Chugiak is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either hav ...

in the Municipality of Anchorage in the U.S. state of

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 ...

, situated approximately northeast of downtown Anchorage.

Geography

Chugiak is located between Eagle River to the south and

Eklutna Eklutna (; Dena'ina: ''Idlughet''; Ahtna: ''Zdlaaygha'') is a native village within the Municipality of Anchorage in the U.S. state of Alaska. The Tribal Council estimates the population at 70; many tribal members live in the surrounding communiti ...

to the north, and between Knik Arm to the west and Chugach State Park to the east, where the

Chugach Mountains The Chugach Mountains of southern Alaska are the northernmost of the several mountain ranges that make up the Pacific Coast Ranges of the western edge of North America. The range is about long and wide, and extends from the Knik and Turnaga ...

lie.

History

The settlement along the Palmer Highway in an area that had been home to Denai’ina Athabascans for thousands of years was named "Chugiak" on February 17, 1947, by pioneering white residents. "Chugiak" is said to have come from a Dena'ina Athabascan word meaning "place of many places". Chugiak was first heavily settled in the 1950s, primarily by the homesteading by former military personnel who had served in Alaska during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. It is currently one of the main sites of suburban expansion near Anchorage.Lockman, Mary.
Chugiak Turns Seventy
" ''Frontiersman.com,'' 16 Feb. 2017.

Demographics

Chugiak first appeared on the 1960 U.S. Census as an unincorporated village. It reported again in 1970. In 1975, it merged with the city of Anchorage.

Present day

There are about 10,000 residents, most of whom work in Anchorage or the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, and are spread out mainly along the Glenn Highway. The urban cluster of Anchorage Northeast (including Chugiak and surroundings) has an estimated population of 31,000 (2010), covering an area of . Chugiak is also the home of the "Birchwood Shooting & Recreational Park", (adjacent to the Birchwood Airport), the largest rifle, pistol, and shotgun range facility in the State of Alaska. The annual Alaska State Trap and Skeet competitions are held there. Chugiak has its own post office, with United States postal zip code 99567, which also serves the adjacent small unincorporated communities of Birchwood, Peters Creek, and Eklutna.

References

External links