Amatusuk Hills

Amatusuk Hills is a mountain range in North Slope Borough, Alaska, in the United States.^[1][2] It is part of the Brooks Range.^[3]

Amatusuk Hills
Highest point
Elevation	413.92 m (1,358.0 ft)
Coordinates	69°3′39″N 163°19′17″W
Dimensions
Length	45 mi (72 km)
Geography
State	Alaska
Settlement	Kivalina

Amatusuk is likely a name of Indigenous origin of unknown meaning.^[4]

History

In 1838, Amatusuk Hills was noted in A.F. Kashevarov's Coastal Explorations in Northwest Alaska as "the last elevation of note that a coastal traveller heading north will see in northwest Alaska".^[5]

In 1920, Archdeacon Stuck published the name as 'Amahk-too-sook'.^[6] It has been variously spelled as: Amahtooscok Mountain, Amatosuk Hills, Amatusak Hills, and Amooktoosuk Hills.^[7]

The inland area is known for hunting, fishing, and fur trapping.^[8] The Inupiat residents of Point Lay used the rivers as navigational points, but only during bad weather.^[9] The Kukpowruk River is used as a reference point to the trapping regions when the coastal area is impassable during bad weather.^[9]

References

1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Amatusuk Hills
2. "Amatusuk Hills". Alaska Guide. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
3. "Red Dog Mine Extension AqqAluk Project: Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement" (PDF). October 2009.
4. Geological Survey (U.S.) (1960). Geological Survey Professional Paper. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 52.
5. Vanstone, James W.; Kraus, David H.; Kashevarov, A. F. (1977). "A. F. Kashevarov's Coastal Explorations in Northwest Alaska, 1838". Fieldiana. Anthropology. 69: i–104. ISSN 0071-4739. JSTOR 29782496.
6. Orth, Donald J. (1967). Dictionary of Alaska Place Names. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 70.
7. Geological Survey Professional Paper. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1967.
8. "Community Profiles for North Pacific Fisheries – Alaska: Point Lay" (PDF). NOAA-TM-AFSC-259 – Volume 4.
9. Tremont, John D. (1987). "Surface-Transportation Networks of the Alaskan North Slope" (PDF). U.S. Department of the Interior Minerals Management Service. pp. 19–20.

69°07′N 162°56′W