Sledge Island

Not to be confused with Sled Island.

Sledge Island, or Ayak Island, (Inupiaq: Ayaaq; Yup'ik: Asaaq) is a small island in the Bering Sea. It is located 5.3 mi (8.5 km) from the southwestern shore of the Seward Peninsula, off the shores of Alaska.

Location in Alaska

Geography

Sledge Island is of volcanic origin and is only 1.6 miles (2.6 km) across.^[1] The average elevation is 410 feet (120 meters).^{[citation needed]} Administratively this island belongs to the Nome Census Area, Alaska.

The island is 2.80 km (1.74 mi) long and 1.48 km (0.92 mi) wide.

The island is part of the Bering Sea unit of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge.

History

This island was named on August 5, 1778, by Captain James Cook, who commented: "We found, a little way from the shore where we landed, a sledge, which occasioned this name being given to the island."^[2] Martin Sauer, the secretary of the 1791 Russian expedition who sailed under orders from Catherine II of Russia, claimed in 1802 that the Inuit name of this island is "Ayak."

Captain Frederick Beechey observed: "It is singular that this island, which was named Sledge Island by Captain Cook, from the circumstances of one of these implements being found upon it, should be called by a word signifying the same thing in Esquimaux language."^[3]

The island was featured in seasons 8 and 11 of Bering Sea Gold, as a site to prospect and mine for seafloor placer gold.^[4]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	50		—
1890	67		34.0%
U.S. Decennial Census[5]

Sledge Island first appeared in the U.S. Census in 1880 as the unincorporated Inuit village of Aziak.^[6] All 50 of its residents were Inuit. It returned again in 1890 as Sledge Island, with 67 residents (all native). However, this included the residents of the island (listed as the village of "Ahyak") and three adjacent small villages on the mainland, including Okinoyoktokawik, Senikave & Sunvalluk.^[7] These were located approximately 19–20 miles west of present-day Nome, near a feature called West Point.^[8] It has not reported in any census since.

References

1. Tom Cade (1952). "Notes on the Birds of Sledge Island, Bering Sea, Alaska". The Condor. 54 (1): 51–54. doi:10.2307/1364528. JSTOR 1364528. Archived from the original on 2022-02-20. Retrieved 2013-04-02.
2. James Cook (1842). The Voyages of Captain James Cook. William Smith. p. 329.
3. Frederick William Beechey (1831). Narrative of a Voyage to the Pacific and Beering's Strait: To Co-operate with the Polar Expeditions Performed in His Majesty's Ship Blossom Under the Command of Captain F. W. Beechey, R. N., F. R. S. &c. in the Years 1825, 26, 27, 28. Colburn and Bentley. p. 400. Archived from the original on 2022-02-20. Retrieved 2016-02-29.
4. "Uncharted Waters". Bering Sea Gold. Season 8. Episode 1. 1 February 2017. Discovery Channel.
5. "U.S. Decennial Census". Census.gov. Archived from the original on July 19, 2018. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
6. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-08-17. Retrieved 2018-06-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
7. "37192240v8.pdf" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-08-29. Retrieved 2022-02-20.
8. "Geological Survey Professional Paper". 1949. Archived from the original on 2022-02-20. Retrieved 2020-12-16.

External links

• USGS-GNIS
• Picture of the island from the air
• Martin Sauer's voyages

64°29′9.02″N 166°12′35.12″W