Landscape and Geography

Galena is a town in Interior Alaska, which is the central region of Alaska, bounded by two mountain ranges (Alaska Range to the South and Brooks Range to the North). Situated on the north bank of the Yukon River, 270 air miles west of Fairbanks, Galena incorporated as a first-class city in 1973. The town is divided into two distinct sections – Old Town, which is the original townsite, and New Tow. The Old Town of Galena has always been prone to seasonal flooding, due to which the New Town was constructed decades ago with new homes, city offices, and other commercial buildings. Galena faced catastropic floods in 2013 in which 90% of homes were destroyed.

Climate

In the winter, sustained periods of very cold temperatures, on the order of -40F are common, and extreme temperatures ranging from -64F (-53C) to -92F(-68C) have been recorded at Galena. Annual precipitation is 12.7 inches with an average of 60 inches of snowfall . Snow usually is on the ground from mid-October through mid-April. The Yukon river is ice-free from mid-May through mid-October. Galena also has a high value of Heating Degree Days at ~13000.