Sanak Island ( ale, Sanaĝax) is an

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

in the Fox Islands group 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 U.S. state 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., ...

. It is located at . Sanak Island and Caton Island are the largest islands in the

Sanak Islands The Sanak Islands (russian: Санак) are a subgroup of the Fox Islands group of islands, located in the Aleutians East Borough of Alaska. Geography Located in the Gulf of Alaska, they are in the Aleutian Islands archipelago. The Sanak Islands h ...

subgroup of the Fox Islands. Travel to the island is currently done by fishing vessel. The trip takes about five hours to cross the roughly 40 mile distance from

King Cove King Cove ( ale, Agdaaĝux̂) is a city in Aleutians East Borough, Alaska, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 938, up from 792 in 2000, but at the 2020 census this had reduced to 757. Geography King Cove is located at . ...

to Sanak.

History

Like many of the other Aleutian Islands, Sanak was inhabited by the Aleut people for thousands of years. In 1828, the administrators of Russian America removed the island's population to the

Alaska Peninsula The Alaska Peninsula (also called Aleut Peninsula or Aleutian Peninsula, ale, Alasxix̂; Sugpiaq: ''Aluuwiq'', ''Al'uwiq'') is a peninsula extending about to the southwest from the mainland of Alaska and ending in the Aleutian Islands. The ...

in order to preserve the sea otter hunting grounds in surrounding waters.Black, Lydia T. ''Russians in Alaska: 1732-1867''. University of Alaska Press, 2004. pp. 199. Home of a cod fisherman, Sanak Island, Alaska, nd (COBB 242)

Home of a cod fisherman, Sanak Island, Alaska, nd (COBB 242)

Two famous

shipwreck A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. Shipwrecking may be intentional or unintentional. Angela Croome reported in January 1999 that there were approximately ...

s, one in 1906 and another in 1943, occurred near Sanak. The U.S. Navy operated a small naval base at Sanak Island during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Although Sanak is no longer occupied, the island is still owned by its former residents, who visit the island occasionally to harvest the feral cattle that live there.

Archaeology

In 2004, 2006, and 2007 teams of archeologists and

ecologists This is a list of notable ecologists. A-D * John Aber (USA) * Aziz Ab'Saber (Brazil) * Charles Christopher Adams (USA) * Warder Clyde Allee (USA) * Herbert G. Andrewartha (Australia) * Sarah Martha Baker ( UK) * Fakhri A. Bazzaz (USA) * Joh ...

visited Sanak Island to study the effects of long-term human occupation on the island. Over 100 archeological sites were excavated with the oldest sites dating to 5600 years before present. Researchers, led by investigators from

Idaho State University , mottoeng = "The truth will set you free" , established = , former_names = Academy of Idaho(1901–1915)Idaho Technical Institute(1915–1927)University of Idaho—Southern Branch(1927–1947)Idaho State ...

studied both the living plants and animals as well as the remains of food animals such as fish, sea mammals, and shellfish preserved in archeological sites.

References

Fox Islands (Alaska) Islands of Aleutians East Borough, Alaska Archaeological sites in Alaska Uninhabited islands of Alaska Feral cattle Islands of Alaska {{AleutiansEastAK-geo-stub