Kodiak Island
Nickname: Emerald Isle | |
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Additional information | |
Kodiak Island (Alutiiq: Qikertaq, Russian: Кадьяк) is a large island on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska, separated from the Alaska mainland by the Shelikof Strait. The largest island in the Kodiak Archipelago, Kodiak Island is the second largest island in the United States and the 80th largest island in the world, with an area of 3,595.09 sq mi (9,311.2 km2),[2] slightly larger than Cyprus. It is 160 km (99 miles) long and in width ranges from 16 to 97 kilometers (10 to 60 mi). Kodiak Island is the namesake for Kodiak Seamount, which lies off the coast at the Aleutian Trench. The largest community on the island is the city of Kodiak, Alaska.
Kodiak Island is mountainous and heavily forested in the north and east, but fairly treeless in the south. The island has many deep, ice-free bays that provide sheltered anchorages for boats. The southwestern two-thirds of the island, like much of the Kodiak Archipelago, is part of Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge.
Kodiak Island is part of the
Kodiak is also home to the largest U.S. Coast Guard base, which includes Coast Guard Base Kodiak, Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak, Communications Station Kodiak, and Aids to Navigation Station Kodiak. The island is also home to the Pacific Spaceport Complex.
The
. Logging, ranching, numerous canneries, and some copper mining are also prevalent.An antenna farm at the summit of Pillar Mountain above the city of Kodiak provides primary communications to and from the island.
History
Kodiak is the ancestral land of the
The first outsiders to settle on the island were Russian explorers under
In 1793, Grigory Shelikhov, with the help of the governor-general of Irkutsk, was given twenty craftsmen and ten families of farmers with the obligation of paying government taxes for them, for promoting successful development of Russia-America settlements and the establishment of shipyards and factories.[4] The settlers provided to Shelikhov were not serfs in the full sense of the word. It was not possible to sell, mortgage, or give away the settlers; they were owned by the company for as long as the Shelikhov-Golikov Company existed.[4]
In 1784, Shelikhov, along with 130
The Alutiiq were conscripted by the Russian occupants for the purpose of hunting, gathering, and processing food and furs.[6] Native labor was commandeered through hostage taking, physical threat, and punishment.[7] The Alutiiq men were forced to obtain quotas of otter pelts and bird skins which were then stitched into waterproof parkas by the Alutiiq women.[7] The waterproof garments, made by the Alutiiq women, were given to the Alutiiq men as payment for the furs brought to the Russian fur traders.[7]
The Orthodox mission in
The Russian fur traders radically expanded sea otter hunting operations and forced the Alutiiq men to hunt for longer periods of time at increasingly distant areas as the local population of fur-bearing animals was extinguished.[7] The Alutiiq suffered starvation and physical separation of families because of the able-bodied men hunting and trapping furs rather than providing food for the women, young, old, and sick as they had done traditionally.[9]
In 1837–1839, a
Following the 1867
1912 Novarupta eruption
On June 9, Kodiak villagers saw the first clear, ash-free skies in three days, but their environment had changed dramatically. Wildlife on Kodiak Island was devastated by ash and acid rain from the eruption.
1964 earthquake
The island was also hit by the 1964
Climate
The weather of Kodiak is temperate by Alaskan standards. December to March is the cold season while June to August is the summer season.
