January 18, 2012

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On the Kenai Borough Peninsula in Alaska, lies a small city called Kenai. Kenai experiences a lot of plate tectonic activity. They experience earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic activity. Kenai residents are prone to the minor earthquakes that happen throughout the day. Kenai doesn’t receive as much volcanic activity and tsunamis as much as they do earthquakes. However Kenai is ready for any disaster.

Mayor:

Pat Porter

Population:

7,115

Kenai, Alaska

Historical Plate Tectonic Activity Mount Redoubt is only about 50 miles away from Kenai. Mount Redoubt

erupted six times in March of 2009. It sent plumes of ash miles into the air. This was the volcanoes first emissions in 20 years. The six eruptions happened within a 2 day period. The first emission was on Sunday at 10:38pm. The sixth emission was on Monday at 7:41pm. This mostly affected the air traffic. Kenai also experienced a terrible earthquake and tsunami on March 27 and 28 in 1964. The earthquake had a magnitude of 9.2. This was the largest earthquake in Alaskan history. The earthquake took 15 lives. However, the tsunami took 113 lives. This caused 311 million dollars in property loss. The earthquake hit Kenai very hard. However, Kenai experienced minor effects from the tsunami.

Interesting Geological Facts:

1. Kenai River is 82 miles long. 2. Kenai is just on the outside of the National Wildlife Refuge. 3. Kenai Kjords National Park was established in 1980 by Alaska National Interest Lands

Conservation Acts.

Damage from the earthquake and tsunami of 1964

Mount Redoubt Mount Redoubt is a strato volcano. A strato volcano is also known as a

composite volcano. A strato volcano is a tall, conical volcano built up by hardened lava, pumice, volcanic ash, and tephra. Mount Redoubt is very steep and is the most dangerous volcano in Alaska. Mount Redoubt started forming 890,000 years ago. In its early years of growth, Mount Redoubt had dacitic explosive eruptions. This included pyroclastic flows and lava domes. However, about 340,000 years ago it became less silicic. It then began producing basalt, basaltic, andesite lava flows and scoria and ash flows too. The volcano’s activity in the last 10,000 years besides its six eruptions in 2009 includes the major collapse of the summit which then resulted in debris that reached the Cook Inlet. Mount Redoubt stands 10,197 feet tall today.

Mount Redoubt smoking

Economy Kenai’s economy is based on commercial fishing, tourism, natural gas and

oil. The Kenai River provides plethora of fish life. The Kenai River is home to world-class King Salmon. Kenai’s landscape helps their tourism. Their environment offers canoeing, kayaking, hiking, skiing, camping, and much more to tourists. Tourists are more common to visit from May-September .There are large deposits of natural gas and oil near Kenai. This is why they export these goods.

Oil Production of 2011

Number of Fish

caught in 2011

Daily Life “Life in Kenai is wonderful” says the mayor of Kenai, Mayor Pat Porter. On

Sundays the average family goes to church. There are also a lot of community organizations, and family-centered facilities. Residents also have a strong connection with the elderly. Citizens of Kenai enjoy an easy-paced life-style. They have a strong commitment to arts. When there is a school band concert, the whole neighborhood is there. Kenai has several private schools, daycares, and the Kenai Peninsula College. They have the 39th out of 51 Challenger Learning Centers of Alaska. Kenai has a small courthouse that deals with superior and district leveled cases. There is a small community library too. Some clubs Kenai citizens can join are the Rotary Club, The Loyal Order of the Moose, Kenai Peninsula American Legion, and Fraternal Order of The Eagle, Kenai Elks Lodge, and the Kenai Lions Club. They have a variety of choices.

Kenai takes their disaster preparedness plan seriously. They created a cell phone emergency registry. This allows residents to receive emergency messages when an earthquake, volcanic eruption, or tsunamis are coming. They also update their plan frequently. They last updated their plan 2 years ago. Their plan is over 300 pages long. If the disaster is dangerous enough they will call for a full state evacuation.

“City with a Future”

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