Portage is a

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

and former settlement on

Turnagain Arm Turnagain Arm (Denaʼina language, Dena'ina: ''Tutl'uh'') is a waterway into the northwestern part of the Gulf of Alaska. It is one of two narrow branches at the north end of Cook Inlet, the other being Knik Arm. Turnagain is subject to climate e ...

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 ...

, about southeast of

Downtown Anchorage Downtown Anchorage is a neighborhood in the U.S. city of Anchorage, Alaska. Considered the central business district of Anchorage, Downtown has many office buildings, cultural points of interest, shopping areas, as well as dining and nightlife ...

. The town was destroyed in the

1964 Alaska earthquake The 1964 Alaska earthquake, also known as the Great Alaska earthquake and Good Friday earthquake, occurred at 5:36 PM Alaska Standard Time, AKST on Good Friday, March 27, 1964.

when the ground in the area sank about , putting most of the town below high tide level. All that remains today are the ruins of a few buildings and a "

ghost forest Ghost forests are areas of dead trees in former forests, typically in coastal regions where Sea level rise, rising sea levels or tectonic shifts have altered the height of a land mass. Forests located near the coast or estuary, estuaries may also ...

" of trees that died after salt water inundated their root systems. Where there was once a town there is now only a railroad and road junction linking the

Seward Highway The Seward Highway is a highway in the U.S. state of Alaska that extends from Seward, Alaska, Seward to Anchorage, Alaska, Anchorage. It was completed in 1951 and runs through the scenic Kenai Peninsula, Chugach National Forest, Turnagain Arm ...

and the

Alaska Railroad The Alaska Railroad is a Class II railroad that operates freight and passenger trains in the state of Alaska. The railroad's mainline runs between Seward, Alaska, Seward on the southern coast and Fairbanks, Alaska, Fairbanks, near the center of ...

to Portage Glacier park and the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel, which leads to Whittier.

The Milepost ''The Milepost'' is an extensive guide book covering Alaska, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and British Columbia. It was first published in 1949 as a guide about traveling along the Alaska Highway, often locally referred to as "The ALCAN" ...

, 59th edition, page 540 Popular recreational activities in the Portage area include visiting the

wildlife center Wildlife refers to undomesticated animals and uncultivated plant species which can exist in their natural habitat, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also ...

, floating Portage, Twentymile, Placer rivers, fishing for hooligan in the Twentymile river, and ice skating the numerous marshy areas, creeks, and Portage Lake.

Demographics

Portage first appeared on the 1950 United States Census as an unincorporated village. It returned again in 1960. The townsite was annexed by

Anchorage Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolita ...

when it merged with its borough in 1975.

References

Ghost towns in Alaska Neighborhoods in Anchorage, Alaska Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area 1964 disestablishments in Alaska Natural disaster ghost towns {{AnchorageAK-geo-stub