Unalaska, Alaska
{{short description|Town in Alaska}}
{{redirect|Dutch Harbor, AK|the harbor|Dutch Harbor}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name = City of Unalaska
| native_name = Iluulux̂
| settlement_type = City
| nickname =
| motto =
| image_skyline = {{multiple image
| border = infobox
| total_width = 290
| caption_align = center
| image_style = border:1;
| perrow = 2/2/2
| image1 = UnalaskaAlaska.jpg
| caption1 = Hilltop view of Unalaska
| image4 = Unalaska 2.04.jpg
| caption4 = View from a hill on Amaknak Island
| image5 = Unalaska Sunrise (8233752180).jpg
| caption5 = View from the shore at sunrise
| image6 = Unalaska 2.02.jpg
| caption6 = Unalaska Island and Iliukliuk Harbor
| image3 = USCG HC-130 1453.jpg
| caption3 = U.S.C.G. C-130 Hercules at Dutch Harbor Airport
| image2 = Dutch harbor crab boats.jpg
| caption2 = Crab boats moored in Dutch Harbor in 2009
}}
| image_caption =
| imagesize =
| image_flag =
| image_seal = Seal of Unalaska, Alaska.png
| image_map =
| mapsize =
| map_caption =
| pushpin_map = USA Alaska Unalaska Island#USA Alaska
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = United States
| subdivision_type1 = State
| subdivision_name1 = Alaska
| subdivision_type2 = Census Area
| subdivision_name2 = Aleutians West
| government_footnotes =
| government_type =
| leader_title = Mayor
| leader_name = Vince Tutiakoff
| leader_title1 = State senator
| leader_name1 = Lyman Hoffman (D)
| leader_title2 = State rep.
| leader_name2 = Bryce Edgmon (I)
| established_title = Incorporated
| established_date = March 3, 1942{{cite book|title=1996 Alaska Municipal Officials Directory|location=Juneau|publisher=Alaska Municipal League/Alaska Department of Community and Regional Affairs|date=January 1996|page=154}}
| area_magnitude =
| area_total_km2 = 546.20
| area_land_km2 = 264.73
| area_water_km2 = 281.47
| area_total_sq_mi = 210.89
| area_land_sq_mi = 102.21
| area_water_sq_mi = 108.68
| population_as_of = 2020
| population_total = 4254
| population_density_km2 = 16.07
| population_density_sq_mi = 41.62
| timezone = Alaska (AKST)
| utc_offset = −9
| timezone_DST = AKDT
| utc_offset_DST = −8
| elevation_footnotes =
| elevation_m = 4
| elevation_ft = 13
| coordinates = {{coord|53|53|20|N|166|31|38|W|region:US-AK|display=inline,title}}
| postal_code_type = ZIP code
| postal_code = 99685
| area_code = 907
| area_code_type = Area code
| blank_name = FIPS code
| blank_info = 02-80770
| blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
| blank1_info = {{GNIS 4|1419424}}
| website = {{URL|www.ci.unalaska.ak.us}}
| footnotes =
| pop_est_as_of =
| pop_est_footnotes =
| population_est =
| unit_pref = Imperial
| name = Unalaska
| population_footnotes =
| native_name_lang = ale
| image_blank_emblem = Unalaska, Alaska logo.png
| blank_emblem_type = Logo
| population_demonym = Unalaskan
}}
The City of Unalaska ({{langx|ale|Iluulux̂}}; {{langx|ru|Уналашка}}) is the main population center in the Aleutian Islands. The city is in the Aleutians West Census Area, a regional component of the Unorganized Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Unalaska is located on Unalaska Island and neighboring Amaknak Island in the Aleutian Islands off mainland Alaska. The population was 4,254 at the 2020 census, which is 81% of the entire Aleutians West Census Area.{{cite web | url = https://live.laborstats.alaska.gov/cen/2020-census-data.html | title = 2020 Census Data - Cities and Census Designated Places | format = Web | publisher = State of Alaska, Department of Labor and Workforce Development | access-date = October 31, 2021}} Unalaska is the second largest city in the Unorganized Borough, behind Bethel.
