Adak (; , ), formerly Adak Station, is a city located on

Adak Island Adak Island (, ; ) or Father Island is an island near the western extent of the Andreanof Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. Alaska's southernmost city, Adak, is located on the island. The island has a land area of , measuring lo ...

, in the Aleutians West Census Area,

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. At the 2020 census, the population was 171, down from 326 in 2010. It is the westernmost

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the United States and the southernmost city in Alaska. Attu Station, Alaska, is further west in the Aleutian Islands, but is not incorporated and, as it lies west of the

180th meridian The 180th meridian or antimeridian is the meridian (geography), meridian 180° both east and west of the prime meridian in a Geographic coordinate system, geographical coordinate system. The longitude at this line can be given as either east ...

, may be considered the second easternmost place instead. (See

Extreme points of the United States Extreme may refer to: Science and mathematics Mathematics *Extreme point, a point in a convex set which does not lie in any open line segment joining two points in the set *Maxima and minima, extremes on a mathematical function Science *Extremop ...

.) The city is the former location of the Naval Air Facility Adak, NAVFAC Adak.

History

19th century

The Aleutian Islands were historically occupied by the Unanga, more commonly known now as the Aleuts. The once heavily populated island was eventually abandoned in the early 19th century as the Aleutian Island hunters followed the Russian fur trade eastward, and famine set in on the Andreanof Island group. However, they continued to hunt and fish actively around the island over the years, until

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

broke out.

Military

Adak Army installations allowed U.S. and Canadian forces to mount a successful offensive against the

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese-held islands of

Kiska Kiska (, ) is one of the Rat Islands, a group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. It is about long and varies in width from . It is part of Aleutian Islands Wilderness and as such, special permission is required to visit it. The island has ...

and Attu. After the war, Adak was developed as a

naval air station A Naval Air Station (NAS) is a military air base, and consists of a permanent land-based operations locations for the military aviation division of the relevant branch of a navy (Naval aviation). These bases are typically populated by squadron ...

, playing an important role during the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

as a submarine surveillance center. Large earthquakes rocked the island in 1957, 1964 and 1977. At its peak, the station housed over 6,000 naval and Coast Guard personnel and their families. In 1994, the base was downsized; the local

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

and both the family housing and schools were closed. The station officially closed on March 31, 1997, as a result of

1995 Base Realignment and Closure Commission The 1995 Base Realignment and Closure Commission preliminary list was released by the United States Department of Defense in 1995 as part of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission. It recommended closing 32 major United States military bases. ...

(BRAC). The Aleut Corporation purchased Adak's facilities under a land transfer agreement with the Department of the Interior and the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...

. This agreement was finalized in March 2004. About 30 families with children relocated to Adak in September 1998, most of them Aleut Corp. shareholders, and the former high school was reopened at that time as a K–12 institution. The community incorporated as a second-class city in April 2001. Substantially all of the infrastructure and facilities on Adak are owned by Aleut Corporation, which is currently developing Adak as a commercial center via their subsidiary companies. For example, properties in active use are leased by Adak Commercial Properties, LLC. Since World War II, the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard developed facilities and recreation opportunities at Adak. At its peak, Adak had a college, a McDonald's restaurant, a

Baskin-Robbins Baskin-Robbins, Inc. is an American multinational chain of ice cream and cake specialty store, specialty shops owned by Inspire Brands. Baskin-Robbins was formed in 1945 by Burt Baskin and Irv Robbins in Glendale, California.Kuluk Bay, on

, in the Andreanof Islands group of the

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands ( ; ; , "land of the Aleuts"; possibly from the Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', or "island")—also called the Aleut Islands, Aleutic Islands, or, before Alaska Purchase, 1867, the Catherine Archipelago—are a chain ...

