Chisana (also Shushanna) (Tsetsaan' Na in Ahtna) is a

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 ...

(CDP) in the Copper River Census Area in 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 sove ...

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 2010 Census, the

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of the CDP was 0. The English name Chisana derives from the Ahtna Athabascan name Tsetsaan' Na, meaning literally 'copper river' (not to be confused with the river known in English as the

Copper River Copper River may refer to several places: *Copper River (Alaska), in the United States * Copper River (British Columbia), a tributary of the Skeena River The Skeena River is the second-longest river entirely within British Columbia, Canada (afte ...

). The Chisana River joins the

Nabesna River The Nabesna River (''Naambia Niign'' in Upper Tanana) is a tributary of the Tanana River in the U.S. state of Alaska. Beginning at Nabesna Glacier in the Alaska Range, it flows north-northeast from Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Prese ...

just north of Northway Junction, Alaska, to form the

Tanana River The Tanana River (Lower Tanana: Tth'eetoo', Upper Tanana: ''Tth’iitu’ Niign'') is a tributary of the Yukon River in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to linguist and anthropologist William Bright, the name is from the Koyukon (Athabaskan) ...

, a major tributary of the

Yukon River The Yukon River (Gwichʼin language, Gwich'in: ''Ųųg Han'' or ''Yuk Han'', Central Alaskan Yup'ik language, Yup'ik: ''Kuigpak'', Inupiaq language, Inupiaq: ''Kuukpak'', Deg Xinag language, Deg Xinag: ''Yeqin'', Hän language, Hän: ''Tth'echù' ...

. The Chisana Airport consists of a turf and gravel runway which is largely serviced by flights from

Tok, Alaska Tok is a census-designated place (CDP) in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska, United States. The population was 1,243 at the 2020 census, slightly down from 1,258 in 2010. Geography Tok lies on a large, flat alluvial plain of the Tanana ...

. In 1985, the community was listed as Chisana Historic District on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

as a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

.
In 1998 the Chisana Historic Mining Landscape

, comprising the community and a wide area located partly in Copper River Census Area and partly in

Southeast Fairbanks Census Area Southeast Fairbanks Census Area is a census area located in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,808, down from 7,029 in 2010. It is part of the unorganized borough and therefore has no borough seat. Its lar ...

, was listed on the

Geography

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 the ...

, the CDP has a total area of , of which of it is land and of it is

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...

. The total area is 0.10% water.

Climate

According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Chisana has a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, ge ...

, abbreviated "Dfc" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Chisana was on June 19–20, 2004, while the coldest temperature recorded was on January 7, 2013.

Demographics

Chisana first appeared on the 1920 U.S. Census as an unincorporated community. It appeared twice more in 1930 and 1940. It would not appear again until 2000, when it was made a census-designated place (CDP). However, in both 2000 and 2010, it reported no residents.

References

{{Authority control Census-designated places in Alaska Census-designated places in Copper River Census Area, Alaska Census-designated places in Unorganized Borough, Alaska Ghost towns in Alaska Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Alaska Mining communities in Alaska National Register of Historic Places in Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve Ghost towns in the United States Ghost towns in North America

Geography

Climate

Demographics

See also

References