Current Population: 347 (2007 DCCED Certified Population)
Koyuk is located at the mouth of the Koyuk River, at the northeastern end of Norton Bay on the Seward Peninsula, 90 air miles northeast of Nome. Koyuk is located in the Cape Nome Recording District. The area encompasses 4.7 sq. miles of land and 0.0 sq. miles of water. Koyuk has a subarctic climate with a maritime influence. Average summer temperatures range from 46 to 62; winter temperatures average -8 to 8. Annual precipitation is 19 inches, including 40 inches of snowfall. Extremes from -49 to 87 have been recorded. Norton Bay is usually ice-free from May to October.
The site of "Iyatayet" on Cape Denbigh to the south has traces of early man that are 6,000 to 8,000 years old. The villagers were historically nomadic. Lt. Zagoskin of the Russian Navy noted the village of "Kuynkhak-miut" here in 1842-44. A Western Union Telegraph expedition in 1865 found the village of "Konyukmute." Around 1900, the present townsite began to be populated, where supplies could easily be lightered to shore. Two boom towns grew up in the Koyuk region around 1914: Dime Landing and Haycock. The "Norton Bay Station," 40 miles upriver, was established to supply miners and residents in 1915. In addition to gold, coal was mined a mile upriver to supply steam ships and for export to Nome. The first school began in the church in 1915; the U.S. government built a school in Koyuk in 1928. The City was incorporated in 1970.
The
information provided on this page was obtained from:
The
Alaska Department of Community and Economic Development, Community Database Online |
