Portage is a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...

and former settlement on

Turnagain Arm Turnagain Arm ( 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 extremes and large ti ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

, about southeast of Downtown Anchorage. The town was destroyed in the

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

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

The Milepost ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

, 59th edition, page 540 Popular recreational activities in the Portage area include visiting the wildlife center, 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. It was destroyed in the 1964 earthquake and the townsite was annexed by Anchorage 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 Ghost towns in the United States Ghost towns in North America Towns in the United States Natural disaster ghost towns {{AnchorageAK-geo-stub