The Aleut (Unangan) people have lived on Unalaska Island for thousands of years. The Unangan, who were the first to inhabit the island of Unalaska, named it "Ounalashka", meaning "near the peninsula". The regional native corporation has adopted this moniker, and is known as the Ounalashka Corporation. The Russian fur trade reached Unalaska when Stepan Glotov and his crew arrived on August 1, 1759. Natives, Russians and their Alaskan Creole descendants comprised most of the community's population until the mid-20th century, when the involvement of the United States in World War II led to a large-scale influx of people and construction of buildings all along the strategically located Aleutians.
Almost all of the community's port facilities are on Amaknak Island, better known as Dutch Harbor or just "Dutch". It is the largest fisheries port in the U.S. by volume caught. It includes Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base and Fort Mears, U.S. Army, a U.S. National Historic Landmark. Dutch Harbor lies within the city limits of Unalaska and is connected to Unalaska by a bridge. Amaknak Island is home to almost 59 percent of the city's population, although it has less than 3 percent of its land area.
As a result of the town's strong fishing industry, Unalaska has also become notable for its large population of bald eagles, which number in the hundreds and were attracted to the area by human activity.{{Cite web|url=https://www.amusingplanet.com/2018/04/unalaska-town-full-of-bald-eagles.html|title=Unalaska: The Town Full of Bald Eagles|last=Kaushik|website=Amusing Planet|access-date=June 13, 2019}}
History
The island of Unalaska was first inhabited by the Aleut people.
Unalaska and Amaknak Islands contained 24 settlements with more than 1,000 Aleut inhabitants in 1759, when the first Russian group under Stepan Glotov came and started trading for three years on Umnak and Unalaska. Between 1763 and 1766, a conflict between the Russian fur traders and the Unalaska Natives occurred; the Aleuts destroyed four Russian ships and killed 175 hunters/traders. In the 1760s, Unalaska was temporarily used as a Russian fur trading post. The post was permanently established in 1774, and was eventually incorporated into the Russian-American Company. It was there that Captain James Cook encountered the navigator Gerasim Izmailov in 1778.
In 1788, the Spanish made contact with the Russians in Alaska for the first time. An expedition by Esteban José Martínez and Gonzalo López de Haro visited several Russian settlements. Their westernmost visit was to Unalaska. On August 5, 1788, they claimed Unalaska for Spain, calling it Puerto de Dona Marie Luisa Teresa.{{cite book |last1=Inglis |first1=Robin |title=Historical Dictionary of the Discovery and Exploration of the Northwest Coast of America Front Cover |date=2008 |publisher=Rowman and Littlefield Publishing |location=Maryland |isbn=9780810855519 |page=219 }}
Alexander Andreyevich Baranov was shipwrecked here in 1790.Khlebnikov, K.T., 1973, Baranov, Chief Manager of the Russian Colonies in America, Kingston: The Limestone Press, {{ISBN|0919642500}}{{rp|2–5}}
File:Russian church and general view of town of Unalaska, Alaska, June 1906 (COBB 150).jpeg
In 1825, the Russian Orthodox Church of the Holy Ascension was built in Unalaska. The founding priest, Ivan Veniaminov, later canonized as Saint Innocent of Alaska, composed the first Aleut writing system with local assistance, and translated scripture into Aleut. Between 1836 and 1840, measles, chicken-pox and whooping-cough epidemics drastically reduced the population; thus, at the end of the decade, only 200 to 400 Aleuts lived in Unalaska.
On October 18, 1867, the United States purchased Alaska, which made Unalaska part of the U.S. territory.
In 1880, the Methodist Church opened a school and a clinic for orphans in Unalaska. Between 1899 and 1905, the Gold Rush brought many ships through Dutch Harbor, where the North American Commercial Company had a coaling station.