Recording District, and in the 3rd Judicial District. It lies southwest of Anchorage and west of

Dutch Harbor Dutch Harbor is a harbor on Amaknak Island in Unalaska, Alaska. It was the location of the Battle of Dutch Harbor in June, 1942 when the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked it just seven months after the attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. To this day, ...

at 51.872° North, 176.636° West (Sec. 10, T096S, R195W, Seward Meridian), near the Russian end of the arc that makes up this volcanic island chain. Flight time to

Anchorage Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolita ...

is three hours or longer, depending on weather. Adak is the southernmost community in Alaska and on the same latitude as

Haida Gwaii Haida Gwaii (; / , literally "Islands of the Haida people"), previously known as the Queen Charlotte Islands, is an archipelago located between off the British Columbia Coast, northern Pacific coast in the Canadian province of British Columbia ...

in Canada, and London, England. It is less than three degrees of latitude north of the 49th parallel, which forms the western part of the land border between the

Contiguous United States The contiguous United States, also known as the U.S. mainland, officially referred to as the conterminous United States, consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the District of Columbia of the United States in central North America. The te ...

and Canada. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, 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 U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (3.87%) is water.

Climate

Adak has a

subpolar oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring co ...

( Cfc), characterized by persistently overcast skies, moderate temperatures, high winds, significant precipitation, and frequent cyclonic storms. Winter squalls produce wind gusts in excess of . During the summer, extensive fog forms over the

Bering Sea The Bering Sea ( , ; rus, Бе́рингово мо́ре, r=Béringovo móre, p=ˈbʲerʲɪnɡəvə ˈmorʲe) is a marginal sea of the Northern Pacific Ocean. It forms, along with the Bering Strait, the divide between the two largest landmasse ...

and

North Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

. Average temperatures range from , but

wind chill Wind chill (popularly wind chill factor) is the sensation of cold produced by the wind for a given ambient air temperature on exposed skin as the air motion accelerates the rate of heat transfer from the body to the surrounding atmosphere. Its va ...

factors can be severe. Average annual precipitation is annually, concentrated markedly in fall and winter. December is the wettest single month on average, while June and July are markedly the driest months, with thunderstorms virtually unknown here. Snowfall averages nearly per winter season, which however tends to melt soon after falling. With 263 rainy days per year, Adak has the second highest number of any inhabited locality in the United States after

Hilo Hilo () is the largest settlement in and the county seat of Hawaii County, Hawaiʻi, United States, which encompasses the Island of Hawaiʻi, and is a census-designated place (CDP). The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 census. I ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

Demographics

Adak first appeared on the 2000 U.S. Census as a census-designated place (CDP), although it previously was the Adak Naval Station from 1970 to 1990. In 2001, it formally incorporated as a city. As of the 2010 census, Adak was the only city in Alaska to have a majority Asian population (171 of 326 residents). Akutan and Kodiak have Asian pluralities.

2020 census

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 316 people, 159 households, and 61 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 884 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 49.68%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.27%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 35.13% Native American, 9.81% Asian, 1.90%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, and 2.22% from two or more races. Of the population, 5.06% were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. Of the 159 households, 18.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 28.9% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 2.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 61.6% were non-families. Of all households, 46.5% were made up of individuals, and none had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.99 and the average family size was 2.90. In the city, the population was spread out, with 18.7% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 44.3% from 25 to 44, 26.3% from 45 to 64, and 1.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 184.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 188.8 males. The median income for a household in the city was $52,727, and the median income for a family was $53,889. Males had a median income of $46,429 versus $35,000 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $31,747. About 3.3% of families and 4.7% 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 ...

, none of whom were under the age of eighteen or over the age of sixty-five.

Economy

land exchange A land exchange or land swap is the ''voluntary'' exchange of land between two parties, typically a private owner and a government. These parties may include farmers, estate owners, developers, nature organizations, and governments. Land swaps may a ...

between Aleut Corp., the U.S. Navy, and the

Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal lands and natural resources. It also administers programs relatin ...

transferred most of the former naval facilities to the Aleut Corp. in March 2004. A portion of the island remains within the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, managed by the

United States Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is a List of federal agencies in the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of the Interior which oversees the management of fish, wildlife, ...

