Sweeping westward from the tip of the Alaska Peninsula through the top of the Aleutian Islands, the Eastern Aleutians are located in one of the world's most beautiful, dramatic regions.
Here, nestled among active volcanoes, sea-sculpted coastline and mile-after-mile of untamed landscape, the adventurous traveler can explore ancient Aleut village sites, visit agate beaches, view an array of birds, wildlife and marine life or enjoy unparalleled fishing opportunities.
Aleut families have inhabited the region since the Second Ice Age. Today it is home to the communities of Akutan, Cold Bay, False Pass, King Cove and Sand Point. These communities share a common heritage and reliance on the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea, but each holds its own unique charms.
AKUTAN
Akutan is a scenic Aleut village on Akutan Island with a population of about 1,000 people (100 permanent and around 900 seasonal for about 10 month of the year) that live beneath the active 4,275-foot Akutan Volcano. There are no roads in the village, but boardwalks provide easy paths through the small community.
The community provides most visitor services and attracts adventurous hikers who wish to climb to the crater of the volcano, seven miles west of the village, or to a thermal hot springs for a soak. There are no bears on the island, but Akutan and the surrounding islands team with birds and sea life. The whiskered auklet is found on the nearby Baby Islands, one of only two places it exists in the world. Fishing is excellent in the waters around Akutan. Some of the largest halibut in the world have been caught in Akutan Pass on the west side of the island.
Founded in 1878 as a fur storage and trading port by the Western Fur and Trading Company, a commercial cod fishing and processing business was also established in Akutan that soon attracted nearby Unangans to the community. However, many Akutan residents evacuated the area to Ketchikan when the Japanese bombed Unalaska in 1941. Also damaged was the Russian Orthodox church, built in 1878, which has since been replaced by the Alexander Nevsky Chapel, which still stands today.
COLD BAY
Clustered around Cold Bay at the tip of the Alaska Peninsula, the community of Cold Bay serves as an important regional transportation hub and as the gateway to the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge. Located 634 miles southwest of Anchorage and 180 miles northeast of Unalaska, the majority of Cold Bay's 90 residents are federal and state workers who provide airline services and fuel and support for the fishing industry.
The 417,533-acres Izembek National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1960 to protect some 142 species of birds, primarily the Pacific black brant. A species of geese, almost the entire North American population of brant numbersing 150,000, arrive in spring and fall during the annual migration to feed on the large eelgrass beds in Izembek Lagoon. When the salmon are running, brown bear densities in the refuge can be among the highest in Alaska with as many as six bears per miles along some streams. The waters around the refuge are populated with harbor seal, sea otter, walrus and Steller sea lion.
An 11-mile road connects Cold Bay to the Izembek Lagoon where most of the wildlife viewing takes place. Cold Bay has limited services for tourists that include lodging and tour operators that will take visitors into the refuge. The refuge's Visitor Center features displays, a small book counter and other information on the area.
Evidence indicates the area around Cold Bay was probably inhabited by a large Native population during the last ice age and then was used by Russian hunters and trappers early in the 19th century. In 1827 Count Feodor Kutke named Izembeck Lagoon after Karl Izembeck, a surgeon aboard the sloop "Moller." Cold Bay received a major boost as a community during World War II when the military selected it as the site of the strategic air base Fort Randall. When the 10,000-foot runway at the airport was completed it was the largest in Alaska and today is still the third longest. Quonset huts and other remains from the military buildup are still visible in Cold Bay.
FALSE PASS
A picturesque fishing village, False Pass is located on the tip of Unimak Island. The mostly barren area is home to 27 or the 46 most active volcanoes in the U.S. The town attracts a small number of visitors who arrive aboard the Alaska Marine Highway's ferry, which runs twice per month during the summer. Many visitors come to view wildlife, for fishing or to become immersed in the Aleut culture. One of the favorite activities is beachcombing the shoreline for Japanese glass balls that have detached from fishing nets and floated across the North Pacific. Day trips include a boat ride to the abandoned village of Morzhovi.
False Pass earned its name because the Bering Sea side of the strait is so shallow it's impassable by large vessels. The community of 39 residents is the only surviving Aleut village on Unimak Island, the largest island in the Aleutian Island chain. Orginally settled by a homesteader in the early 1900s, many Aleuts soon migrated to False Pass once a cannery was established in 1917. Today False Pass survives on commerical salmon fishing and fishing services as it is an important refueling stop for Bristol Bay and Bering Sea fleets.
KING COVE
A short hop across the bay from the community of Cold Bay is King Cove, a bustling fishing port of 750 residents at the west end of the Alaska Peninsula. King Cove is a full service community welcoming visitors drawn by the wildlife viewing opportunities. Bears are abundant and in the spring and early fall whales can be seen migrating through Belkofski Bay.
King Cove was founded in 1911 when Pacific American Fisheries built a salmon cannery and early settlers consisted of Unangan, Scandinavian and European fishermen. The cannery operated continuously until 1976 when it was partially destroyed by fire. The adoption of the 200-mile fisheries limit by the United States encouraged Peter Pan Seafoods to rebuild and today its salmon cannery is the largest operation under one roof in Alaska.
Although a proposed 27-mile road from King Cove to the Cold Bay Airport is under consideration, for now a hovercraft transports passengers between the two communities.
SAND POINT
The largest community along the Alaska Peninsula is Sand Point with 958 residents living on the northwest coast of Popof Island across Unga Strait from the mainland. One of the Shumagin Islands, Sand Point is a favorite with hikers and outdoor adventurers, in large part because of its beautiful views and lack of bears.
Sand Point is a full-service community and charter boats are sometimes available for halibut fishing or marine wildlife cruises. A popular day trip destination is nearby Unga Island. Here, you will find a rare petrified forest, one of the largest abandoned villages in the Aleutians and relics of gold mines.
Popof Island, like the rest of the Aleutians, is treeless with native vegetation that ranging from alder and willow shrub to alpine tundra while in the summer the landscape is rich in salmonberries, moss berries, blueberries and cranberries. The island is home to a large population of bird life, particularly bald eagles but also puffins, cormorants and kittiwakes. Otters, sea lions and seals are regular visitors to the harbor and beaches. Migrating whales are also seen during the summer months in Popof Strait. There are also buffalo on the island. In 1955, a bison herd was transported to the island. Today the local tribal corporation manages a herd of about 120 animals that roam the uninhabited side of the island.
Founded in 1898 by a San Francisco fishing company as a trading post and cod-fishing station, Sand Point also bears traces of Aleut, Scandinavian and Russian heritage. Scenic St. Nicholas Chapel, a Russian Orthodox church, was built in 1933 and is now on the National Register of Historic Places. For a brief period in the early 1900s, Sand Point served as a supply center for gold mining. However, fish processing became the community's mainstay in the 1930s and today the port is home ot the largest fishing fleet in the Aleutian Chain.