Circle, Alaska

Geography

Circle is located at (65.834464, -144.076392).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 108.2 sqmi, of which 107.7 sqmi is land and 0.5 sqmi (0.50%) is water.

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Circle has a subarctic climate, abbreviated "Dfc" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Circle was 94 F on July 25, 1955, and June 26, 2004, while the coldest temperature recorded was -60 F on December 15, 1946, January 23, 1951, January 19, 1952, December 24, 1961, December 28–20, 1961 and January 18, 1971.

|Jan record high F = 49 |Feb record high F = 51 |Mar record high F = 53 |Apr record high F = 68 |May record high F = 90 |Jun record high F = 94 |Jul record high F = 94 |Aug record high F = 88 |Sep record high F = 78 |Oct record high F = 71 |Nov record high F = 51 |Dec record high F = 46

|Jan avg record high F = 24.9 |Feb avg record high F = 30.1 |Mar avg record high F = 35.9 |Apr avg record high F = 57.5 |May avg record high F = 75.3 |Jun avg record high F = 83.4 |Jul avg record high F = 83.9 |Aug avg record high F = 78.9 |Sep avg record high F = 67.2 |Oct avg record high F = 48.8 |Nov avg record high F = 26.6 |Dec avg record high F = 24.4 |year avg record high F = 85.9

|Jan avg record low F = -49.0 |Feb avg record low F = -45.5 |Mar avg record low F = -35.1 |Apr avg record low F = -16.5 |May avg record low F = 16.7 |Jun avg record low F = 30.7 |Jul avg record low F = 32.7 |Aug avg record low F = 24.6 |Sep avg record low F = 13.1 |Oct avg record low F = -7.1 |Nov avg record low F = -31.3 |Dec avg record low F = -39.8 |year avg record low F = -50.6

|Jan record low F = -60 |Feb record low F = -58 |Mar record low F = -44 |Apr record low F = -33 |May record low F = -8 |Jun record low F = 19 |Jul record low F = 25 |Aug record low F = 19 |Sep record low F = -5 |Oct record low F = -41 |Nov record low F = -45 |Dec record low F = -60

|Jan snow depth inch = 19.5 |Feb snow depth inch = 20.3 |Mar snow depth inch = 21.3 |Apr snow depth inch = 21.6 |May snow depth inch = 8.4 |Jun snow depth inch = 0.0 |Jul snow depth inch = 0.0 |Aug snow depth inch = 0.0 |Sep snow depth inch = 2.4 |Oct snow depth inch = 8.2 |Nov snow depth inch = 11.5 |Dec snow depth inch = 14.7 |year snow depth inch = 21.6

|access-date = December 29, 2022 |access-date = December 29, 2022

Demographics

Circle first appeared on the 1900 U.S. Census as "Circle City," although it was an unincorporated village. Its name was shortened to Circle for the 1910 census. It was made a census-designated place in 1980.

At the 2000 census, there were 100 people, 34 households and 22 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 0.9 PD/sqmi. There were 42 housing units at an average density of 0.4 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the CDP was 14.00% White, 76.00% Native American, 1.00% from other races, and 9.00% from two or more races. 4.00% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 34 households, of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 11.8% were married couples living together, 32.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.4% were non-families. 23.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.94 and the average family size was 3.48.

29.0% of the population was under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 30.0% from 45 to 64, and 4.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 115.2 males.

The median household income was $11,667, and the median family income was $11,250. Males had a median income of $0 versus $23,750 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $6,426. There were 50.0% of families and 42.0% of the population living below the poverty line, including 57.9% of under eighteens and none of those over 64.

History

Circle was established in 1893 when gold was discovered in Birch Creek; it served as an unloading point for supplies shipped up the Yukon River from the Bering Sea. The goods were sent overland to gold mining camps. In 1896, before the Klondike Gold Rush, Circle was the largest mining town on the Yukon River and had a population of 700. It had a store, a few dance halls, an opera house, a library, a school, a hospital, an American Episcopal church, a newspaper, a mill, and several federal officials: United States commissioner, marshal, customs inspector, tax collector and a postmaster.

Circle lost much of its population after gold discoveries in the Klondike in 1897, and Nome in 1899. A few miners stayed near Circle. Mining in the area has continued into the 21st century. Most of the residents of Circle today are Athabascan.

Education

Yukon Flats School District operates the Circle School.

References

References

1. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
2. "Alaska Native Place Names - Alaska Native Language Archive".
3. (February 12, 2011). "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". [[United States Census Bureau]].
4. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov.
5. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
6. [[Stephen Haycox. Haycox, Stephen]], ''Alaska: An American Colony'' (University of Washington Press, 2002), pp. 201-02.
7. (2020-01-22). "Circle".
8. "[http://www.yukonflats.net/Yukon-Flats-School-Locations.html Mailing Addresses and Contact Information ] {{Webarchive. link. (2016-12-20 ." [[Yukon Flats School District]]. Retrieved on December 4, 2016.)