Kenai Peninsula Borough is a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,799, up from 55,400 in 2010. The

borough seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent te ...

Soldotna Soldotna is a city in the Kenai Peninsula Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. At the 2020 census, the population was 4,342, up from 4,163 in 2010. It is the seat of the Kenai Peninsula Borough. Soldotna is located in the Southcentral portion ...

, the largest city is Kenai, and the most populated community is the

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

of Kalifornsky. The borough includes most of the

Kenai Peninsula The Kenai Peninsula ( Dena'ina: ''Yaghenen'') is a large peninsula jutting from the coast of Southcentral Alaska. The name Kenai (, ) is derived from the word "Kenaitze" or "Kenaitze Indian Tribe", the name of the Native Athabascan Alaskan tribe ...

and a large area of the mainland of Alaska on the opposite side of

Cook Inlet Cook Inlet ( tfn, Tikahtnu; Sugpiaq: ''Cungaaciq'') stretches from the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage in south-central Alaska. Cook Inlet branches into the Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm at its northern end, almost surrounding Anchorage. On its sou ...

Geography

The borough has a total area of , of which is land and (3.4%) is water.

Adjacent boroughs and census areas

Bethel Census Area, Alaska Bethel Census Area is a census area in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2020 census, the population is 18,666, up from 17,013 in 2010. It is part of the unorganized borough and therefore has no borough seat. Its largest community is the ci ...

- northwest *

Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska Matanuska-Susitna Borough (often referred to as the Mat-Su Borough) is a borough located in the U.S. state of Alaska. Its county seat is Palmer, and the largest community is the census-designated place of Knik-Fairview. The borough is part of ...

- north *

Municipality of Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...

- north *

Chugach Census Area, Alaska Chugach Census Area is a census area located in the state of Alaska, United States. It is part of the Unorganized Borough and therefore has no borough seat. On January 2, 2019, it was split from the Valdez–Cordova Census Area (of which it ...

- east *

Lake and Peninsula Borough, Alaska Lake and Peninsula Borough (russian: Лейк-энд-Пенинсула, ''Leyk-end-Peninsula'') is a borough in the state of Alaska. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,476, down from 1,631 in 2010. The borough seat of King Salmon is l ...

- west *

Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska Kodiak Island Borough (russian: Остров Кадьяк) is a borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. At the 2020 census, the population was 13,101, down from 13,592 in 2010. The borough seat is Kodiak. Geography The borough has a total are ...

- south

National protected areas

Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge The Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge (often shortened to Alaska Maritime or AMNWR) is a United States National Wildlife Refuge comprising 2,400 islands, headlands, rocks, islets, spires and reefs in Alaska, with a total area of , of whic ...

(part of Gulf of Alaska unit) **

Chiswell Islands The Chiswell Islands are a group of rocky, uninhabited islands, accessible only by boat or airplane, within the Kenai Peninsula Borough of Alaska in the Gulf of Alaska. These islands are 35 miles south of Seward, Alaska. They are part of the Al ...

** Tuxedni Wilderness *

Chugach National Forest The Chugach National Forest is a United States National Forest in south central Alaska. Covering portions of Prince William Sound, the Kenai Peninsula and the Copper River Delta, it was formed in 1907 from part of a larger forest reserve. The Ch ...

(part) *

Katmai National Park and Preserve Katmai National Park and Preserve is an American national park and preserve in southwest Alaska, notable for the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes and for its brown bears. The park and preserve encompass , which is between the sizes of Connecticut ...

(part) **

Katmai Wilderness Katmai may refer to: *Katmai National Park and Preserve, a park in Alaska *Mount Katmai, a volcano in the Katmai Park in Alaska; the site of a colossal 1912 eruption *Katmai (microprocessor), a Pentium III computer microprocessor core *, an ammunit ...

(part) *

Kenai Fjords National Park Kenai Fjords National Park is an American national park that maintains the Harding Icefield, its outflowing glaciers, and coastal fjords and islands. The park covers an area of on the Kenai Peninsula in south-central Alaska, west of the to ...

Kenai National Wildlife Refuge The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge is a wildlife habitat preserve located on the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska, United States. It is adjacent to Kenai Fjords National Park. This refuge was created in 1941 as the Kenai National Moose Range, but in 198 ...

Kenai Wilderness The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge is a wildlife habitat preserve located on the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska, United States. It is adjacent to Kenai Fjords National Park. This refuge was created in 1941 as the Kenai National Moose Range, but in 198 ...

Lake Clark National Park and Preserve Lake Clark National Park and Preserve is an American national park in southwest Alaska, about southwest of Anchorage. The park was first proclaimed a national monument in 1978, then established as a national park and preserve in 1980 by the Alas ...

(part) **

Lake Clark Wilderness Lake Clark National Park and Preserve is an American national park in southwest Alaska, about southwest of Anchorage. The park was first proclaimed a national monument in 1978, then established as a national park and preserve in 1980 by the A ...

(part)

Ecology

Bear Lake, Tutka Bay, and the Trail Lakes, have been the site of

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...

enhancement activities. All three sites are managed by the

Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association The Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association (CIAA) is a non-profit organization based in Kenai, Alaska, that works to create sustainable salmon stocks in the Cook Inlet area. Initially the Alaska Department of Fish and Game ran most hatchery programs i ...