File:Town of Unalaska, Alaska, June 1906 (COBB 151).jpeg
During the first half of the century, the island was touched by numerous epidemics, first in 1900, and then in 1919 the Spanish flu touched the island: these contributed to a dramatic decrease of the population in Unalaska.
Fearing the threat from Imperial Japan during World War II, the neutral United States began fortifying Dutch Harbor in 1940, resulting in the construction of the Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base and Fort Mears. Construction finished entirely by September 1941, three months before the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor that caused the U.S. to enter the war. On June 3, 1942, the town was attacked by Japanese air forces in the Battle of Dutch Harbor, part of the Aleutian Islands Campaign. After the attack and the Japanese occupations of Kiska and Attu, almost all of the native residents of Amaknak Island were evacuated. Many were held under poor conditions in camps in Southeast Alaska for the duration of the war; a substantial number of the internees died during the imprisonment.
Beginning in the 1950s, Unalaska became a center of the Alaskan king crab fishing industry; by 1978 it was the largest fishing port in the United States. A 1982 crash in king crab harvests decimated the industry, and the mid-1980s saw a transition to bottom fishing.
On October 25, 1977, an extremely intense extratropical system struck the area. A pressure of 926 millibars was recorded at Dutch Harbor, which was the lowest non-tropical pressure ever recorded in the United States until December 31, 2020, when another system struck the islands with a pressure of 924.8 millibars.{{Cite web |last=Korosec |first=Marko |date=January 3, 2021 |title=All-time pressure records set at the end of 2020: North Pacific extratropical storm peaks at 921 mbar, extreme cold in Mongolia sets new world record with 1094 mbar |url=https://www.severe-weather.eu/global-weather/record-extratropical-storm-bomb-cyclone-alaska-pacific-mk/ |access-date=December 28, 2022 |website=Severe Weather Europe |language=en-US}} Winds in excess of 100 knots caused the shipwreck of {{MV|Kuroshima}} in 1997.
=Recent history=
The city has struggled with problems like alcoholism and unemployment in the past and still does, although the situation has improved in recent years.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/08/us/08elbow.html|title=Safe Harbor on Alaska Fishing Island, Still a Dream Away|last=Yardley|first=William|date=November 7, 2009|website=New York Times|access-date=April 14, 2018}} One example is the Elbow Room, a bar which locally, and later abroad, became infamous for its raucousness. It was closed in 2005.
Since 2005, the Discovery Channel's documentary show Deadliest Catch has focused on fishermen who are based in Dutch Harbor.
In 2023 Starlink's first community gateway, a small ground station, was built in Unalaska.{{Cite news |last=DeMarban |first=Alex |last2=September 24 |date=2023-09-23 |title=Unalaska gets Starlink's first community internet gateway |url=https://www.adn.com/business-economy/2023/09/23/unalaska-gets-starlinks-first-community-internet-gateway/ |access-date=2024-09-21 |work=Anchorage Daily News |language=en}}
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of {{convert|212.3|sqmi|km2|1}}, of which {{convert|111.0|sqmi|km2|1}} is land and {{convert|101.3|sqmi|km2|1}} (47.71%) is water.
Makushin Volcano ({{convert|5691|ft|m|abbr=on|disp=x|/}}) is located on the island; it is not quite visible from within the town of Unalaska, though the steam rising from its cone is visible on the rare clear day. By climbing one of the smaller hills in the area, such as Pyramid Peak or Mount Newhall, it is possible to get a good look at the snow-covered cone.
