Unalaska
Iluulux̂ | |
|---|---|
| City of Unalaska | |
Hilltop view of Unalaska Crab boats moored in Dutch Harbor in 2009 View from a hill on Amaknak Island View from the shore at sunrise Unalaska Island and Iliukliuk Harbor | |
 Seal  Logo | |
  Unalaska  Unalaska | |
| Coordinates: 53°53′20″N 166°31′38″W / 53.88889°N 166.52722°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Alaska |
| Census Area | Aleutians West |
| Incorporated | March 3, 1942[1] |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Vince Tutiakoff[2] |
| • State senator | Lyman Hoffman (D) |
| • State rep. | Bryce Edgmon (I) |
| Area | |
• Total | 210.89 sq mi (546.20 km2) |
| • Land | 102.21 sq mi (264.73 km2) |
| • Water | 108.68 sq mi (281.47 km2) |
| Elevation | 13 ft (4 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 4,254 |
| • Density | 41.62/sq mi (16.07/km2) |
| Demonym | Unalaskan |
| Time zone | UTC−9 (Alaska (AKST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−8 (AKDT) |
| ZIP code | 99685 |
| Area code | 907 |
| FIPS code | 02-80770 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1419424 |
| Website | www |
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The City of Unalaska (Aleut: Iluulux̂;[4] Russian: Уналашка) is the main population center in the Aleutian Islands. The city is in the Aleutians West Census Area, a regional component of the Unorganized Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Unalaska is located on Unalaska Island and neighboring Amaknak Island in the Aleutian Islands off mainland Alaska. The population was 4,254 at the 2020 census, which is 81% of the entire Aleutians West Census Area.[5] Unalaska is the second largest city in the Unorganized Borough, behind Bethel.
The Aleut (Unangan) people have lived on Unalaska Island for thousands of years.[6] The Unangan, who were the first to inhabit the island of Unalaska, named it "Ounalashka", meaning "near the peninsula". The regional native corporation has adopted this moniker, and is known as the Ounalashka Corporation.[7] The Russian fur trade reached Unalaska when Stepan Glotov and his crew arrived on August 1, 1759. Natives, Russians and their Alaskan Creole descendants comprised most of the community's population until the mid-20th century, when the involvement of the United States in World War II led to a large-scale influx of people and construction of buildings all along the strategically located Aleutians.
Almost all of the community's port facilities are on Amaknak Island, better known as Dutch Harbor or just "Dutch". It is the largest fisheries port in the U.S. by volume caught. It includes Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base and Fort Mears, U.S. Army, a U.S. National Historic Landmark. Dutch Harbor lies within the city limits of Unalaska and is connected to Unalaska by a bridge. Amaknak Island is home to almost 59 percent of the city's population, although it has less than 3 percent of its land area.
As a result of the town's strong fishing industry, Unalaska has also become notable for its large population of bald eagles, which number in the hundreds and were attracted to the area by human activity.[8]
- ^ 1996 Alaska Municipal Officials Directory. Juneau: Alaska Municipal League/Alaska Department of Community and Regional Affairs. January 1996. p. 154.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
AutoO9-1was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Bergslandwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "2020 Census Data - Cities and Census Designated Places" (Web). State of Alaska, Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
AutoO9-2was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
AutoO9-3was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Kaushik. "Unalaska: The Town Full of Bald Eagles". Amusing Planet. Retrieved June 13, 2019.