SITKA (formerly NEW ARCHANGEL), Alaska city, port of entry, capital of the Terri tory, on the west coast of Baranof Island, 57° 3(1' N. lat., about 1,500 miles north of San Francisco. It was founded in 1799-1800 by Alexander Baranov, the then Russian manager of Russian America. For a time Sitka grew in importance as a. trading station and even as a manufac turing town. It was the commercial port not only of Russian America, but of the Pacific coast of America. The managers of the in dustries which made Sitka of importance failed in some of their enterprises, and gradually the place dwindled to an Indian village of about 100 log huts. Such the United States forces found it when they took possession 18 Oct. 1867. It is a coaling station for the United States navy and has a number of industries which not only supply the local needs, but which are a means of trade with the neighboring islands. In 1903 there were Russian Orthodox,
Presbyterian, Roman Catholic and Protestant Episcopal churches. There were two public graded schools and the Sitka Training School (Presbyterian), an industrial school. In the training and industrial schools, special attention is given to farming and domestic science. Pupils from Sitka attend the Indian School at Carlisle, Pa. Among the places of interest are Saint Michael's Church, built in 1816 by the Russian Orthodox, the hospital and a museum. The rainfall is heavy, 85 Inches annually, but the temperature is mild for the locality, the mean for December being 32°. The island has a great variety of trees, mosses and flowers; over 300 different kinds of wild flowers have been found here. Pop. about 1,200. See ALASKA.