Unalaska, Alaska
Aerial view of Unalaska
Location of Unalaska, Alaska
Coordinates: 53°53′20″N 166°31′38″W / 53.88889, -166.52722
Country	United States
State	Alaska
Census Area	Aleutians West
Area
- Total	212.3 sq mi (549.9 km²)
- Land	111.0 sq mi (287.5 km²)
- Water	101.3 sq mi (262.4 km²)
Elevation	13 ft (4 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	4,283
- Density	38.6/sq mi (14.9/km²)
Time zone	Alaska (AKST) (UTC-9)
- Summer (DST)	AKDT (UTC-8)
Area code(s)	907
FIPS code	02-80770
GNIS feature ID	1419424

The Russian Orthodox Church in Unalaska

Unalaska (Iluulux̂^[1] in Aleut) (pronounced OON-alaska) is a small city in the Aleutians West Census Area of the Unorganized Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska. Unalaska is located on Unalaska Island and neighboring Amaknak Island in the Aleutian Islands off of mainland Alaska.

According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 4,347.^[2] Almost all of the community's port facilities are on Amaknak Island, better known as Dutch Harbor or just "Dutch". 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.

The Aleut or Unangan have lived on Unalaska Island for thousands of years.^{[citation needed]} The Russian fur trade reached Unalaska when Stepan Glotov and his crew arrived on August 1, 1759.The Unangan people,who were the first to inhabit the island of Unalaska, named it “Ounalashka� meaning ‘Near the Peninsula’. The name Unalaska is probably an English variation of this name. The regional native corporation has adopted this moniker, and is known as the Ounalashka Corporation.[1] Dutch Harbor was so named by the Russians because they believed that a Dutch vessel was the first European ship to enter the harbor.

Geography

Unalaska is located at 53°53′20″N, 166°31′38″W.^[3]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 212.3 square miles (549.9 km²), of which, 111.0 square miles (287.5 km²) of it is land and 101.3 square miles (262.4 km²) of it (47.71%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census^[4] of 2000, there were 4,283 people, 834 households, and 476 families residing in the city. The population density was 38.6 people per square mile (14.9/km²). There were 988 housing units at an average density of 8.9/sq mi (3.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 44.20% White, 3.67% Black or African American, 7.70% Native American, 30.63% Asian, 0.56% Pacific Islander, 9.32% from other races, and 3.92% from two or more races. 12.86% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 834 households out of which 36.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.1% were married couples living together, 4.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.9% were non-families. 32.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 1.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.27.

In the city the population was spread out with 14.6% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 50.9% from 25 to 44, 25.4% from 45 to 64, and 1.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 194.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 218.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $69,539, and the median income for a family was $80,829. Males had a median income of $41,352 versus $29,766 for females. The per capita income for the city was $24,676. About 2.0% of families and 12.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.8% of those under age 18 and 15.8% of those age 65 or over.

History

Unalaska and Amaknak Islands contained 24 settlements with more than 1,000 Aleut inhabitants in 1759. In 1768, Unalaska became a Russian trading port for the fur seal industry, which was eventually monopolized by the Russian-American Company. It was there that Captain James Cook encountered the navigator Gerasim Izmailov in 1778.

In 1825, the Russian Orthodox Church of the Holy Ascension of Christ was built in Unalaska. The founding priest, Ivan Veniaminov, composed the first Aleut writing system with local assistance, and translated scripture into Aleut. By this time, (between 1830 and 1840), only 200 to 400 Aleuts lived in Unalaska.

In 1880, after the Alaska Purchase, the Methodist Church opened a school and a clinic for orphans in Unalaska. On June 3, 1942, during World War II, Unalaska was attacked by the Japanese in the Battle of Dutch Harbor, part of the Aleutian Islands campaign. Almost all of the native residents of the island were sent to Southeast Alaska for internment for the duration of the war.

Economy

The port of Unalaska/Dutch Harbor is the main port and field base for the storied Bering Sea crab fishery. The Dutch Harbor crabbing fleet is featured in the television show Deadliest Catch, a documentary style show on the Discovery Channel, and Dutch Harbor's facilities and local pub are featured prominently in numerous episodes.

Dutch Harbor has also been the largest fisheries port in the United States, in terms of volume of seafood caught, for nearly every year since 1981.^[5][6] Until 2000, it also ranked first in terms of the dollar value of its catch; since 2000, however, the port of New Bedford, Massachusetts, has outranked Dutch Harbor in that category.^[7]

A pilot project in Unalaska/Dutch Harbor, Alaska, is producing fish oil biodiesel from the local fish processing industry in conjunction with the University of Alaska Fairbanks. It is rarely economic to ship the fish oil elsewhere and Alaskan communities are heavily dependent on diesel power generation. The local factories project 3.5 million tons of fish oil annually.

Government

Unalaska has a mayor-council form of government, with a mayor of limited powers. The mayor serves a three-year term, as do council members.[2] However, council terms are staggered.

The current mayor is Shirley Marquardt; her term expires in October of 2010. The city's longest serving mayor was Frank Kelty, who was elected to five consecutive terms.

Education

Unalaska is served by the Unalaska City School District.

The Unalaska Elementary School serves grades K-4 and Unalaska Junior/Senior High School serves grades 5 through 12.

See also

• Deadliest Catch

References

External links

• Official website of Unalaska, Alaska
• Unalaska/Port of Dutch Harbor Convention and Visitors Bureau

• Unalaska, Alaska is at coordinates 53°53′20″N 166°31′38″W / 53.888984, -166.527239 (Unalaska, Alaska)Coordinates: 53°53′20″N 166°31′38″W / 53.888984, -166.527239 (Unalaska, Alaska)

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