=Paleontology=
A major find was announced in 2015 after scientists examined a group of giant, tusked, quadruped, marine mammal fossils. The species had been unearthed during excavation for the construction of a school. They are unique, shore dwellers belonging to the extinct order Desmostylia, and possibly related to Proboscidea or Sirenia.{{cite news|url=http://www.adn.com/article/20151007/giant-extinct-mammal-identified-unalaska-fossils |title=Giant extinct mammal identified from Unalaska fossils|publisher=Alaska Dispatch News |first=Mike |last=Dunham |date=October 7, 2015 |access-date=October 8, 2015}} A rendition of a group was drawn by Alaskan artist Ray Troll.{{cite news|url=http://www.adn.com/slideshow/photos-new-species-extinct-marine-mammal-identified-unalaska-fossils |title=Photos: New species of extinct marine mammal identified from Unalaska fossils |publisher=Alaska Dispatch News |first=Mike |last=Dunham |date=October 7, 2015 |access-date=October 8, 2015}}
=Climate=
As in all of the Aleutian islands in the south of Akutan Island (32 °F or 0 °C isotherm) the climate of Unalaska is a subpolar oceanic climate (Cfc), closely bordering a subarctic climate (Dfc) following the trend of warming have predominates the first one. Even so, other climatic maps present even in group D in the Köppen Classification (even though all months average above freezing),{{Cite web|url=https://www.plantmaps.com/koppen-climate-classification-map-united-states.php|title=Interactive United States Koppen-Geiger Climate Classification Map|website=www.plantmaps.com|language=en|access-date=October 31, 2018}} with moderate and fairly uniform temperatures and heavy precipitation. Winters are consistently cold, but relatively mild in comparison to other parts of the state. Summers are cool, with most afternoons only reaching highs of {{convert|54|F}} to {{convert|70|F}}. Fog is often present even when it is not raining. Summer weather is around {{convert|5|F-change}} cooler than Southeast Alaska (Sitka), but the winter temperatures are nearly the same, although despite the higher latitudes of cities such as Sitka and Ketchikan, both of the two cities have warmer winters than Unalaska.
The mean annual temperature for Unalaska is about {{convert|41.6|°F|1}}, being about {{convert|33.0|°F|1}} in January and about {{convert|53.7|°F|1}} in August. The coldest month has been February 1984 with a mean temperature of {{convert|22.9|F|1}}, while the warmest month was August 2019 at {{convert|57.3|F|1}}; the annual mean temperature has ranged from {{convert|38.0|F|1}} in 1916 to {{convert|44.1|F|1}} in 2016. With about 225 rainy days a year, Unalaska is among the rainiest places in the United States. June through August are markedly the driest months of the year, with very rare thunderstorms. Precipitation is especially heavy from October to February, when frequent, often-intense storms from the North Pacific Ocean cross the area, bringing high to very high winds and heavy precipitation in any form, and sometimes, changing forms (rain, freezing rain, sleet, snow). On average, December is the year's wettest month. Snowfall averages over {{convert|81|in|cm}} per winter season, and can be heavy from December to March.
Unalaska's recorded temperature range is from {{convert|82|F|C}} in August 1982 to {{convert|-8|F|C}} in January 1986.{{cite web|url=https://www.weather.gov/wrh/Climate?wfo=afc|title=NOWData for Fairbanks, AK forecast office|publisher=NOAA|accessdate=July 31, 2022}} The coldest daytime maximum recorded is {{convert|11|F|C}} and the annual mean coldest day is {{convert|24|F|C}}. The warmest night on record is well above the average daily summer high temperature, standing at {{convert|65|F|C}}, with the mean for the annual warmest night being {{convert|56|F|C}}.
