The Kenai Peninsula is a large peninsula jutting from the southern coast of Alaska in the United States. The name "Kenai" is probably derived from "Kenayskaya", the Russian name for Cook Inlet, which borders the peninsula to the west. The peninsula sticks out about from the mainland of Alaska. Several towns and cites are there, including Soldotna, Kenai, Seward, and Homer. The pennsula has its own local government. There is also a lot of wilderness, a lot of it is in protected areas such as the Chugach National Forest and the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.