. The U.S. Navy retains part of the north end of Adak Island (Parcel 4) and does annual sweeps of the Andrew Lake Seawall for unexploded ordnance. Their website lists the Institutional Controls in place for all of Adak as part of the land exchange or Interim Conveyance. The Navy provides the trail maps as part of the ordnance awareness information required to be shown to all Adak residents and visitors. Adak currently provides a fueling port and crew transfer facility for a combination of Seattle and Alaskan based

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

fleet — an

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

, docks, housing facilities, restaurant, grocery, and ship supply store are available. Golden Harvest Alaska Seafood processes Pacific cod, pollock, mackerel, halibut, snow and king crabs at a 144,000-square-foot seafood processing facility on the island. Four local residents hold commercial fishing permits, primarily for

groundfish Demersal fish, also known as groundfish, live and feed on or near the bottom of seas or lakes (the demersal zone).Walrond Carl . "Coastal fish - Fish of the open sea floor"Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Updated 2 March 2009 They oc ...

; however, commercial fishing vessels based out of Seattle and other parts of Alaska provide most of the work for the seafood plant by regularly offloading their catch at the facility's large dock. The local airport allows the company to send orders via

air cargo Air cargo is any property carried or to be carried in an aircraft. Air cargo comprises air freight, air express and airmail. Aircraft types Different cargo can be transported by passenger, cargo or combi aircraft: * Passenger aircraft use the ...

from Adak to markets around the world, including entire planes full of live king crab to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Government

Elections

Because Adak is in HST (once

Daylight Saving Time Daylight saving time (DST), also referred to as daylight savings time, daylight time (Daylight saving time in the United States, United States and Daylight saving time in Canada, Canada), or summer time (British Summer Time, United Kingdom, ...

ends), the furthest-west time zone in all areas of the United States that vote in US presidential elections, combined with the fact that polls in Alaska close at 8:00 PM while polls in Hawaii close at 7:00 PM, Adak ends up being the place where the last person votes in a US presidential election—when the polls close in Adak, the time is 1:00 AM Eastern Standard Time.

Infrastructure

Water

Water is derived from Lake Bonnie Rose, Lake De Marie, and Nurses Creek, stored in seven water tanks throughout the community, and piped to facilities and housing units. The wastewater treatment system discharges through a marine outfall line to Kuluk Bay. Adak's water system is reported to have lead in it.

Waste

Waste was previously removed by a permitted

landfill A landfill is a site for the disposal of waste materials. It is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of waste with daily, intermediate and final covers only began in the 1940s. In the past, waste was ...

site; This site was operated on Adak Island under Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (Alaska DEC) solid waste regulations. The landfill operated from the early 1950s until 1972 and from 1975 until 2002. The site was used to dispose of sanitary trash, metal debris, batteries, solvents, waste paints, and construction rubble. From 1975 on, the landfill only accepted sanitary trash. The landfill was closed in 1997 by placing a low permeability soil cover over the landfill, implementing access restrictions, installing surface erosion controls, and placing a vegetative cover. In March 2002, the State of Alaska approved resumption of operations at Roberts Landfill through 2002 to dispose of inert demolition waste monofill and one cell for disposal of approximately 10 cubic yards of asbestos-containing material. Alaska DEC approved closure of the landfill in 2002.

Identified contaminants

Metals and

volatile organic compound Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are organic compounds that have a high vapor pressure at room temperature. They are common and exist in a variety of settings and products, not limited to Indoor mold, house mold, Upholstery, upholstered furnitur ...

s (VOCs) in groundwater and surface water.

Current actions

The Navy inspects institutional controls (ICs) annually. The Navy conducts groundwater monitoring at four wells and surface water monitoring at five locations annually.

Electricity

Electricity is provided by TDX which has invested over one million dollars in improving generating and distribution systems. The price of electricity has been reported to have been reduced due to a greater reliance on wind power.

Schools

There was one school located in the community: Adak School, operated by the Aleutian Region School District. In 2014, the Adak School had 25 students. It was previously served by the Adak Region School District, which closed in June 1996. The Adak School closed in 2023, reportedly due to low enrollment.

