Egegik Bay (

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 ...

: ''Igyagiim painga'') is a bay located just 69.1 miles from Dillingham in

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. ...

and the northeastern arm of the Bristol Bay. The Egegik (''Igyagiiq'' in Yup'ik) village is located on a high bluff along the southern shore of the

Egegik River The Egegik River (pronounced locally, I-ga-gik; Central Alaskan Yup'ik, Igyagiiq; translation, "swift") is a waterway in the U.S. state of Alaska. A biological survey was conducted at the base of the Alaska Peninsula in 1902 by Wilfred Hudson Osg ...

at the upper extent of Egegik Bay. The nearest places to Egegik Bay are Coffee Point (3 km north), Coffee Point (4 km north), Goose Point (4 km north),

Egegik Airport Egegik Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport serving Egegik, a city in the Lake and Peninsula Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska. Scheduled passenger service is available at this airport. As per Federal Aviation Administration records, t ...

(5 km west), and Bartletts Airport (6 km north).

History

The first recorded contact by non-Natives was with Russian fur traders between 1818 and 1867. Chapter 3 – Region 12: Egegik, Becharof
/ref> The Egegik Yupik is one of the five Central Alaskan Yup'ik dialects. Local people are

Central Alaskan Yup'ik people 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 ...

and would travel each year from Kanatak (an

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 so ...

village) on the Gulf coast through a portage pass to

Becharof Lake Becharof Lake is a long lake on the Alaska Peninsula. It is located south-east of Egegik, in the Aleutian Range. It is the second largest lake in Alaska after Iliamna Lake. It ranks eighth on list of largest lakes of the United States by vol ...

(south-east of Egegik). From there they would hike or kayak on to the Egegik Bay are for the summer fish camp.

Nature

Although tideland areas adjacent to the coast are important for providing habitat to some species of birds as well as

harbor seal The harbor (or harbour) seal (''Phoca vitulina''), also known as the common seal, is a true seal found along temperate and Arctic marine coastlines of the Northern Hemisphere. The most widely distributed species of pinniped (walruses, eared se ...

s, by far the most important and sensitive habitat area occurs at the mouth of the Egegik River within Egegik Bay. The remainder of Egegik Bay is included within tideland management unit R12T-02 and contains extensive areas of

eelgrass Eelgrass is a common name for several plants and may refer to: * ''Zostera'', marine eelgrass * ''Vallisneria'', freshwater eelgrass {{Short pages monitor