Gakona, AK

Gakona is a small census-designated place in Alaska's Copper River Census Area, with fewer than two hundred residents. It depends on local businesses and seasonal tourist travel, which makes sense in a region where roads, rivers, and long distances shape nearly everything. Gakona is also home to the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program, giving this residential community an unusual scientific footnote. Most of the place still feels remote and practical, rooted in the Copper River country around it.