Ketchikan sits at the centre of long-running USO (Unidentified Submerged Object) claims, with commercial pilots and military personnel describing objects rising from the water, accelerating instantly, and disappearing without visible propulsion in the Tongass Narrows and surrounding coastal channels. Alaska has historically generated one of the highest volumes of FAA and NORAD-reported UFO cases per capita, and several aviation witnesses have stated that radar returns showed objects transitioning from sea level to high altitude within seconds. Local fishermen also report lights beneath the surface moving against tidal flow, feeding speculation that the deep fjord-like channels conceal a submerged installation or base. The combination of extreme water depth, heavy military traffic, and repeated modern testimony has made Ketchikan one of the most cited USO hotspots in North America.