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 Seats for Forklifts Anchorage - Anchorage City is located in the state of Alaska's south central region. The city is the United States northernmost major city and was officially known as the Municipality of Anchorage. The number of residents, based on 2010 census numbers, totals around 292,000. When combining Anchorage with its nearby community of Matanuska-Susitna Borough, there were 374,553 inhabitants in this Metropolitan Statistical Area. More than 40% of the total population of Alaska resides in Anchorage, making it the biggest city in the state. Only New York City has a higher percentage of inhabitants who reside within the state's biggest city among the 50 American states.
In the 19th century, Russian presence was well established in south central Alaska. The US Secretary of State, William H. Seward brokered a deal during the year 1967 to purchase Alaska from debt-ridden Imperial Russia for $7.2 million, which worked out to approximately 2 cents per acre. Political rivals lampooned the idea and nicknamed it "Seward's Icebox, Seward's Folly and Walrussia." Gold was discovered along the Turnagain Arm during the year 1888.
With the building of a railroad port for the Alaska Engineering Commission, the city grew immensely in 1914. The Alaska Railroad as it was referred to continued to be constructed until it was finished in the year 1923. A tent city emerged at the area near the mouth of Ship Creek where the railroad headquarters were situated.
The largest economic sectors within the city of Anchorage include tourism, transportation, state, municipal and federal government, resource extraction, military and corporate head office including regional headquarters for multinational businesses. Anchorage's geographical site and surrounding natural resources account for a large portion of the local economy.
The city has traditionally enjoyed steady growth, even if not as much as the cities located within the lower 48 states. The city does not experience as much catastrophe during economic downturns, with the exception of a real estate related crash during the mid to late 1980s.
The 3rd busiest airport for cargo traffic in the world is the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport or TSAIA for short. This airport is only surpassed by only Hong Kong and Memphis. This abundance in traffic is linked to the city's location along the "great circle," referring to routes between the lower 48 states and between Asia. Furthermore, the airport has a large source of jet fuel from the Alaskan refineries situated within the North Pole and Kenai. There is rail and pipeline service to transport the jet fuel to the Port of Anchorage.
The resource sector is the most visible industry within Anchorage. The city of Anchorage likewise supports numerous high rise buildings which are owned by the large multi-nationals such as BP and ConocoPhillips. Most offices and administration are situated in Anchorage. Field operations are centered on the South Slope of Anchorage around the Cook Inlet and around the Alaska North Slope.
The tallest building in Alaska is the head office building of ConocoPhillips Alaska, a subsidiary of ConocoPhillips. It is situated in the downtown core of the city. Other companies like Arctic Slope Regional Corporation and CH2M HILL provide oilfield support services and are also headquartered outside of Anchorage but maintain a substantial presence in Anchorage City.
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