Kalifornsky is a census-designated place

Census-designated place

A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...

 (CDP) in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska

Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska

-National protected areas:* Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge ** Chiswell Islands** Tuxedni Wilderness* Chugach National Forest * Katmai National Park and Preserve ** Katmai Wilderness...

, United States. The population was 5,846 at the 2000 census

United States Census, 2000

The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...

.

Location

Kalifornsky is located at 60°28′24"N 151°12′5"W (60.473421, -151.201427).

According to the United States Census Bureau

United States Census Bureau

The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the CDP has a total area of 70.2 square miles (181.8 km²), of which, 69.2 square miles (179.2 km²) of it is land and 1 square miles (2.6 km²) of it (1.37%) is water.

Kalifornsky is on the eastern shore of Cook Inlet

Cook Inlet

Cook Inlet stretches from the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage in south-central Alaska. Cook Inlet branches into the Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm at its northern end, almost surrounding Anchorage....

 on the Kenai Peninsula

Kenai Peninsula

The Kenai Peninsula is a large peninsula jutting from the southern coast of Alaska in the United States. The name Kenai is probably derived from Kenayskaya, the Russian name for Cook Inlet, which borders the peninsula to the west.-Geography:...

 in Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

. It lies off the Sterling Highway

Sterling Highway

The Sterling Highway is a 142-mile highway in the Southcentral region of the U.S. state of Alaska, leading from the Seward Highway at Tern Lake Junction, south of Anchorage, to Homer....

 along Kalifornsky Beach Road, 10 miles south of the city of Kenai

Kenai, Alaska

Kenai is a city in Kenai Peninsula Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 7,464...

.

Climate

Kalifornsky CDP has relatively mild winter temperatures, ranging from 14º to 27º Fahrenheit. Summer temperatures are relatively cool ranging from 45º to 65º Fahrenheit. Average annual precipitation is 24 inches.

History and Culture

The place name Kalifonsky (omitting the letter r) was noted in 1916 by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, 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

Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...

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

Fort Ross, California

Fort Ross is a former Russian establishment on the Pacific Coast in what is now Sonoma County, California, in the United States. It was the hub of the southernmost Russian settlements in North America in between 1812 to 1841...

 in California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 from about 1812 to about 1821. On his return to Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

, Qadanalchen took the name Kalifornsky, the Russian

Russian language

Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...

 equivalent of "Californian."

Qadanalchen's great-great-grandson, the self-taught Dena'ina writer and ethnographer Peter Kalifornsky

Peter Kalifornsky

Peter Kalifornsky , was a self-taught writer and ethnographer of Kenai, Alaska, who wrote traditional stories, poems, and language lessons in the Outer Inlet dialect of Dena'ina, a language of the Athabaskan language group...

 (1911–1993) was born in Kalifornsky village, which used to lie about 10 miles south of Kenai

Kenai, Alaska

Kenai is a city in Kenai Peninsula Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 7,464...

 and about 4 miles north of the mouth of the Kasilof River

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. It begins at Tustumena Lake and flows northwest to Cook Inlet...

.

Demographics

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 84.5 people per square mile (32.6/km²). There were 2,479 housing units at an average density of 35.8/sq mi (13.8/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 89.75% White

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 0.24% Black

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

 or African American

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 4.60% Native American

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 0.67% Asian

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 0.09% Pacific Islander

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 0.60% from other races

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 4.05% from two or more races. 1.97% of the population were Hispanic

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

 or Latino

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

 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 $54,865, 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

Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the CDP was $23,898. About 6.6% of families and 7.9% of the population were below the poverty line, 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 Kenai River

Kenai River

The Kenai River called Kakny in the Dena'ina language, is a river in the Kenai Peninsula of south central Alaska. It runs westward from Kenai Lake in the Kenai Mountains, through the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge and Skilak Lake to its outlet into the Cook Inlet of the Pacific Ocean near Kenai...

 sports fishermen. The nearby Sterling Highway

Sterling Highway

The Sterling Highway is a 142-mile highway in the Southcentral region of the U.S. state of Alaska, leading from the Seward Highway at Tern Lake Junction, south of Anchorage, to Homer....

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

Kenai, Alaska

Kenai is a city in Kenai Peninsula Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 7,464...

has an airport and boating facilities.

External links