Page Contents for Birch Creek, Alaska

Statistics & Facts

Location

Weather & Climate

History & History-related items

City Attractions

Economy

Miscellany

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Statistics & Facts

The Alaska state capital is Juneau.
The population of Birch Creek is approximately 43 (2004), 33 (2010).
The approximate number of families is 22 (2000), 17 (2010).
The amount of land area in Birch Creek is 26.032 sq. kilometers.
The amount of land area in Birch Creek is 6.1 sq. miles.
The amount of surface water is 0.884 sq kilometers.
The distance from Birch Creek to Washington DC is 3509 miles.
The distance to the Alaska state capital is 677 miles. (as the crow flies)
Birch Creek is positioned 66.24 degrees north of the equator and 145.83 degrees west of the prime meridian.
Birch Creek per capita income is $ 5,952 (2000).
Birch Creek median income is $ 11,250 (2000).
Birch Creek average annual precipitation is 6.5 inches peryear.
Birch Creek average annual snowfall is 43.4 inches per year.

Location

about 26 miles southwest of Fort Yukon in eastern Alaska, along Birch Creek.
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Climate

continental subarctic with large flucuations in temperature depending on the season. Winters are extremely cold with average lows well below zero, commonly -50 to -60. Summer average highs run from 65 to 72.
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History & History Related Items

The traditional residents of this area were the Dendu Gwich'in Athabascans. They used many semi-permanent camps to hunt and fish during the various seasons. In 1862, a clergyman brought fish to a camp for the Hudson's Bay Company and mentioned the settlement in a letter. Birch Creek Jimmy ws the Great Chief among the Chiefs in this area. He built a cabin in 1898 at the Hudson Bay site. Later, other family members came to join him. By 1916, they had moved three miles upstream to the current site for Birch Creek. Once a school was built here, more residents kept their homes year-round. An airstrip was built in 1973. The school closed in 1999 due to declining enrollment.
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Attractions

The local tribal council is planning activities to bring tourists, sportsmen and visitors to the area and expand the local economy.

There is a 4,000 foot long gravel runway that is lighted though a new airstrip has been under construction. This is the main transportation to outside areas. There is also a 26 mile winter trail to Fort Yukon. Modes of transportation for the area include ATVs, bikes, snowmachines and skiffs.
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Economy & Industry

mainly subsistence with local residents finding food sources from hunting, fishing and gathering. Employment is limited but what is provided is through the shcool and village council.
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Birch Creek

Miscellany

The population of Birch Creek was:
1990 - 42
2000 - 38
2004 - 43 (state estimate)