Sitkinak Island

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Satellite image of the Kodiak Archipelago including Sitkinak Island Kodiak.jpg
Satellite image of the Kodiak Archipelago including Sitkinak Island

Sitkinak Island is an island of the Kodiak Archipelago of the state of Alaska, United States. It lies south of the southern tip of Kodiak Island in the western part of the Gulf of Alaska. Tugidak Island lies to its west. The two islands are the largest components of the Trinity Islands of Alaska. The Trinity Islands, and thus Sitkinak, are part of the Gulf of Alaska unit of Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. Sitkinak Island has a land area of 235.506 km2 (90.929 sq mi) and no resident population. [1]

From 1960 to 1977 the United States Coast Guard operated a Loran-C station on the island.

Cattle Operation

Alaska Meat Company runs a free range cattle operation, Sitkinak Ranch on the island. They have about 600 head of cattle which are slaughtered and processed on the island in late fall to sell as "Beyond Organic" beef. The unique herd of cattle have thrived on the eastern and western islands of Sitkinak since 1937. [2] It is one of the few pristine islands in the world to support this rare species of cattle. More information can be found at Alaska Meat Company.

There is a healthy population of red fox (Vulpes vulpes) on the island. Fox pelages varies widely with many cross individuals and cross variants.

Climate data for Sitkinak Island, Alaska
MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecYear
Record high °F (°C)48
(9)
51
(11)
55
(13)
63
(17)
66
(19)
72
(22)
76
(24)
74
(23)
68
(20)
61
(16)
49
(9)
47
(8)
76
(24)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C)34.1
(1.2)
34.1
(1.2)
35.5
(1.9)
39.7
(4.3)
45.6
(7.6)
51.8
(11.0)
56.4
(13.6)
57.8
(14.3)
53.4
(11.9)
44.8
(7.1)
39.4
(4.1)
35.4
(1.9)
44.0
(6.7)
Daily mean °F (°C)29.3
(−1.5)
29.2
(−1.6)
31.1
(−0.5)
35.5
(1.9)
41.1
(5.1)
47.3
(8.5)
51.9
(11.1)
53.3
(11.8)
49.5
(9.7)
40.7
(4.8)
35.5
(1.9)
31.6
(−0.2)
39.7
(4.2)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C)26.4
(−3.1)
26.3
(−3.2)
26.6
(−3.0)
31.2
(−0.4)
36.6
(2.6)
42.8
(6.0)
47.4
(8.6)
48.8
(9.3)
45.5
(7.5)
36.5
(2.5)
31.5
(−0.3)
27.2
(−2.7)
35.6
(2.0)
Record low °F (°C)−2
(−19)
−1
(−18)
3
(−16)
15
(−9)
24
(−4)
29
(−2)
39
(4)
36
(2)
30
(−1)
18
(−8)
3
(−16)
−5
(−21)
−5
(−21)
Average precipitation inches (mm)3.35
(85)
2.75
(70)
3.32
(84)
3.08
(78)
3.86
(98)
3.02
(77)
3.23
(82)
5.07
(129)
6.33
(161)
5.49
(139)
5.04
(128)
5.72
(145)
50.26
(1,276)
Average snowfall inches (cm)5.1
(13)
3.4
(8.6)
1.9
(4.8)
0.7
(1.8)
0.6
(1.5)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.7
(1.8)
3.6
(9.1)
11.5
(29)
27.5
(69.6)
Source: WRCC [3]

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References

  1. Sitkinak Island: Block 1019, Census Tract 1, Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska United States Census Bureau
  2. Wanda Fields. Now It Can Be Told, OP, 2000, Print.
  3. Sitkinak, Alaska - Period of Record : 11/18/1960 to 1/31/1981 . Retrieved November 15, 2019.

56°32′53″N154°09′33″W / 56.54806°N 154.15917°W / 56.54806; -154.15917