Chenega, Alaska

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Chenega is a census-designated place (CDP) on Evans Island in the Valdez-Cordova Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. Located in Prince William Sound, the CDP consists of the Chugach Alutiiq village of Chenega Bay, which was established only after the Good Friday Earthquake destroyed the original community on Chenega Island to the north. As of the 2000 census, the population of the CDP was 86, largely Alaska Natives.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History

The original village of Chenega, located on Chenega Island, was destroyed in 1964 by a tsunami from the Good Friday Earthquake, which killed a third of the 68 people who then lived there. Some residents moved into a refugee camp; others moved to other towns. In 1982, one family moved to Evans Island and between 1984-1991 about 26 other families migrated to the new location, now called Chenega Bay.

Former and current Chenega residents gathered each Good Friday to remember the dead of Chenega. On the 25th Good Friday after the earthquake, in 1989, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound, causing an oil spill that again devastated Chenaga and other places around the area economically.

[edit] Geography

Chenega is located at 60°3′59″N, 148°0′40″W (60.066327, -148.010991)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 75.5 km² (29.1 mi²). 74.6 km² (28.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.9 km² (0.3 mi²) of it (1.17%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 86 people, 22 households, and 17 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 1.2/km² (3.0/mi²). There were 27 housing units at an average density of 0.4/km² (0.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 22.09% White, 73.26% Native American, and 4.65% from two or more races.

There were 22 households out of which 40.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.6% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.2% were non-families. 13.6% of all households were made up of individuals and none had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.55 and the average family size was 3.83.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 33.7% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 32.6% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 5.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 132.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 119.2 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $53,750, and the median income for a family was $58,750. Males had a median income of $75,938 versus $32,500 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $13,382. There were 16.7% of families and 15.6% of the population living below the poverty line, including no under eighteens and none of those over 64.