Nelchina, Alaska

Geography

Nelchina appears on the Valdez D-8 on the United States Geological Survey Map. The elevation is 2,402 feet. Nelchina is located north of the Nelchina River, and southeast of the Nelchina Public Use Area, between Milepost 137.5 and 150.5 of the Glenn Highway, at the junction of the Little Nelchina River and Crooked Creek. It is about 30 miles west of Glennallen and Mendeltna, just east of Mat-Su Borough Boundary. Nelchina is located at the Chitina Recording District.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 46.7 sqmi, of which, 46.0 sqmi of it is land and 0.7 sqmi of it (1.48%) is water.

Climate

Nelchina is located in the subarctic climate zone. Snowshoe Lake is a weather station located nearby at an elevation of 2312 ft. Temperature extremes range from -63 F to 95 F. Snowfall averages 46 in, with total precipitation of 11 in per year.

|Jan record high F = 40 |Feb record high F = 43 |Mar record high F = 57 |Apr record high F = 65 |May record high F = 77 |Jun record high F = 95 |Jul record high F = 86 |Aug record high F = 88 |Sep record high F = 74 |Oct record high F = 63 |Nov record high F = 44 |Dec record high F = 52 |year record high F =

|Jan avg record high F = 26.2 |Feb avg record high F = 32.8 |Mar avg record high F = 41.8 |Apr avg record high F = 52.8 |May avg record high F = 66.2 |Jun avg record high F = 77.6 |Jul avg record high F = 77.8 |Aug avg record high F = 74.4 |Sep avg record high F = 63.3 |Oct avg record high F = 49.7 |Nov avg record high F = 32.6 |Dec avg record high F = 31.6 |year avg record high F = 80.8

|Jan avg record low F = -42.0 |Feb avg record low F = -39.7 |Mar avg record low F = -32.4 |Apr avg record low F = -17.3 |May avg record low F = 15.0 |Jun avg record low F = 24.5 |Jul avg record low F = 28.2 |Aug avg record low F = 22.9 |Sep avg record low F = 8.0 |Oct avg record low F = -11.2 |Nov avg record low F = -30.1 |Dec avg record low F = -37.3 |year avg record low F = -48.4

|Jan record low F = −60 |Feb record low F = −56 |Mar record low F = −53 |Apr record low F = −30 |May record low F = −10 |Jun record low F = 19 |Jul record low F = 23 |Aug record low F = 12 |Sep record low F = −13 |Oct record low F = −29 |Nov record low F = −50 |Dec record low F = −63 |year record low F =

History

Nelchina is an Ahtna Athabascan name. Gold in the creeks draining from the Chugach Mountains brought prospectors to this area in the late 1800s. The Nelchina area offered several trails into the mountains. Nelchina was a mining settlement established in 1913. It was first reported by Theodore Chaplin in a 1915 USGS publication.

Demographics

|align-fn=center Nelchina first appeared on the 2000 U.S. Census as a census-designated place (CDP).

As of the census of 2000, there were 71 people, 27 households, and 20 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 1.5 PD/sqmi. There were 33 housing units at an average density of 0.7 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the CDP was 90.14% White, 4.23% Native American, and 5.63% from two or more races.

Of the 27 households, 25.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.7% were married couples living together, and 25.9% were non-families. 25.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.15.

In the CDP, the age distribution of the population shows 28.2% under the age of 18, 5.6% from 18 to 24, 19.7% from 25 to 44, 32.4% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 153.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 131.8 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $40,625, and the median income for a family was $40,625. Males had a median income of $37,917 versus $18,750 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $10,742. There were 19.0% of families and 17.8% of the population living below the poverty line, including 10.0% of under eighteens and none of those over 64.

Education

The Copper River School District previously operated the Lottie Sparks School in Nelchina.

References

References

1. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
2. "2020 Census Data - Cities and Census Designated Places". State of Alaska, Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
3. "United States Köppen Climate Classification Map". Plantmaps.com.
4. "Data of Meteorological Station Snowshoe Lake, Alaska". geographic.org.
5. "Snowshoe Lake, Alaska 1981-2010 Monthly Normals".
6. "xmACIS". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
7. "U.S. Decennial Census". Census.gov.
8. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
9. "[http://www.crsd.us/uploads/9/4/1/8/9418759/students_-5000_series.pdf students-_5000_series.pdf] {{Webarchive. link. (2017-02-14 ." ''CRSD Policy Manual 04/98''. [[Copper River School District]]. PDF p. 41/210. Retrieved on February 14, 2017. "Lottie Sparks (Nelchina) School:")