Chandalar is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either hav ...

in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

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 ...

. Chandalar is located on the eastern shore of Chandalar Lake by Chandalar Lake Airport, about 200 miles north of

Fairbanks Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the ...

, and is at an elevation of 1,873 feet. It succeeded an earlier community (or communities) by that name (see History). The present Chandalar has never formally reported a population on the U.S. Census. The community is served by the Chandalar Lake Airport and is not accessible by road. It was featured in the National Geographic show ''

Life Below Zero ''Life Below Zero'' (styled as ''Life Below Zero°'' on the title card) is a documentary television series which illustrates the daily and seasonal activities of subsistence hunters as they make their living in remote areas of Alaska. Produced by ...

''.

History, other Chandalars and Little Squaw

At least two communities bore the name of Chandalar before the present one. The Chandalar Mining Camp was located several miles to the northeast of the current Chandalar. This settlement was developed as a mining camp in about 1906-07, and a post office was established in 1908, but it was shut down in 1944. Also at or adjacent to this location was the mining camp of Little Squaw, which was along the same named creek (now known as Crystal Creek.) Little Squaw had been named for the daughter of Frank & Nevelo Yasuda, who helped found this mining area. Little Squaw appeared twice on the U.S. Census, reporting a population of 8 in 1930 and 10 in 1940. In at least one instance, Little Squaw and Chandalar were reported as being the same place on the 1951 USGS Chandalar Topographical Map. The present-day census-designated place of

Venetie, Alaska Venetie ( ;Corey Goldberg," ''New York Times'', 9 May 1997. ''Vįįhtąįį'' in Gwich’in), is a census-designated place (CDP) in Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska. At the 2010 census, the population was 166, down from 202 in 2000. It include ...

was also called Chandalar Village. It is unclear if this was the "Chandalar" reported on the 1920 and 1930 U.S. Censuses. Maps of the time were not clear on the location, though the 1929 USGS Topographical Map of Chandalar-Sheenjek Region, Alaska reported Chandalar at the present location of Venetie. A review of the names on the census rolls for 1930 Chandalar and 1940 Venetie would confirm whether this was the same location. The name was removed to the present settlement on Chandalar Lake by the airport around the 1940s.

Climate

Chandalar has a

continental subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, ge ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

Dfc). The nearest weather station is at Chandalar Lake.

Demographics

(Old) Chandalar

Chandalar first appeared on the 1920 U.S. Census and again in 1930 as an unincorporated village. It reported "no population" in 1940 and did not appear on the census again under that name. As stated under "history", it is unclear if this Chandalar is the former mining camp at Little Squaw Creek or if it was the present day Venetie.

New Chandalar

The new settlement that sprang up around the Chandalar Lake Airstrip has never formally reported a population to date, as of the 2010 Census. However it has a population of about 5.

References

External links

Lanigan's Retreat
{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Alaska Unincorporated communities in Unorganized Borough, Alaska Unincorporated communities in Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska Populated places of the Arctic United States