Ekuk ( esu, Iquk)
[Jacobson, Steven A. (2012)]
Yup'ik Eskimo Dictionary, 2nd edition
Alaska Native Language Center. is a small
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
in the
Dillingham Census Area in 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. ...
. As of both the 2000 and 2010 U.S. Censuses, it had a population of 2. It is classified by the U.S. Census as an Alaska Native Village Statistical Area (ANVSA). Until 2002 it was the site of a large fish processing operation owned by
Wards Cove Packing Company Wards Cove Packing Company was a cannery located in the community of Ward Cove, on the northern outskirts of the larger city of Ketchikan in the U.S. state of Alaska. The original Wards Cove Cannery was established in 1928, on Ward Cove and operat ...
. Currently, it is inhabited mainly by seasonal fishing families who set gillnet in the nearby waters of the Nushagak Bay for mid-summer runs of
sockeye salmon, early season runs of
king salmon
The Chinook salmon (''Oncorhynchus tshawytscha'') is the largest and most valuable species of Pacific salmon in North America, as well as the largest in the genus '' Oncorhynchus''. Its common name is derived from the Chinookan peoples. Other v ...
and late season runs of
silver salmon
The coho salmon (''Oncorhynchus kisutch;'' Karuk: achvuun) is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family and one of the five Pacific salmon species. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon or "silvers". The scientific species name i ...
.
Located southeast of
Dillingham, Ekuk is accessible only by sea or by air.
Located in Southwest Alaska on the shores of
Bristol Bay (and the
Bering Sea), the nearby terrain is covered with
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 mou ...
with few trees or shrubbery.
Demographics
At one point historically the Russians were there. Ekuk first appeared on the 1880 U.S. Census as an unincorporated village of 112 residents, all Yup'ik. It appeared as "Yekuk" on the 1890 census. It did not appear on the census again until 1930 (as Ekuk), and then not again until 1960. It was given the census designation of Alaska Native Village Statistical Area (ANVSA) in 1990.
References
External links
Alaska Division of Community Advocacy - Community Information Summary
Unincorporated communities in Dillingham Census Area, Alaska
Unincorporated communities in Alaska
Unincorporated communities in Unorganized Borough, Alaska
{{DillinghamAK-geo-stub