Northwest Arctic Borough is a borough located in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,793, up from 7,523 in 2010. The borough seat is Kotzebue. The borough was formed on June 2, 1986.
Unalakleet is a city in Nome Census Area, Alaska, United States, in the western part of the state. At the 2010 census the population was 688, down from 747 in 2000. Unalakleet is known in the region and around Alaska for its salmon and king crab harvests; the residents rely for much of their diet on caribou, ptarmigan, oogruk, and various salmon species.
Anaktuvuk Pass is a city in North Slope Borough, Alaska, United States. The population was 282 at the 2000 census and 324 as of the 2010 census.
Ambler is a city in Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 258, down from 309 in 2000. The city is located in the large Iñupiaq language speaking region of Alaska, and the local dialect is known as the Ambler dialect. As of 1999, over 91% of the community speaks and understands the language, with many young children actively learning the language in school. It has important relationships with the "hub" city of Kotzebue, Alaska and has important relationships with Maniilaq Health Association.
Deering is a city in the Northwest Arctic Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located on a sandy spit on the Seward Peninsula where the Inmachuk River flows into Kotzebue Sound, 92 km (57 mi) southwest of Kotzebue.
Kobuk is a city in Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 151, up from 109 in 2000.
Kotzebue or Qikiqtaġruk is a city in the Northwest Arctic Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the borough's seat, by far its largest community and the economic and transportation hub of the subregion of Alaska encompassing the borough. The population of the city was 3,102 as of the 2020 census, down from 3,201 in 2010.
Noorvik is an Iñupiat city in the Northwest Arctic Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 694, up from 668 in 2010. Located in the NANA Region Corp, Noorvik has close ties with the largest city in the region, Kotzebue. Residents speak a dialect of Iñupiaq known as Noorvik Inupiaq. Noorvik was the first town to be counted in the 2010 census.
Selawik is a city in Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 829, up from 772 in 2000.
Shungnak is a city in Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 262, up from 256 in 2000.
The Iñupiat are a group of Indigenous Alaskans whose traditional territory roughly spans northeast from Norton Sound on the Bering Sea to the northernmost part of the Canada–United States border. Their current communities include 34 villages across Iñupiat Nunaat, including seven Alaskan villages in the North Slope Borough, affiliated with the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation; eleven villages in Northwest Arctic Borough; and sixteen villages affiliated with the Bering Straits Regional Corporation. They often claim to be the first people of the Kauwerak.
The Kobuk River, also known by the names Kooak, Kowak, Kubuk, Kuvuk, and Putnam, is a river located in the Arctic region of northwestern Alaska in the United States. It is approximately 280 miles (451 km) long. Draining a basin with an area of 12,300 square miles (32,000 km2), the Kobuk River is among the largest rivers in northwest Alaska, with widths of up to 1,500 feet and flows reaching speeds of 3–5 miles per hour in its lower and middle reaches. The average elevation for the Kobuk River Basin is 1,300 feet (400 m) above sea level, ranging from sea level at its mouth on the Bering Sea to 11,400 feet near its headwaters in the Brooks Range.
Kobuk Valley National Park is an American national park in the Arctic region of northwestern Alaska, located about 25 miles (40 km) north of the Arctic Circle. The park was designated in 1980 by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act to preserve the 100 ft (30 m) high Great Kobuk Sand Dunes and the surrounding area which includes caribou migration routes. Park visitors must bring all their own gear for backcountry camping, hiking, backpacking, boating, and dog sledding. No designated trails or roads exist in the park, which at 1,750,716 acres, is slightly larger than the state of Delaware. Kobuk Valley is one of eight national parks in Alaska, the state with the second most national parks, surpassed only by California which has nine. The park is managed by the National Park Service.
Iñupiaq or Inupiaq, also known as Iñupiat, Inupiat, Iñupiatun or Alaskan Inuit, is an Inuit language, or perhaps group of languages, spoken by the Iñupiat people in northern and northwestern Alaska, as well as a small adjacent part of the Northwest Territories of Canada. The Iñupiat language is a member of the Inuit-Yupik-Unangan language family, and is closely related and, to varying degrees, mutually intelligible with other Inuit languages of Canada and Greenland. There are roughly 2,000 speakers. Iñupiaq is considered to be a threatened language, with most speakers at or above the age of 40. Iñupiaq is an official language of the State of Alaska, along with several other indigenous languages.
Bering Air is an American airline headquartered in Nome, Alaska, United States. It operates domestic scheduled passenger and charter airline services, as well as air ambulance and helicopter services. Its main base is Nome Airport, with hubs at Ralph Wien Memorial Airport (Kotzebue) and Unalakleet Airport.
The Squirrel River is a 72-mile (116 km) tributary of the Kobuk River in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is a very clear, small arctic river flowing south from the foothills of Baird Mountains to where it meets the Kobuk River in the village of Kiana. From Kiana, the Kobuk flows southwest into Hotham Inlet of Kotzebue Sound on the Chukchi Sea.
Maniiḷaq is a figure of Iñupiat legend and history. He lived in the 19th century before colonialists arrived in his area of northwest Alaska. He lived as a hunter and a healer in northwest Alaska. Various stories about him include that he heard voices predicting that people would come to Alaska, that he had prophetic visions of boats that were propelled by fire or that flew in the air, and that he heard voices from a higher power who he said identified as abba. Some also say that Maniiḷaq rested every seventh day. Other prophecies attributed to Maniiḷaq include the prophecy that the village of Ambler, Alaska would one day become a large metropolis, and that a whale would swim upriver and appear at Ambler. It is said that Maniiḷaq practiced traditional medicine, and also that he resisted the dominant cultural order of shamanism. He is an important figure in Northwest Alaska Christian communities. The most distant future event he predicted was a day that was split in two, which is probably a reference to the Solar eclipse of July 1, 2057.
Hageland Aviation Services was a regional FAR Part 135 airline based in Anchorage, Alaska, United States. It operated as the Ravn Connect component of Ravn Alaska, serving many destinations throughout Alaska.
Kobuk Airport is a state-owned public-use airport located in Kobuk, a city in the Northwest Arctic Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska.
The Baird Mountains are a mountain range located northeast of the Kotzebue Sound, in between the Kobuk and Noatak Rivers in Alaska. The range was named after Smithsonian Institution Secretary Spencer F. Baird.
