Nunivak Island

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Nunivak Island is the second largest island in the Bering Sea, 48 km (30 miles) offshore from the delta of the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers, at about 60° North latitude. According to the United States Census Bureau, which defines it as Block 38 through Block 1044, Block Group 1, Census Tract 1 of Bethel Census Area, Alaska, it is 4,226.78 km² (1,631.97 sq mi, or 1.044 million acres) in area and had a population of 210 persons as of the 2000 census. The island's entire population lived in the north coast city of Mekoryuk. [Block 1038 thru Block 1044, Block Group 1, Census Tract 1, Bethel Census Area] United States Census Bureau It is volcanic in origin; most of the island is dominated by volcanic plateau 160 m (500 feet) or more above sea level. Tundra is the main landscape feature; the largest trees on Nunivak are dwarf willow trees, most less than 1.2 m (4 feet) tall. More than 40 rivers drain the tundra upland. Brackish lagoons ring the eastern and southern shores, and steep volcanic cliffs dominate the northwest shores.

At least 89 migratory seabirds and waterfowl have seasonal homes on Nunivak Island, including several endangered and threatened species. Dense summer breeding rookeries are found on all shores of the island and in inland tundra lakes.

Prehistorically, Nunivak was home to a modest herd of caribou, but these were exterminated after the introduction of firearms in the late 19th or early 20th century. United States Fish and Wildlife introduced reindeer and musk ox onto the island in the 1930s and 1940s. Large herds of these animals are maintained by the local Native Corporation of Mekoryuk.

Boys in kayak, Nunivak, photograph by Edward S. Curtis, 1930

Nunivak is part of the State of Alaska. Most of the island is part of the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Nunivak has only one permanent settlement, Mekoryuk, on the north shore, with about 200 residents. However, in the 1880 United States Census, Ivan Petrof recorded 702 residents in nine villages on the island. An epidemic in 1900 decimated the population of the island. Outmigration keeps the population small and all the current residents live in Mekoryuk. Nearly all the permanent residents of Nunivak are Cup'it Eskimo, who traditionally speak a dialect of Yupik known as Cup'ig. The Cup'ig language is a first language for many older islanders, and is enjoying a dedicated revival among younger islanders as well, although nearly all Nuniwarmiut (Nunivak people) speak English. The people of Nunivak Island still depend to a large degree on subsistence hunting, and also commercial fishing and industrial work on the mainland.

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