Ekuk ()Jacobson, Steven A. (2012)
Yup'ik Eskimo Dictionary, 2nd edition
Alaska Native Language Center. is a small

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

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 so ...

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 ...

. 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 The sockeye salmon (''Oncorhynchus nerka''), also called red salmon, kokanee salmon, blueback salmon, or simply sockeye, is an anadromous species of salmon found in the Northern Pacific Ocean and rivers discharging into it. This species is a ...

, early season runs of

king salmon The Chinook salmon (''Oncorhynchus tshawytscha'') is the largest and most valuable species of Pacific salmon. Its common name is derived from the Chinookan peoples. Other vernacular names for the species include king salmon, quinnat salmon, spr ...

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") and is often sold as medium re ...

. Located southeast of

Dillingham Dillingham (), also known as Curyung, is a city in Dillingham Census Area, Alaska, United States. Incorporated in 1963, it is an important commercial fishing port on Nushagak Bay. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 2,24 ...

, Ekuk is accessible only by sea or by air. Located in Southwest Alaska on the shores of

Bristol Bay Bristol Bay (, ) is the easternmost arm of the Bering Sea, at 57° to 59° North 157° to 162° West in Southwest Alaska. Bristol Bay is 400 km (250 mi) long and 290 km (180 mi) wide at its mouth. A number of rivers flow in ...

(and 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 ...

), the nearby terrain is covered with

tundra In physical geography, a tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. There are three regions and associated types of tundra: #Arctic, Arctic, Alpine tundra, Alpine, and #Antarctic ...

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