{{Weather box
| collapsed =
| location = Dutch Harbor, Unalaska, Alaska (1991–2020 normals,{{efn|Mean monthly maxima and minima (i.e. the highest and lowest temperature readings during an entire month or year) calculated based on data at said location from 1991 to 2020.}} extremes 1915–present)
| single line = Y
|Jan record high F = 58
|Feb record high F = 60
|Mar record high F = 69
|Apr record high F = 61
|May record high F = 66
|Jun record high F = 73
|Jul record high F = 79
|Aug record high F = 82
|Sep record high F = 80
|Oct record high F = 65
|Nov record high F = 67
|Dec record high F = 59
|Jan avg record high F = 46.2
|Feb avg record high F = 47.3
|Mar avg record high F = 48.0
|Apr avg record high F = 50.0
|May avg record high F = 54.4
|Jun avg record high F = 60.9
|Jul avg record high F = 68.6
|Aug avg record high F = 70.9
|Sep avg record high F = 63.8
|Oct avg record high F = 57.3
|Nov avg record high F = 52.0
|Dec avg record high F = 48.4
|year avg record high F = 72.6
|Jan high F = 37.3
|Feb high F = 38.6
|Mar high F = 38.9
|Apr high F = 41.8
|May high F = 46.7
|Jun high F = 52.3
|Jul high F = 57.4
|Aug high F = 59.3
|Sep high F = 54.6
|Oct high F = 48.1
|Nov high F = 43.3
|Dec high F = 39.3
|year high F = 46.5
|Jan mean F = 33.0
|Feb mean F = 34.0
|Mar mean F = 34.1
|Apr mean F = 37.1
|May mean F = 42.0
|Jun mean F = 47.3
|Jul mean F = 52.0
|Aug mean F = 53.7
|Sep mean F = 49.4
|Oct mean F = 43.2
|Nov mean F = 38.2
|Dec mean F = 35.0
|year mean F = 41.6
|Jan low F = 28.7
|Feb low F = 29.4
|Mar low F = 29.2
|Apr low F = 32.5
|May low F = 37.4
|Jun low F = 42.4
|Jul low F = 46.6
|Aug low F = 48.1
|Sep low F = 44.2
|Oct low F = 38.4
|Nov low F = 33.2
|Dec low F = 30.6
|year low F = 36.7
|Jan avg record low F = 17.8
|Feb avg record low F = 18.2
|Mar avg record low F = 19.8
|Apr avg record low F = 24.2
|May avg record low F = 30.7
|Jun avg record low F = 37.2
|Jul avg record low F = 41.0
|Aug avg record low F = 41.0
|Sep avg record low F = 35.9
|Oct avg record low F = 28.5
|Nov avg record low F = 23.1
|Dec avg record low F = 21.6
|year avg record low F = 13.6
|Jan record low F = -8
|Feb record low F = 0
|Mar record low F = 2
|Apr record low F = 10
|May record low F = 15
|Jun record low F = 30
|Jul record low F = 34
|Aug record low F = 30
|Sep record low F = 23
|Oct record low F = 11
|Nov record low F = 8
|Dec record low F = 5
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation inch = 6.79
|Feb precipitation inch = 5.18
|Mar precipitation inch = 4.65
|Apr precipitation inch = 3.47
|May precipitation inch = 4.20
|Jun precipitation inch = 2.52
|Jul precipitation inch = 2.30
|Aug precipitation inch = 2.86
|Sep precipitation inch = 5.73
|Oct precipitation inch = 7.89
|Nov precipitation inch = 6.66
|Dec precipitation inch = 7.88
|year precipitation inch = 60.13
|Jan snow inch = 22.0
|Feb snow inch = 14.2
|Mar snow inch = 16.5
|Apr snow inch = 6.3
|May snow inch = 0.2
|Jun snow inch = 0.0
|Jul snow inch = 0.0
|Aug snow inch = 0.0
|Sep snow inch = 0.0
|Oct snow inch = 0.4
|Nov snow inch = 6.2
|Dec snow inch = 15.8
|year snow inch = 81.6
|unit precipitation days = 0.01 in
|Jan precipitation days = 22.0
|Feb precipitation days = 19.4
|Mar precipitation days = 19.2
|Apr precipitation days = 18.0
|May precipitation days = 18.1
|Jun precipitation days = 14.7
|Jul precipitation days = 13.6
|Aug precipitation days = 15.1
|Sep precipitation days = 20.1
|Oct precipitation days = 24.9
|Nov precipitation days = 22.5
|Dec precipitation days = 23.1
|year precipitation days = 230.7
|unit snow days = 0.1 in
|Jan snow days = 10.1
|Feb snow days = 8.1
|Mar snow days = 8.5
|Apr snow days = 3.8