Some of the fish hatched at these facilities are released into the famous Homer fishing hole. Cook Inlet Keeper and the Cook Inlet Regional Citizen's Advisory Council are groups that attempt to influence public policy on the use of the areas resources.

Demographics

At the 2000 census there were 49,700 people, 18,400 households, and 12,700 families residing in the borough. The population density was 1/km² (3/sq mi). There were 24,900 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile (1/km²). The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the borough was 86% white, 7% Native American, 2% Hispanic or Latino (any race), and 4% from two or more races. Black or

African Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, Asians, and

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

Islanders each were less than 1%. Just under 1% were from other races combined. 1.92% reported speaking

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

at home, while 1.74% spoke

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

. Of the 18,400 households, 38% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55% were married couples living together, 9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31% were non-families. 25% of households were one person, and 5% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.6 and the average family size was 3.2. In the borough the population was spread out, with 30% under the age of 18, 7% from 18 to 24, 30% from 25 to 44, 26% from 45 to 64, and 7% 65 or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 109 males; for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 110 males.

Government and infrastructure

There is a borough-wide government based in Soldotna, consisting of a strong mayor and an assembly of representatives from all areas of the borough. They collect sales and property taxes and provide services such as road maintenance, waste collection facilities, emergency services and major funding for public schools, along with mitigation of damage from

spruce bark beetle Spruce bark beetle is a common name for several insects and may refer to: *'' Dendroctonus micans'', the great spruce bark beetle *''Ips typographus The European spruce bark beetle (''Ips typographus''), is a species of beetle in the weevil sub ...

s that infested the borough in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Incorporated towns also have their own local governments and city councils. The Alaska Department of Corrections operates the Spring Creek Correctional Center near Seward and the Wildwood Correctional Complex near Kenai.

Communities

Cities

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

Kachemak Kachemak, locally known as Kachemak City, is a small second-class city in the southern portion of the Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska, United States. The city consists of several subdivisions and other miscellaneous properties along an approxi ...

* Kenai *

Seldovia Seldovia (Alutiiq: ; Dena'ina: ''Angidahtnu''; russian: Селдовия) is a city in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska, United States. Its population was 255 at the 2010 census, down from 286 in 2000. It is located along Kachemak Bay southw ...

* Seward *

Census-designated places

Anchor Point In audio and recording, what is known colloquially as an anchor point is a center position in a stereo mix reserved for only three or four important tracks.Hodgson, Jay (2010). ''Understanding Records'', p. 165. . Most modern pop productions are ...

* Bear Creek *

Beluga The beluga whale (/bɪˈluːɡə/) (Delphinapterus leucas) is an Arctic and sub-Arctic cetacean. It is one of two members of the family Monodontidae, along with the narwhal, and the only member of the genus Delphinapterus. It is also known as the wh ...

* Clam Gulch * Cohoe *

Cooper Landing Cooper Landing is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska, United States, about south of Anchorage, at the outlet of Kenai Lake into the Kenai River. The town was first settled in the 19th century by gold and mineral pr ...

* Crown Point * Diamond Ridge * Fox River * Fritz Creek * Funny River * Halibut Cove * Happy Valley *

Hope Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large. As a verb, its definitions include: "expect with confidence" and "to cherish ...

* Kalifornsky * Kasilof * Lowell Point * Moose Pass * Nanwalek *

Nikiski Nikiski is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska, United States. The population was 4,456 at the 2020 census, down from 4,493 in 2010. Geography Nikiski is located at (60.707891, -151.262646) on the west side of the ...

* Nikolaevsk *

Ninilchik Ninilchik (russian: Нинильчик) (Denaʼina language, Dena'ina: ''Niqnalchint'') is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska, Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska, United States. At the 2010 United States Census, 2010 c ...

* Point Possession *

Port Graham Port Graham, also known as Paluwik (pah-LU-wig) in the Alutiiq language, is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 162. Geography Port Graham and Nanwalek are lo ...

* Primrose * Ridgeway * Salamatof * Seldovia Village * Sterling *

Sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon and its accompanying atmospheric effects. Terminology Al ...

Tyonek Tyonek or Present / New Tyonek ( Dena'ina: ''Qaggeyshlat'' - ″little place between toes") is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kenai Peninsula Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2020 census the population was 152, down from 171 in ...

Unincorporated communities

* Jakolof Bay *

Kachemak Selo Kachemak Selo (Russian: Качемак Село) is a small unincorporated community in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska, United States. Located on the Kenai Peninsula, it lies roughly 30 miles east of Homer. The community is one of several settlem ...

* Lawing *

Razdolna Razdolna (Russian: Раздольна, ) is a small unincorporated community in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska, United States. Located on the Kenai Peninsula, it lies roughly 30 miles east of Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēro ...

Voznesenka Voznesenka (Russian: ''Вознесенка'', ) is a small unincorporated community in the Kenai Peninsula Borough 23 miles northeast of Homer, Alaska, United States. Brief overlook Located on the Kenai Peninsula, about east of Homer, Voznesenka ...

Ghost town

* Portlock

Education

The school district for the whole borough is

Kenai Peninsula Borough School District The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District (KPBSD) serves 29 communities and 9,000 students in the Kenai Peninsula Borough Kenai Peninsula Borough is a borough of the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,799, ...

.
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References

External links

*
Borough map, 2000 census: Alaska Department of Labor

Borough map, 2010 census: Alaska Department of Labor
{{Authority control 1964 establishments in Alaska Populated places established in 1964