Port Clarence is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in the Nome Census Area of

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 ...

. The population was 0 at the 2020 census, down from 24 in 2010. It is located on the spit separating Port Clarence Bay from the

Bering Strait The Bering Strait ( , ; ) is a strait between the Pacific and Arctic oceans, separating the Chukchi Peninsula of the Russian Far East from the Seward Peninsula of Alaska. The present Russia–United States maritime boundary is at 168° 58' ...

History

Missionary Sheldon Jackson's greatest success with his Teller Reindeer Station at Port Clarence, figured in the Overland Relief Expedition in 1897 to save marooned whalers near

Point Barrow Point Barrow or Nuvuk is a headland on the Arctic coast in the U.S. state of Alaska, northeast of Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow). It is the northernmost point of all the territory of the United States, at , south of the North Pole. (The northe ...

. During the 1898-1899

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, ...

Nome Nome may refer to: Country subdivision * Nome (Egypt), an administrative division within ancient Egypt * Nome (Greece), the administrative division immediately below the ''peripheries of Greece'' (, pl. ) Places United States * Nome, Alaska ...

, smaller quantities of both

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

and high-grade

tin Tin is a chemical element; it has symbol Sn () and atomic number 50. A silvery-colored metal, tin is soft enough to be cut with little force, and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, a bar of tin makes a sound, the ...

were mined in Port Clarence. The Harriman Alaska Expedition visited Port Clarence in 1899, making a photographic record of

Alaska Natives Alaska Natives (also known as Native Alaskans, Alaskan Indians, or Indigenous Alaskans) are the Indigenous peoples of Alaska that encompass a diverse arena of cultural and linguistic groups, including the Iñupiat, Yupik, Aleut, Eyak, Tli ...

. In 1900, the

United States Coast and Geodetic Survey The United States Coast and Geodetic Survey ( USC&GS; known as the Survey of the Coast from 1807 to 1836, and as the United States Coast Survey from 1836 until 1878) was the first scientific agency of the Federal government of the United State ...

charted the coastline. From 1961 to 2010 Port Clarence was a LORAN-C station administered by the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

. The LORAN-C Program was terminated on February 8, 2010. The Coast Guard commissioned a 1,350-foot (411.48-metre) tall Loran-C tower at the station in 1961, and it was the tallest structure in Alaska until its demolition in 2010.

Geography

Port Clarence is located at (65.265974, -166.852765). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the CDP has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it (2.74%) is water.

Demographics

Seward Peninsula coast between Nome and Port Clarence - P1040602

Port Clarence first appeared on the 1890 U.S. Census as an unincorporated area of 485 residents. Of those, 276 were White, 144 were Natives, 62 were "Other" and 3 were Asian. The census enumerators included 11 small native villages of Anelo, Chainruk, Kachegaret, Kalulegeet, Kaveazruk, Kovogzruk, Metukatoak, Nuk, Perebluk, Shinnapago & Toakzruk. They also included the following six vessels that were in the area as well: the whaling steamers ''J.H. Freeman'' & ''Grampus''; barques ''Bounding Billow'' & ''Reindeer''; and the brigs ''F.A. Barstow'' & ''W.H. Meyer.'' Port Clarence would not be separately reported again on the census until 1980, when it was made a census-designated place (CDP).

2020 census

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 21 people, 4 households, and 3 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . The racial makeup of the CDP was 90.48% White. 4.76% (i.e., one person) of the population was Black or

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 ...

, 4.76% were from other races, and 4.76% were Hispanic or Latino of any race. In the CDP, the age distribution of the population shows 33.3% from 18 to 24, 66.7% from 25 to 44. The median age was 28 years. The 21 residents counted by the census included one woman and 20 men. 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 CDP was $35,286. There were no families and none of the population living 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 ...

Climate

Port Clarence has a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Dfc'') closely bordering on a

tundra climate The tundra climate is a polar climate sub-type located in high latitudes and high mountains. It is classified as ET according to the Köppen climate classification. It is a climate which at least one month has an average temperature high enough ...

(''ETf'').

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Alaska Census-designated places in Nome Census Area, Alaska Census-designated places in Unorganized Borough, Alaska Populated coastal places in Alaska on the Pacific Ocean Populated places in the Seward Peninsula