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With a population of 2,794, Seward is located about 125 miles south of
Anchorage. Winter temperatures average from 17 to 38; summer
temperatures average a comfortable 49 to 63. As an ice-free harbor,
Seward has become an important supply center for Interior Alaska. It
is the gateway to the Kenai Fjords National Park and lies at the foot of
Mount Marathon. It is best known as a transportation center. Not only
is it a cruise port, greeting over 320,000 cruise ship
passengers each year, it is also the terminus of the Alaska Railroad.
The views are spectacular, the people are down to earth, and the variety of
animals is incredible.
Going to the Kenai Fjords National Park is highly recommended. It is home
to many animal such as sea otters, orcas, humpback whales, harbor seals,
steller sea lions, tufted puffins, black oyster catcher, dall sheep, and
black bears. The only way into the park is via the water.
The economy is diverse with tourism, commercial fishing, ship services,
oil and gas development. The Alaska SeaLife Center, the Chugach
Heritage Center, the Kenai Fjords National Park, and the Mt. Marathon Race on the
Fourth of July attract thousands of visitors.
Resurrection Bay was named in 1792 by Russian fur trader and explorer
Alexander Baranof. While sailing from Kodiak to Yakutat, he found unexpected
shelter in this bay for a storm. He named it the Bay Resurrection because it
was the Russian Sunday of the Resurrection. Seward was named for U.S.
Secretary of State William Seward, 1861-69, who negotiated the purchase of
Alaska from Russia during the Lincoln administration. In the 1890s, Capt.
Frank Lowell arrived with his family. In 1903, John and Frank Ballaine and a
group of settlers arrived to begin construction of a railroad. Seward became
an incorporated City in 1912. The Alaska Railroad was constructed between
1915 and 1923, and Seward developed as the ocean terminus and supply center.
By 1960, Seward was the largest community on the peninsula. Tsunamis
generated after the 1964 earthquake destroyed the railroad terminal and
several residents perished. Since that time, it still thrives as an
important transportation center to the interior of Alaska.
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