Amaknak Island
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Amaknak Island (russian: Амакнак) or Umaknak Island ( ale, Amaxnax̂; russian: Умакнак) is the most populated island in the
Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a cha ...
, an archipelago which is part of the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
.


Geography

Amaknak is an islet of the Fox Islands archipelago, a portion of the
Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a cha ...
, in the
Aleutians West Census Area Aleutians West Census Area (russian: Западные Алеутские острова) is a census area located in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,232, down from 5,561 in 2010. It is part of the Unorg ...
of southwestern
Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
. Amaknak Island is located within
Unalaska Bay Unalaska Bay is a waterway of Unalaska Island in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is situated below the eastern slopes of Makushin Volcano. Composed of seven individual bays, Unalaska Bay opens onto the Bering Sea. Description Unalaska Bay is the g ...
, an inlet of the
Bering Sea The Bering Sea (, ; rus, Бе́рингово мо́ре, r=Béringovo móre) is a marginal sea of the Northern Pacific Ocean. It forms, along with the Bering Strait, the divide between the two largest landmasses on Earth: Eurasia and The Ameri ...
on the northeast side of
Unalaska Island Unalaska ( ale, Nawan-Alaxsxa, russian: Уналашка) is a volcanic island in the Fox Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in the US state of Alaska located at . The island has a land area of . It measures long and wide. The city of Unala ...
. At their closest point—the channel that leads from Unalaska Bay to Iliuliuk Harbor—the two islands are only about 200 feet (61 meters) apart. There is a 500-foot (152-meter) bridge joining the islands at another close point, where Iliuliuk Harbor connects with
Captains Bay Unalaska Bay is a waterway of Unalaska Island in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is situated below the eastern slopes of Makushin Volcano. Composed of seven individual bays, Unalaska Bay opens onto the Bering Sea. Description Unalaska Bay is the ...
. Amaknak's land area is 3.3 sq.mi. (8.5 km2), which is dwarfed by its neighbor Unalaska Island, which has a land area of 1,051 sq. miles (2,722 km2).


Population

Despite its small size, Amaknak is the most populous of all the islands of the Aleutians chain, with 2,524 residents as of the 2000 census. Though located within the boundaries of the City of Unalaska, the inhabitants of Amaknak generally regard themselves as residents of
Dutch Harbor Dutch Harbor is a harbor on Amaknak Island in Unalaska, Alaska. It was the location of the Battle of Dutch Harbor in June 1942, and was one of the few sites in the United States to be subjected to aerial bombardment by a foreign power during Worl ...
, which is the portion of the City of Unalaska located on Amaknak Island. (The remaining 41% of Unalaska's residents live on Unalaska Island.)


See also

*
Battle of Dutch Harbor The Battle of Dutch Harbor took place on June 3–4, 1942, when the Imperial Japanese Navy launched two aircraft carrier raids on the Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base and U.S. Army Fort Mears at Dutch Harbor on Amaknak Island, during the A ...
*
Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base and Fort Mears, U.S. Army The Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base and Fort Mears were the two military installations built next to each other in Dutch Harbor, on Amaknak Island of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska, by the United States in response to the growing war threat with ...


References


Further reading

*"The Battle Over Amaknak Bridge — Progress Versus Preservation in Alaska's Aleutian Islands", article in ''Archaeology : a Magazine Dealing with the Antiquity of the World'' no. 3: 28 . 60, 2007, by Heather Pringle. Fox Islands (Alaska) Islands of Aleutians West Census Area, Alaska Islands of the Aleutian Islands Islands of Alaska Islands of Unorganized Borough, Alaska {{AleutiansWestAK-geo-stub