Anaktuvuk Pass

History

Anaktuvuk Pass was named after the Anaktuvuk River, and lies at the crossing of two mountain valleys. Anaktuvuk is the English way of spelling "anaqtuġvik", place of caribou droppings in Inupiaq, the language of the Inupiat. Archaeological evidence from the Tuktu-Naiyuk site, located just north of the settlement, indicates human activity dating from 8,000 to 3,000 years before present. Artifacts such as microblades and other Arctic Small Tools from the Paleo-Eskimo Northern Archaic period suggest that the site was used for processing animals. A nomadic group of Inupiat called Nunamiut, meaning 'people of the land', lived inland in northern Alaska, hunting caribou instead of the marine mammals and fish hunted by the rest of the Inupiat, who live on the coast. The Nunamiut traded with the coastal people for other items they needed. A decline in caribou populations around 1900 and in the 1920s caused many Nunamiut to move to the coast. In 1938, several Nunamiut families moved back to the Brooks Range, around Tulugak and the Killik River. Following a deadly influenza outbreak, in the summer of 1949 a group of families in the Killik River area moved 100 miles to Tulugak Lake, 15 miles north of where the village lies today. Departing from Sulupaat, near the mouth of April Creek on the Killik River, the group included the families of Maptigaq Morry, Inualuuraq (Chris) Hugo, and Homer Mekiana. They traveled on foot with dogs fitted with pack saddles made of caribou, using salvaged military rations when available. This became known by local oral historians as the "Long Walk". After spending the summer around Tulugak Lake, many of the families moved to the present site at the headwaters of the John River, where the village of Anaktuvuk Pass took shape. This journey marks the…

Geography

Anaktuvuk Pass is in northern central Brooks Range on the divide between the Anaktuvuk River and the John River, at an elevation of . It is south of Napaktualuit Mountain. Anaktuvuk Pass is the last remaining settlement of the Nunamiut (People of the Land) Iñupiat Inuit in Alaska. The community lies at approximately . It is in Section 18, Township 15 South, Range 2 East, Umiat Meridian, within the Utqiaġvik Recording District. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of , of which is land and (1.63%) is water. Anaktuvuk Pass has a typical subarctic climate (Köppen climate classification: Dfc) bordering on a tundra climate (Köppen climate classification: ET), with the average temperature in January while the warmest month, July, averages . Temperatures have ranged from . Anaktuvuk Pass receives about of rain yearly, with snowfall averaging about . The area is known for its intense winds and 50-below winters and the generic, framed houses built there in the 1970s. The houses are inefficient for such a climate, according to a Fairbanks Daily News Miner story. On June 28, 1971, the temperature fell to a record summer low of , though the data for that year is extremely sparse. The climate record as a whole is irregular, with data compiled only between 1953 and 1973, with most observations in the 1950s.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  7
• Lapland Longspur

  Calcarius lapponicus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  6
• White-crowned Sparrow

  Zonotrichia leucophrys (J.R.Forster, 1772) · Aves
  5
• Long-tailed Jaeger

  Stercorarius longicaudus Vieillot, 1819 · Aves
  4
• Smith's Longspur

  Calcarius pictus (Swainson, 1832) · Aves
  4
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  4
• Willow Ptarmigan

  Lagopus lagopus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3
• Species 2480295

  Species 2480295
  3

Largest nearby schools

• Nunamiut School
  Other · Anaktuvuk Pass · 96 students · 24:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.7 — 2024-09-14
  22 km SE of Anaktuvuk Pass, Alaska
• M 2.5 — 2022-08-18
  85 km WSW of Anaktuvuk Pass, Alaska
• M 2.7 — 2021-12-18
  54 km N of Wiseman, Alaska
• M 2.8 — 2020-05-25
  43 km NNW of Wiseman, Alaska
• M 2.7 — 2020-03-15
  40 km N of Wiseman, Alaska
• M 2.6 — 2019-03-08
  16 km SSE of Anaktuvuk Pass, Alaska