Upper Kalskag (russian: Аппер-Калскаг) is a city in Bethel Census Area,

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 ...

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. It is thirty miles west of Aniak. At the 2010 census the population was 210, down from 230 in 2000.

Culture and history

Upper Kalskag is a traditional Yup'ik village, with a culture centered on subsistence activities. The founding residents were from the native village of Kaltkhagamute, four miles down river. The Russian explorer Lavrenty Zagoskin reported a population of 120 in 1843 for Kaltkhagamute (Khalkagmute). Over the years, residents of Crow Village, Ohagamiut, Russian Mission, and Paimute also moved to the village. Russian and American explorers brought both

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and

Russian Orthodox Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most ...

religious influences, but the village's Russian Orthodox practitioners left to establish Lower Kalskag 2 miles downriver in 1940. George Morgan, a German immigrant who founded Georgetown, established a general store and post office in 1932. Paul N. Kameroff, Sr. also established a general store, a pool hall, and a coffee shop around 1930. The government school was built in that timeframe as well. The community once owned a herd of about 2000

caribou Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...

Geography

Upper Kalskag is located at (61.537440, -160.316070). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, the city has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it (8.47%) is water. Upper Kalskag, referred to by the locals as just "Upper", is linked to Lower Kalskag (Lower) by a single two mile maintained gravel/dirt road. Upper Kalskag is accessible only by small plane, boat, and automobile via the river "ice road" (Winter only). The ice road is constructed each winter from Aniak to

Bethel Bethel ( he, בֵּית אֵל, translit=Bēṯ 'Ēl, "House of El" or "House of God",Bleeker and Widegren, 1988, p. 257. also transliterated ''Beth El'', ''Beth-El'', ''Beit El''; el, Βαιθήλ; la, Bethel) was an ancient Israelite sanc ...

by drilling and marking holes in the ice every 100 yards and subsequently marking and plowing a route on the river where the ice depth is sufficient.

Demographics

Upper Kalskag first reported on the 1940 U.S. Census erroneously as the unincorporated village of "Old Kalskag."http://edu.georgetowntc.com/our-courses/nuna-land/upper-kalskag-2/historical-information-page.html#previous-photo The population was 70 instead of 76, while the population accredited to Upper Kalskag (then called "Kalskag") was actually for Lower Kalskag. It would continue to report as Kalskag on the census until it formally incorporate as Upper Kalskag in 1975. As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2000, there were 230 people, 62 households, and 44 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 66 housing units at an average density of 17.5 per square mile (6.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 8.70%

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, 0.43%

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, 85.65% Native American, and 5.22% from two or more races. There were 62 households, out of which 56.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.1% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

living together, 16.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.0% were non-families. 24.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.71 and the average family size was 4.55. In the city, the population was spread out, with 43.9% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 12.6% from 45 to 64, and 6.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 111.5 males. The

median income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways o ...

for a household in the city was $28,333, and the median income for a family was $32,708. Males had a median income of $16,667 versus $20,938 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $7,859. About 24.5% of families and 24.2% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 28.4% of those under the age of eighteen and 5.3% of those 65 or over.

Culture and history

Geography

Demographics

References

Further reading