|May snow days = 0.2
|Jun snow days = 0.0
|Jul snow days = 0.0
|Aug snow days = 0.0
|Sep snow days = 0.0
|Oct snow days = 0.4
|Nov snow days = 4.1
|Dec snow days = 9.3
|year snow days = 44.5
|source 1 = NOAA
{{cite web
|url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&stations=USC00502587&format=pdf&dataTypes=MLY-TMAX-NORMAL,MLY-TMIN-NORMAL,MLY-TAVG-NORMAL,MLY-PRCP-NORMAL,MLY-SNOW-NORMAL
|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
|title = U.S. Climate Normals Quick Access
|access-date = September 13, 2022
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230507072141/https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&stations=USC00502587&format=pdf&dataTypes=MLY-TMAX-NORMAL,MLY-TMIN-NORMAL,MLY-TAVG-NORMAL,MLY-PRCP-NORMAL,MLY-SNOW-NORMAL
|archive-date = May 7, 2023
}}
|source 2 = National Weather Service
{{cite web
|url = https://www.weather.gov/wrh/climate?wfo=afc
|publisher = National Weather Service
|title = NOAA Online Weather Data
|access-date = September 13, 2022
}}
}}
| style="width:90%;text-align:center;font-size:100%;line-height:1.2em;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto" class="wikitable" |
| Colspan=14|Climate data for Dutch Harbor, Unalaska, Alaska |
|---|
| Month
!Jan !Feb !Mar !Apr !May !Jun !Jul !Aug !Sep !Oct !Nov !Dec !style="border-left-width:medium"|Year |
| Average sea temperature °C (°F)
| style="background:#000080; color:#ffffff;"|4 | style="background:#000080; color:#ffffff;"|4 | style="background:#000080; color:#ffffff;"|4 | style="background:#000080; color:#ffffff;"|4 | style="background:#000080; color:#ffffff;"|5 | style="background:#0000ff; color:#ffffff;"|6 | style="background:#0000ff; color:#ffffff;"|8 | style="background:#0000ff; color:#ffffff;"|9 | style="background:#0000ff; color:#ffffff;"|9 | style="background:#0000ff; color:#ffffff;"|7 | style="background:#0000ff; color:#ffffff;"|6 | style="background:#000080; color:#ffffff;"|5 | style="background:#0000ff; color:#ffffff; border-left-width:medium;"|5.6 |
| Mean daily daylight hours
| style="background:#f0f011; color:#000;"|8 | style="background:#ffff05; color:#000;"|10 | style="background:#ffff33; color:#000;"|12 | style="background:#ffff55; color:#000;"|14 | style="background:#ffff77; color:#000;"|16 | style="background:#ffff88; color:#000;"|17 | style="background:#ffff77; color:#000;"|16 | style="background:#ffff66; color:#000;"|15 | style="background:#ffff44; color:#000;"|13 | style="background:#ffff05; color:#000;"|10 | style="background:#f7f722; color:#000;"|9 | style="background:#f0f000; color:#000;"|7 | style="background:#ffff36; color:#000;"|12.3 |
| Average Ultraviolet index
| style="background:#808080; color:#ffffff;"|0 | style="background:#289500; color:#000;"|1 | style="background:#289500; color:#000;"|2 | style="background:#f7e400; color:#000;"|3 | style="background:#f7e400; color:#000;"|5 | style="background:#f7e400; color:#000;"|5 | style="background:#f85900; color:#000;"|6 | style="background:#f7e400; color:#000;"|5 | style="background:#f7e400; color:#000;"|3 | style="background:#289500; color:#000;"|2 | style="background:#289500; color:#000;"|1 | style="background:#808080; color:#ffffff;"|0 | style="background:#f7e400; color:#000; border-left-width:medium;"|3 |
| Colspan=14 style="background:#f8f9fa;font-weight:normal;font-size:95%;"|Source: weather2travel {{cite web |url=https://www.weather2travel.com/climate-guides/united-states/alaska/dutch-harbor-ak.php |title=Dutch Harbor climate guide |publisher=weather2travel |access-date=August 18, 2017 }} |
=Note=
{{notelist}}
Demographics
{{US Census population
|1880= 406
