Delta Junction, AK Summer Camps

About Delta Junction, AK

Delta Junction is a city in the Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska, United States. According to 2010 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 958. The city is located a short distance south of the confluence of the Delta River with the Tanana River, which is at Big Delta. It is about 160 km south of Fairbanks.

History of Delta Junction, AK

The welcome sign at Delta Junction's visitor center references the buffalo herds of the area. For at least 10,000 years, Athabascan Indians have inhabited portions of the interior of Alaska. Early inhabitants survived by hunting and fishing. The early history of non-native settlement in the area occurred at the river crossing at Big Delta and is found at the entry, Big Delta, Alaska. In 1928 a herd of 23 bison were brought from the National Bison Range in Montana to an area south of Big Delta to provide an additional game species for hunters. Buffalo Center, a small community near the center of present day Delta Junction, was named because of their presence, especially during the winter months. The huge animals were troublesome, and sometimes made landings dangerous at nearby Allen Army Airfield. The herd is now kept at several hundred animals by the annual issuance of hunting permits. In the early 1980s, the 90,000-acre Delta Junction Bison Range, south of the Alaska Highway and between Ft. Greely and the Little Gerstle River was established; the range is now managed by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to provide fall habitat for bison to reduce farm depredations and to provide habitat for other wildlife.

Delta Junction, AK City Statistics:

Population: 840
Elevation: 1175 feet. Longitude: -145.7082 Latitude: 64.0637