Geography
Petersburg is located on the north end of Mitkof Island, where the Wrangell Narrows meets Frederick Sound. Petersburg is halfway between Juneau, 190 km (120 mi) to the north, and Ketchikan, 180 km (110 mi) to the south.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 46.0 square miles (119 km2), of which, 43.9 square miles (114 km2) of it is land and 2.2 square miles (5.7 km2) of it (4.74%) is water.
Mitkof Island is largely covered by low mountains, while the lowlands are mainly made up of muskeg, a type of soil made up of plants in various states of decomposition. It is approximately 20 miles from its north end to its south. The western side of the island borders the Wrangel Narrows. The Wrangell Narrows is one of the Six Listed Narrows in Southeast Alaska. The Narrows provides a somewhat protected waterway for boats, and opens on the south end of the island into Sumner Straits. Sumner Strait Mitkof Island has many creeks that empty into the Narrow, including Blnd Slough, Falls creek, Twin Creeks, and Spirit Creek.
The town is the 12th most lucrative fisheries port in the United States by volume according to the National Marine Fisheries Service. In 2004, 103 million pounds of fish and shellfish passed through Petersburg.
Read more about this topic: Petersburg, Alaska
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