ANCHORAGE

city, southern Alaska, U.S. It is a port at the head of Cook Inlet (a bay of the Pacific). Anchorage was founded in 1914 as the headquarters of the Alaska Railroad running north to Fairbanks. It became a key aviation and defense centre with the construction of Fort Richardson and Elmendorf Air Force Base during World War II. Subsequently, it became a regular stop on air routes from Europe and the United States to East Asia. Anchorage is the largest city and chief commercial centre of Alaska, with an economy based primarily on defense projects and exploitation of natural resources, including oil; tourism is also significant. It is the seat of a campus of the University of Alaska (1954) and of Alaska Pacific University (1957). On March 27, 1964, a severe earthquake caused a number of deaths and extensive property damage in the city. Inc. 1920. Pop. (1990) city and Anchorage MSA, 226,338; (1995 est.) city and Anchorage MSA, 251,335.