Internet access

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

, though available, is typically expensive, with caps on data. Average use can be extremely expensive, and a

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...

existed as personal satellite internet has not been available due to the satellite locations. Solar activity blocks communications during

equinox A solar equinox is a moment in time when the Sun appears directly above the equator, rather than to its north or south. On the day of the equinox, the Sun appears to rise directly east and set directly west. This occurs twice each year, arou ...

seasons for several days of both spring and fall seasons. Due to its remoteness the internet connection has historically been very poor, and applications that require high bandwidth could not work as intended. However, since late 2022 and 2023,

Starlink Starlink is a satellite internet constellation operated by Starlink Services, LLC, an international telecommunications provider that is a wholly owned subsidiary of American aerospace company SpaceX, providing coverage to around 130 countries ...

has provided further internet access to many residents across rural Alaska, including to those in Adak.

Health care

There is no hospital; however there is Adak Community Health Center, managed by Eastern Aleutian Tribes, Inc. (EAT). The health center provides Family Medicine, Chronic Care and urgent care services, and is staffed by a physician-assistant or, at times, by a community health practitioner. There is no doctor, no blood supply, and limited medications to stabilize a patient awaiting a medical evacuation, weather permitting. Behavioral Health is also provided via tele-video and quarterly site visits. EAT sends a dentist to Adak one week per year to provide limited dental services; otherwise, dental services must be referred outside of Adak. Tele-Radiology (X-ray) and Tele-Medicine are also present. Limited lab, pharmacy, and public health services are also available. The pharmacy medications are limited to acute medications. Filling of prescriptions from outside facilities usually cannot be accommodated. All visitors should bring plenty of their own medications as the health center stocks a very limited supply of chronic medications. Auxiliary emergency health care is provided by Adak Volunteer Fire Department.

Facilities

Other facilities in Adak include three deep water docks and fueling facilities. The city has requested funds to greatly expand the Sweeper Cove small boat harbor, including new breakwaters, a dock and new moorage floats . There are approximately of paved and primitive roads on Adak, all privately owned by the Aleut Corporation. The Aleut are also seeking to develop their water system, which has been well-maintained and -designed for a larger Naval population, as an export industry.

Airport

Because of its naval aviation past, Adak has an unusually large and sophisticated airport for the Aleutian Islands. The airport is currently operated by the State of Alaska Department of Transportation. Complete with an Instrument Landing System, Adak Airport has no control tower and two wide asphalt paved runways at elevation. One runway measures long while the other runway measures .

Alaska Airlines Alaska Airlines is a major American airline headquartered in SeaTac, Washington, within the Seattle metropolitan area. It is the fifth-largest airline in North America when measured by scheduled passengers carried, as of 2024. Alaska, togethe ...

operates twice-weekly

Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is an American narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton factory in Washington (state), Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the t ...

passenger jet service from Anchorage. At present, flights operate each Wednesday and Saturday, weather permitting. Occasionally, extra seasonal flights are operated to meet the demand of the fishing season.

Notable people

* David Brown (1956–2003), astronaut died in Space Shuttle Columbia

STS-107 STS-107 was the 113th flight of the Space Shuttle program, and the 28th(twenty eigth) and final flight of Space Shuttle ''Columbia''. The mission ended on the 1st of February 2003, with the Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' disaster which killed al ...

during orbital reentry, US Navy Captain worked as Director of Medical Services at the Navy Branch Hospital in Adak from 1984. * David Vann (born 1966), author

Gallery

Image:Kuluk Bowl Adak Aug 2007.jpg, At Kuluk Bowl for bowling August 2007 File:A hunter at sunrise on Adak, with Mt. Moffett in the background. Adak Island, Aleutian Islands, Alaska.jpg, alt=A hiker standing on a rocky knoll, the pink early morning light illuminating snow-covered Mt. Moffett in the background, A hunter pauses to scan the landscape. Mt. Moffett, the highest point on Adak, rises in the background. File:Climbing toward Husky Pass, Mt. Reed in the background. Adak Island, Aleutian Islands, Alaska.jpg, alt=A hiker ascends a snowfield, with the sunlit slopes of a large, snowy mountain in the background, A hiker ascends the snowy slopes near Husky Pass, Mt. Reed in the background.

Notes

References

External links

City website

Photographs of Adak from 1944

Adak Memoirs
{{Authority control Cities in Alaska Cities in Aleutians West Census Area, Alaska Cities in Unorganized Borough, Alaska Populated coastal places in Alaska on the Pacific Ocean Road-inaccessible communities of Alaska Populated places established in 2001