Kalifornsky () is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), 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 counte ...

(CDP) in

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, up from 55,400 in 2010. The borough seat is Soldotna, the largest city is Kenai, and the most populated community is the censu ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

, United States. The population was 8,487 at the 2020 census, up from 7,850 in 2010. It is the most populated locality in the borough.

Location

Kalifornsky is located at (60.473421, -151.201427). It is bordered to the north by the city of

Kenai Kenai (, ; Dena'ina: ; , ''Kenay'') is a city in the Kenai Peninsula Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. By road, it is 158 miles southwest of Anchorage. The population was 7,424 as of the 2020 census, up from 7,100 in 2010, the fiftee ...

and to the east by the city of

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

, the

borough seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equivalent term, shire town, is used in ...

. The

Kenai River The Kenai River called ''Kahtnu'' in the Dena'ina language, is the longest river in the Kenai Peninsula of southcentral Alaska. It runs westward from Kenai Lake in the Kenai Mountains, through the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge and Skilak L ...

forms part of the northeast border of the CDP, across which is the CDP of Ridgeway. It is bordered to the south by the CDPs of Cohoe and Kasilof. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the CDP has a total area of , of which are land and , or 1.27%, are water. Kalifornsky is on the eastern shore of

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

on 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 ...

. It lies off the

Sterling Highway The Sterling Highway is a state highway in the south-central region of the U.S. state of Alaska, leading from the Seward Highway at Tern Lake Junction, south of Anchorage, to Homer. To assist in agricultural transport and also open area ...

along Kalifornsky Beach Road, south of the center of KenaiCommunity Information Summaries: "Kalifornsky."
Alaska Community Database Online, Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development. Retrieved on February 24, 2007. and west of the center of Soldotna.

Climate

Kalifornsky CDP has relatively mild winter temperatures, ranging from . Summer temperatures are relatively cool, ranging from . Average annual precipitation is .

History and culture

The Dena'ina name for Kalifornsky is ''Unhghenesditnu'', meaning 'farthest creek over'. The place name "Kalifonsky" (omitting the letter "r") was noted in 1916 by the

United States Coast and Geodetic Survey The United States Coast and Geodetic Survey ( USC&GS; known as the Survey of the Coast from 1807 to 1836, and as the United States Coast Survey from 1836 until 1878) was the first scientific agency of the Federal government of the United State ...

, with its etymology attributed to an Indian word ''kali'' meaning "fishermen". However, this place name appears to have been due to a mistaken transcription of the village name "Kalifornsky", which took its name from the surname of the village's founder, a Dena'ina

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

named Qadanalchen (meaning "acts quickly" in the Outer Inlet dialect of the Dena'ina language). Qadanalchen had worked at the

Russian America Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

n colony of

Fort Ross Fort Ross (, , Kashaya: ) is a former Russian establishment on the west coast of North America in what is now Sonoma County, California. Owned and operated by the Russian-American Company, it was the hub of the southernmost Russian settlemen ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

from about 1812 to about 1821. On his return to Alaska, Qadanalchen took the name "Kalifornsky", the

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

equivalent of "Californian". Qadanalchen's great-great-grandson, the self-taught Dena'ina writer and ethnographer

Peter Kalifornsky Peter Kalifornsky (October 12, 1911 – June 5, 1993) was a writer and ethnographer of the Dena'ina Athabaskan of Kenai, Alaska. Early life, family and education He was the great-grandson of Qadanalchen, who took the name Kalifornsky after wo ...

(1911–1993), was born in Kalifornsky village, which lay about south of Kenai and north of the mouth of the

Kasilof River The Kasilof River ( ) or ''Ggasilatnu'' in the Dena'ina language is a river on the western Kenai Peninsula in southern Alaska. The name is an anglicization of ''Reka Kasilova'', the name given to the river by early Russian settlers in the area. I ...

Demographics

Kalifornsky first appeared without an "r" the

1980 U.S. Census The 1980 United States census, conducted by the United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States to be 226,545,805, an increase of 11.4% over the 203,184,772 persons Enumeration, enumerated dur ...

as ''Kalifonsky'', a census-designated place (CDP). The name was corrected to "Kalifornsky" with the 2000 U.S. Census. As of the census of 2000, there were 5,846 people, 2,117 households, and 1,596 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 2,479 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 89.8%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.2%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 4.6% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.6% from other races, and 4.1% from two or more races. 2.0% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 2,117 households, out of which 42.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.3% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.6% were non-families. 19.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 2.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.13. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 31.3% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 5.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 107.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 107.1 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $54,864, and the median income for a family was $58,750. Males had a median income of $50,583 versus $30,493 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the CDP was $23,898. About 6.6% of families and 7.9% 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 9.2% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Economy and transportation

The area's economy is diverse. Industries and services providing employment include oil and gas processing, timber, commercial and sport fishing, government, retail businesses, and tourism. Kalifornsky Beach Road is frequently trafficked by

sports fishermen. The nearby

, a component of

Alaska Route 1 Alaska Route 1 (AK-1) is a state highway in the southern part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It runs from Homer northeast and east to Tok by way of Anchorage. It is one of two routes in Alaska to contain significant portions of freeway: the Se ...

, provides access to the state road system. The nearby city of

has an airport and boating facilities.

References

External links

Alaska Community Database Online
– select "Kalifornsky" for community details {{authority control Census-designated places in Alaska Census-designated places in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska Populated coastal places in Alaska on the Pacific Ocean