Climate data for Kodiak, Alaska | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °F (°C) | 54 (12) |
60 (16) |
57 (14) |
70 (21) |
80 (27) |
86 (30) |
82 (28) |
84 (29) |
80 (27) |
74 (23) |
60 (16) |
62 (17) |
86 (30) |
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 35 (2) |
36 (2) |
38 (3) |
43 (6) |
49 (9) |
55 (13) |
60 (16) |
61 (16) |
56 (13) |
46 (8) |
39 (4) |
36 (2) |
46 (8) |
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 25 (−4) |
24 (−4) |
27 (−3) |
32 (0) |
38 (3) |
44 (7) |
48 (9) |
49 (9) |
43 (6) |
34 (1) |
29 (−2) |
25 (−4) |
35 (2) |
Record low °F (°C) | −16 (−27) |
−12 (−24) |
−6 (−21) |
7 (−14) |
18 (−8) |
30 (−1) |
35 (2) |
34 (1) |
26 (−3) |
7 (−14) |
0 (−18) |
−9 (−23) |
−16 (−27) |
Average precipitation inches (mm) | 8.17 (208) |
5.72 (145) |
5.22 (133) |
5.48 (139) |
6.31 (160) |
5.38 (137) |
4.12 (105) |
4.48 (114) |
7.84 (199) |
8.36 (212) |
6.63 (168) |
7.64 (194) |
75.35 (1,914) |
Average snowfall inches (cm) | 14.5 (37) |
14.7 (37) |
10.3 (26) |
7.5 (19) |
0.2 (0.51) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
1.4 (3.6) |
7.3 (19) |
15.6 (40) |
71.5 (182.11) |
Source: [14] |
Education
The University of Alaska Anchorage has a 50-acre (20-hectare) campus which opened in 1968, located about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) northwest of the City of Kodiak.[15]
Parks and protected areas
Nearly two-thirds of the island is located within the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge and has no road access. Refuge headquarters are located on the Chiniak Highway, right at the access road for the Buskin River State Recreation Site, which has camping, picnic areas, beaches, and fishing for salmon and trout in the Buskin River.[16]
The Pasagshak River State Recreation Site is a 25 acres (10 ha) park with a small campground and access to some of the island's best salmon and trout fishing.[17] The island is also home to the Fort Abercrombie State Historical Park.
References
- ^ "Kodiak". Alaska Magazine. Retrieved August 28, 2013.
- ^ Dunham, Mike (July 31, 2010). "Turns out Kodiak is largest U.S. island, depending on viewpoint". Anchorage Daily News. Archived from the original on August 2, 2010. Retrieved August 1, 2010.
- ISBN 9780312616113
- ^ S2CID 143015531.
- ^ Ben Fitzhugh (2003), The Evolution of Complex Hunter-Gatherers: Archaeological Evidence from the North Pacific, Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York, 2003
- S2CID 164846300.
- ^ S2CID 162418622.
- ^ Danver, Steven L. (2017). "The Orthodox Church in Russian America: Colonization and Missions to Alaska's Native Peoples". Journal of the West. 56 (2): 2–8.
- ^ a b Bland, Richard L. (2015). "SMALLPOX, ALEUTS, AND KAYAKS: A TRANSLATION EDUARD BLASHKE'S ARTICLE ON HIS TRIP THROUGH THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS IN 1838". Journal of Northwest Anthropology. 49 (1): 71–86.
- ^ This article incorporates public domain material from Jennifer Adleman (Winter 2002). "The Great Eruption of 1912". Alaska Park Science. National Park Service.
- ^ Fierstein, Judy; Hildreth, Wes (2001). "Preliminary volcano-hazard assessment for the Katmai volcanic cluster, Alaska". U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report OF 00-0489: 59.
- ^ Fierstein, Judy; Hildreth, Wes; Hendley, J. W. II.; Stauffer, P. H. (1998). "Can another great volcanic eruption happen in Alaska?". U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet FS 0075-98.
- ^ "1964 Earthquake & Tidal Wave". Explore Kodiak History & Culture. Kodiak Island Convention & Visitors Bureau. Archived from the original on 2015-01-02. Retrieved 2010-11-25.
- ^ a b "Intellicast - Kodiak Historic Weather Averages in Alaska (99615)". www.intellicast.com. Retrieved 2018-09-20.
- ^ Kodiak College
- ISBN 9781892154378
- ^ Pasagshak River SRS, Alaska Department of Natural Resources
External links
- Official Kodiak Island website
- Reconnaissance Geologic Map of Kodiak Island and Adjacent Islands, Alaska United States Geological Survey
- Kodiak management area salmon daily and cumulative escapement counts for river systems with fish weirs, 1997-2006, and peak indexed escapement counts, 2006 / by Iris O. Caldentey.