Page Contents for Kasaan, Alaska

Statistics & Facts

Location

Weather & Climate

History & History-related items

City Attractions

Government

Chamber of Commerce.

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Statistics & Facts

The Alaska state capital is Juneau.
The population of Kasaan is approximately 54 (1990), 49 (2010).
The approximate number of families is 30 (1990), 23 (2010).
The amount of land area in Kasaan is 13.819 sq. kilometers.
The amount of surface water is 0 sq kilometers.
The distance from Kasaan to Washington DC is 2908 miles.
The distance to the Alaska state capital is 208 miles. (as the crow flies)
Kasaan is positioned 55.54 degrees north of the equator and 132.40 degrees west of the prime meridian.
Kasaan average annual rainfall is 60-220 inches per year
The average winter temperature is 30's to low 50's degrees F.
The average summer temperature is high 50's to high 70's degrees F.

Location

on the east coast of Prince of Wales Island on Kasaan Bay in southern southeast Alaska. Access is by Forest Service and State Road, float plane, and boat. This island is the third largest island in the United States! The two larger islands are Kodiak Island and the big island of Hawaii. To the south of Prince of Wales Island lies British Columbia, Canada. To the west is the Pacific Ocean. The island, itself, is only 140 miles long from north to south and the average width is about 30 miles.
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Climate

cool and moist
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Weather

normally cool and comfortable. The area has plenty of rain. July is usually the driest month and November the wettest of the year, though every month has rain.
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History & History Related Items

In the Kasaan area, the people were traditionally Haida. The Tlingits were late arrivals along with the whites and other Alaskan Indigenous people. Also, the societal development was considered on a higher level for the Haidas than the Tlingits, traditionally these tribes warred in the past. Today, as with all minority cultures, the Haidas are interbred with non-natives as well as Tlingits.

History for Prince of Wales Island:

The island has a long history from at least 8,000 years ago. The Haida lived in the southern third of the island about 300 years ago. The northern portion was inhabited by three Tlingit kwans (or tribes). The Haida and Tlingit people were very different, but both highly developed.

The Europeans first came here in 1775 with the arrival of Don Juan Francisco Bodega Quadra of Spain. Soon after came the British explorers. Captain James Cook and Captain George Vancouver both explored the area in the late 1700's. Vancouver charted much of the area. Wide-spread commercialism did not really begin until the 1800's. The mainstays of that economy were fishing, mining and logging. With the addition of tourism, they remain much the same today. Among the ores mined on the island were gold, silver, zinc, lead uranium and palladium.
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Attractions

Totem Park and Whale Clan House - park by the Community Hall and hike the 15-minute trail

Boardwalk connecting the habor and waterfront road
beachcombing, photography, hiking, fishing
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Kasaan City Government

Kasaan City Hall
Phone: (907) 542-2212

Kasaan Chamber

Prince of Wales Chamber of Commerce
PO Box 497
Craig, AK 99921
Email Us: powcc@aptalaska.net
Phone: 907-826-3870
Fax: 907-826-5467

Kasaan Organizations

Prince of Wales Chamber of Commerce
PO Box 497
Craig, AK 99921
Email Us: powcc@aptalaska.net
Phone: 907-826-3870
Fax: 907-826-5467