Newhalen ( esu, Nuuriileng; tfn, Nughilen) is a city in

Lake and Peninsula Borough, Alaska Lake and Peninsula Borough (russian: Лейк-энд-Пенинсула, ''Leyk-end-Peninsula'') is a borough in the state of Alaska. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,476, down from 1,631 in 2010. The borough seat of King Salmon is l ...

, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 168.

Geography

Newhalen is located at (59.725688, -154.894442). Newhalen is on the north shore of

Iliamna Lake Iliamna Lake or Lake Iliamna (Yup'ik: ''Nanvarpak''; Dena'ina Athabascan: ''Nila Vena'') is a lake in southwest Alaska, at the north end of the Alaska Peninsula, between Kvichak Bay and Cook Inlet, about west of Seldovia, Alaska. It shares a na ...

in southern Alaska, at the mouth of

Newhalen River The Newhalen River ( Dena'ina: ''Nughiltnu'') is a stream in the Lake and Peninsula Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska. Beginning at Six Mile Lake, the Newhalen flows south to enter Iliamna Lake about south of Iliamna. ''Alaska Fishing'' de ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the city has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it (27.37%) is water. The proposed

Pebble Mine Pebble Mine is the common name of a proposed copper-gold- molybdenum mining project in the Bristol Bay region of Southwest Alaska, near Lake Iliamna and Lake Clark. As of November 2020 the mine developer, Northern Dynasty Minerals, was seeking ...

site is located near Newhalen. The nearest mountain is called Roadhouse Mountain.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 160 people, 39 households, and 37 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 51 housing units at an average density of 8.4 per square mile (3.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 8.75%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 85.00% Native American, and 6.25% from two or more races. There were 39 households, out of which 59.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.4% were married couples living together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 5.1% were non-families. 5.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 0.0% consisted of a sole occupant 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.10 and the average family size was 4.22. In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 45.0% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 20.6% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 5.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 20 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 120.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $36,250, and the median income for a family was $35,000. Males had a median income of $38,333 versus $23,750 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $9,448. About 26.7% of families and 16.3% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 17.9% of those under the age of eighteen and none of those 65 or over.

History

Newhalen was originally a

Yup'ik The Yup'ik or Yupiaq (sg & pl) and Yupiit or Yupiat (pl), also Central Alaskan Yup'ik, Central Yup'ik, Alaskan Yup'ik ( own name ''Yup'ik'' sg ''Yupiik'' dual ''Yupiit'' pl; russian: Юпики центральной Аляски), are an I ...

village called Noghelin, after the Newhalen River. "Newhalen" is an Anglicized version of the original name. The village was established in the late 1800s because of the bountiful fish and game in the area. The population of Newhalen now includes

Alutiiq The Alutiiq people (pronounced in English; from Promyshlenniki Russian Алеутъ, "Aleut"; plural often "Alutiit"), also called by their ancestral name ( or ; plural often "Sugpiat"), as well as Pacific Eskimo or Pacific Yupik, are a sout ...

s and

Athabascan Athabaskan (also spelled ''Athabascan'', ''Athapaskan'' or ''Athapascan'', and also known as Dene) is a large family of indigenous languages of North America, located in western North America in three areal language groups: Northern, Pacific Co ...

s as well as Yupik. Most pursue subsistence hunting and fishing.

References

{{authority control Cities in Lake and Peninsula Borough, Alaska Cities in Alaska