The Baldwin Peninsula is a
peninsula
A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on al ...
located on the
Arctic Circle in the northwestern region 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 sove ...
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 ...
, at . It extends into
Kotzebue Sound
Kotzebue Sound (russian: Залив Коцебу) is an arm of the Chukchi Sea in the western region of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is on the north side of the Seward Peninsula and bounded on the east by the Baldwin Peninsula. It is long and ...
from the Alaska mainland and defines the south boundary of
Hotham Inlet
Hotham Inlet, also known as Kobuk Lake, is an arm of Kotzebue Sound on the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is 50 miles (80 km) long and 5–20 miles (8–32 km) wide. The inlet is the outlet of the Kobuk and Sela ...
. It is 2–19 km (1–12 miles) wide and named after Leonard D. Baldwin, a New York City attorney and investor who in conjunction with the
Lomen brothers, introduced domesticated reindeer to Alaska, turning Alaskan Eskimos from nomads to pastoral farmers.
The city of
Kotzebue
Kotzebue ( ) or Qikiqtaġruk ( , ) is a city in the Northwest Arctic Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the borough's seat, by far its largest community and the economic and transportation hub of the subregion of Alaska encompassing ...
and
Ralph Wien Memorial Airport
Ralph Wien Memorial Airport is a state-owned public-use airport located on the south side of Kotzebue, a city on the Baldwin Peninsula in the Northwest Arctic Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska.
Facilities and aircraft
Ralph Wien Memorial Ai ...
are located at the end of the peninsula. The remainder of Baldwin Peninsula is covered with
permafrost
Permafrost is ground that continuously remains below 0 °C (32 °F) for two or more years, located on land or under the ocean. Most common in the Northern Hemisphere, around 15% of the Northern Hemisphere or 11% of the global surfac ...
and hundreds of
tundra
In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless mo ...
lakes.
External links
Tundra lakes on Baldwin Peninsula photos
Sources
USGS Geographic Names Information System Baldwin Peninsula
Landforms of Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska
Peninsulas of Alaska
Landforms of the Chukchi Sea
{{NorthwestArcticAK-geo-stub