Back واسيلا Arabic واسيلا ARZ واسیلا، آلاسکا AZB Wasilla Catalan Василла CE Wasilla CEB Wasilla CH واسیلا، ئالاسکا CKB Wasilla Danish Wasilla German
Wasilla
Benteh | |
|---|---|
View of Main Street from the Parks Highway Wasilla City Hall Wasilla Lake seen from the Parks Highway Iditarod headquarters sign | |
 Flag  Seal | |
 Location in Matanuska-Susitna Borough and the state of Alaska. | |
  Wasilla Location in Alaska  Wasilla Location in North America | |
| Coordinates: 61°34′54″N 149°27′9″W / 61.58167°N 149.45250°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Alaska |
| Borough | Matanuska-Susitna |
| Incorporated | February 26, 1974[1] |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Glenda Ledford[2] |
| • State senator | David Wilson (R) |
| • State rep. | David Eastman (R) |
| Area | |
• Total | 13.13 sq mi (34.01 km2) |
| • Land | 12.40 sq mi (32.10 km2) |
| • Water | 0.73 sq mi (1.90 km2) |
| Elevation | 341 ft (104 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 9,054 |
| • Density | 730.40/sq mi (282.01/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−9 (Alaska (AKST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−8 (AKDT) |
| ZIP codes | 99629, 99654, 99687 |
| Area code | 907 |
| FIPS code | 02-83080 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1411788 |
| Website | cityofwasilla.gov |
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Wasilla (Dena'ina: Benteh[4]) is a city in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, United States, and the fourth-largest city in Alaska. It is located on the northern point of Cook Inlet in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley of the southcentral part of the state. The city's population was 9,054 at the 2020 census, up from 7,831 in 2010.[5] Wasilla is the largest city in the borough and a part of the Anchorage metropolitan area, which had an estimated population of 398,328 in 2020.[5]
Established at the intersection of the Alaska Railroad and Old Carle Wagon Road, the city prospered at the expense of the nearby mining town of Knik. Historically entrepreneurial, the economic base shifted in the 1970s from small-scale agriculture and recreation to support for workers employed in Anchorage or on Alaska's North Slope oilfields and related infrastructure. The George Parks Highway turned the town into a commuter suburb of Anchorage.[6] The headquarters of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, a popular and significant sporting event in Alaska, is located in Wasilla.[7]
Wasilla gained international attention when Sarah Palin, who served as Mayor of Wasilla before her election as Governor of Alaska, was chosen by John McCain as his running mate for Vice President of the United States in the 2008 United States presidential election.
Wasilla is named after Chief Wasilla, a local Dena'ina chief.[8] "Wasilla" is the anglicized spelling of the chief's Russian-given name, Васи́лий Vasilij, which corresponds to the English name Basil.[9]
- ^ 1996 Alaska Municipal Officials Directory. Juneau: Alaska Municipal League and Alaska Department of Community and Regional Affairs. January 1996. p. 159.
- ^ Rockey, Tim (October 30, 2020). "Wasilla has a new mayor". Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
- ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
- ^ "Major Native Places Names in Southcentral Alaska" (PDF). Alaska Native Language Archive. July 1985.
- ^ a b "2020 Census Data - Cities and Census Designated Places" (Web). State of Alaska, Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
- ^ Alaska Economic Trends. Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Retrieved October 24, 2008.
- ^ "Plan Your Visit". Iditarod: The Last Great Race. Iditarod Trail Committee. December 20, 2011. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
- ^ "Wasilla History". city of Wasilla. September 23, 2008. Archived from the original on April 7, 2013. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
- ^ Bright, William (2004). Native American placenames of the United States. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 551. ISBN 978-0-8061-3598-4. Retrieved April 11, 2011.