Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area ( ) is a census area in the U.S. state 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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,343, down from 5,588 in 2010. With an area of , it is the largest of any county or county-equivalent in the United States. While slightly larger than the entire state of

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

, the census area only consists of 22.2% of Alaska's total area. It is part of the unorganized borough of Alaska and therefore has no borough seat. Its largest communities are the cities of

Galena Galena, also called lead glance, is the natural mineral form of lead(II) sulfide (PbS). It is the most important ore of lead and an important source of silver. Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It crysta ...

, in the west, and Fort Yukon, in the northeast.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the census area has , of which is land and (1.6%) is water. The area is slightly larger than the entire U.S. state of

, itself the fourth largest state, or the country of

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 ...

, and makes up slightly more than 1/5 of the state of Alaska. The area is bigger than 47 of the other 49 states, with only

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

being bigger. Its population density, at , is the lowest in the United States.

Adjacent boroughs and census areas

* North Slope Borough, Alaska – north * Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska – southeast *

Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska The Fairbanks North Star Borough is a Borough (United States), borough located in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 95,655, down from 97,581 in 2010. The borough seat is Fairbanks, Al ...

– southeast * Denali Borough, Alaska – southeast * Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska – south * Bethel Census Area, Alaska – south * Kusilvak Census Area, Alaska – west * Nome Census Area, Alaska – west * Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska – northwest * Yukon Territory, Canada – east

National protected areas

* Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (part) ** Mollie Beattie Wilderness (part) * Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve (part) ** Gates of the Arctic Wilderness (part) * Innoko National Wildlife Refuge ** Innoko Wilderness * Kanuti National Wildlife Refuge *

Koyukuk National Wildlife Refuge The Koyukuk National Wildlife Refuge is a conservation area in Alaska. It lies within the floodplain of the Koyukuk River, in a basin that extends from the Yukon River to the Purcell Mountains and the foothills of the Brooks Range. This region ...

(part) ** Koyukuk Wilderness (part) *

Noatak National Preserve Noatak National Preserve is a United States National Preserve in northwestern Alaska that was established to protect the Noatak River Basin. The Noatak River system, located just north of the Arctic Circle, is thought to be the last remaining ...

* Nowitna National Wildlife Refuge *

Selawik National Wildlife Refuge Selawik National Wildlife Refuge in northwest Alaska in the Waring Mountains was officially established in 1980 with the passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA). This national wildlife refuge is home to mammal ...

(part) **

Selawik Wilderness Selawik National Wildlife Refuge in northwest Alaska in the Waring Mountains was officially established in 1980 with the passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA). This national wildlife refuge is home to mammal ...

(part) * Steese National Conservation Area * White Mountains National Recreation Area * Yukon–Charley Rivers National Preserve (part) * Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge

Demographics

At the 2000 census there were 6,551 people, 2,309 households, and 1,480 families residing in the census area. The population density was square miles (km²) per person. It is the least densely populated county-equivalent of all 3,141 county-equivalents of the United States. There were 3,917 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the census area was 24.27%

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 ...

, 0.09%

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 ...

, 70.89% Native American, 0.37% Asian, 0.05%

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 ...

, 0.43% from other races, and 3.91% from two or more races. 1.19% 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. 12.95% reported speaking an Athabaskan language at home; of these 35.26% spoke Gwich'in and 10.94% Koyukon. Of the 2,309 households 38.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.90% were married couples living together, 16.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.90% were non-families. 30.50% of households were one person and 6.20% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.53. The age distribution was 35.00% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 26.90% from 25 to 44, 22.10% from 45 to 64, and 7.30% 65 or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 118.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 122.60 males.

2020 Census

Communities

Cities

* Allakaket * Anvik * Bettles * Fort Yukon *

* Grayling * Holy Cross * Hughes * Huslia * Kaltag * Koyukuk * McGrath * Nenana * Nikolai * Nulato *

Ruby Ruby is a pinkish-red-to-blood-red-colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapph ...

* Shageluk * Tanana

Census-designated places

* Alatna * Arctic Village *

Beaver Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...

* Birch Creek * Central * Chalkyitsik *

Circle A circle is a shape consisting of all point (geometry), points in a plane (mathematics), plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the Centre (geometry), centre. The distance between any point of the circle and the centre is cal ...

* Coldfoot * Evansville * Flat * Four Mile Road * Holy Cross * Lake Minchumina * Livengood * Manley Hot Springs * Minto * New Allakaket *

Rampart Rampart may refer to: * Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement Rampart may also refer to: * LAPD Rampart Division, a division of the Los Angeles Police Department ** Rampart scandal, a blanket ter ...

* Stevens Village * Takotna * Venetie * Wiseman

Education

School districts include:
Text list
/ref> * Alaska Gateway School District * Galena City School District *

Iditarod Area School District Iditarod Area School District (IASD) is a school district headquartered in McGrath, Alaska, United States. Schools All are K-12 schools: * Blackwell School - Anvik * David Louis Memorial School - Grayling * Holy Cross School * McGrath Sch ...

* Nenana City School District * Tanana City School District * Yukon Flats School District * Yukon–Koyukuk School District

Politics

Like other areas of the sparse Alaskan Bush with large

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

majorities, the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area often favors the Democratic Party relative to the state as a whole. Though it voted Republican in all presidential elections in the 2000s, it has supported the Democrats more recently by nearly 30-point margins.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yukon Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska Alaska census areas