through high school, according to the 2019–2020 enrollment numbers. Whittier is located within the Chugach National Forest, the second-largest national forest in the U.S. Whittier is also popular with tourists, photographers, outdoor enthusiasts, paddlers, hikers, sport fishermen, and hunters because of its abundance of wildlife and natural beauty. It is the embarkation/debarkation point of one-way cruises from Anchorage to Vancouver by Princess Tours. ![]() Īfter the tunnel expanded access to Whittier, it began to be visited by larger cruise lines. When the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel opened to public access in 2000, it became the first highway to connect Whittier to Anchorage and inner Alaska-previously, the only ways to reach the town had been rail, boat and plane. It is utilized by local operations and about 100-passenger mid-sized cruise ships. Whittier was incorporated in 1969 and eventually became a port of call for cruise ships. The tsunami that hit Whittier reached a height of 13 m (43 ft) and killed 13 people. earthquake, measuring 9.2 on the moment magnitude scale, and having caused tsunamis along the West Coast of the U.S. As of 2022, the earthquake remains the largest U.S. On March 27, 1964, Whittier suffered over $10 million worth of damage in what became known as the Good Friday earthquake. Army Corps of Engineers constructed a petroleum products terminal, a pumping station and a 62-mile-long (100 km), 8-inch (200 mm) pipeline to Anchorage in Whittier. The port at Whittier was an active Army facility until 1960. The Begich Towers building became a condominium, and along with the two-story private residence known as Whittier Manor, houses a majority of the town's residents. Buckner and Begich Towers were at one time the largest buildings in Alaska. ![]() The Buckner Building was eventually abandoned. The other main structure in town, the Buckner Building, was completed in 1953, and was called the "city under one roof". The building was named in honor of Colonel Walter William Hodge, who was a civil engineer and the commanding officer of 93rd Engineer Regiment on the Alcan Highway. ![]() The Whittier School was connected by a tunnel at the base of the west tower so students could safely access school on days with bad weather. Dependent families and Civil Service employees were moved into this high-rise. The 14-story Hodge Building (renamed Begich Towers) was completed in 1957 and contains 150 two-and-three-bedroom apartments plus bachelor efficiency units. The two buildings that dominate the town were built after World War II. ![]()
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