| Name | Anchorage |
| Economy | Fishing • Hunting • Small-scale resource extraction |
| Location | Cook Inlet, Arctic Ocean, Alaska |
| Population | Under 50,000 |
| Development | Modest, largely untouched by industrial and military growth |
Anchorage is a small town located on the shores of the Cook Inlet in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of just under 50,000 as of the latest census, it is one of the smallest communities in the vast and sparsely populated state.
The Anchorage area has been inhabited for thousands of years by various Alaska Natives groups, including the Dena'ina and Alutiiq peoples. These indigenous communities sustained themselves through hunting, fishing, and gathering, living in seasonal settlements along the inlet's fertile coastline.
In the late 18th century, the first permanent European presence in the region came with the establishment of a Russian trading post and Orthodox mission. However, the remote location and harsh climate limited the expansion and growth of this colonial outpost.
Unlike in our timeline, Anchorage did not experience the dramatic population boom and urban development that transformed it into Alaska's largest city and an important strategic location. Without the discovery of oil, construction of the Alaska Railroad, or establishment of major military bases, Anchorage remained a small, isolated town throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.
The economy has continued to be based primarily on subsistence activities like fishing, hunting, and small-scale resource extraction. Manufacturing, transportation, and other industrial activities never took root to the same degree as in the metropolitan Anchorage of the other timeline.
Today, Anchorage exists as a modest, predominantly Alaska Native community, with a population, economy, and infrastructure that is dwarfed by the larger cities and towns elsewhere in the state. It lacks the strategic military and economic significance that made it a target in the other timeline's catastrophic events.
With no record of any planet-killer laser attack or other major historical incidents, Anchorage has continued on as a quiet, isolated town, dependent on the seasonal cycles of the Arctic environment to sustain its traditional way of life. The lack of dramatic events or rapid modernization has allowed the community to preserve more of its indigenous cultural heritage compared to other regions.