|1890= 317
|1900= 428
|1910= 281
|1920= 299
|1930= 226
|1940= 298
|1950= 173
|1960= 218
|1970= 342
|1980= 1322
|1990= 3089
|2000= 4283
|2010= 4376
|2020= 4254
|
}}
Unalaska first reported on the 1880 U.S. census as the Aleut and Creole (Mixed Russian & Aleut) village of Iliuliuk.{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rr9RAQAAMAAJ&q=unalaska&pg=PA49|title=Geological Survey Professional Paper|date=April 3, 2018|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|access-date=April 3, 2018|via=Google Books}} Of its 406 residents, 230 were Aleut, 162 were Creole (Mixed Russian & Native) and 14 were White. It was the 9th largest community in Alaska.{{cite web |title=Statistics of the Population of Alaska |url=https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/1880a_v1-17.pdf |website=United States Census Bureau |date=1880}} In 1890, it returned as Unalaska with 317 residents. This included a majority of 165 Creoles, 84 Natives, 66 Whites and 2 Asians (the total population included adjacent Dutch Harbor, and 5 docked vessels including the steamers Arago and Dora and schooners Nellie Martin, Pearl and Matthew Turner).{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CRcwAAAAYAAJ&q=ikogmiut&pg=RA2-PA164|title=Report on Population and Resources of Alaska at the Eleventh Census, 1890|date=April 3, 1893|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|access-date=April 3, 2018|via=Google Books}} In 1900, it reported as Unalaska again, but did not present a racial breakdown. It reported again as Iliuliuk in 1910, but has reported from 1920 onwards as Unalaska. It was formally incorporated in 1942.
=2020 census=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Unalaska city, Alaska – Racial and ethnic composition !Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) !Pop 2000{{Cite web|title=P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Unalaska city, Alaska |url=https://data.census.gov/table?g=160XX00US0280770&tid=DECENNIALSF12000.P004|publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date= }} !Pop 2010{{Cite web|title=P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Unalaska city, Alaska |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=160XX00US0280770&tid=DECENNIALPL2010.P2|publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date= }} !{{partial|Pop 2020}}{{Cite web|title=P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Unalaska city, Alaska |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=160XX00US0280770&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date= }} !% 2000 !% 2010 !{{partial|% 2020}} |
| White alone (NH)
|1,780 |1,473 |style='background: #ffffe6; |1,326 |41.56% |33.66% |style='background: #ffffe6; |31.17% |
| Black or African American alone (NH)
|157 |287 |style='background: #ffffe6; |221 |3.67% |6.56% |style='background: #ffffe6; |5.20% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|323 |260 |style='background: #ffffe6; |182 |7.54% |5.94% |style='background: #ffffe6; |4.28% |
| Asian alone (NH)
|1,307 |1,397 |style='background: #ffffe6; |1,483 |30.52% |31.92% |style='background: #ffffe6; |34.86% |
| Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|24 |95 |style='background: #ffffe6; |221 |0.56% |2.17% |style='background: #ffffe6; |5.20% |
| Other race alone (NH)
|4 |5 |style='background: #ffffe6; |8 |0.09% |0.11% |style='background: #ffffe6; |0.19% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|137 |193 |style='background: #ffffe6; |219 |3.20% |4.41% |style='background: #ffffe6; |5.15% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|551 |666 |style='background: #ffffe6; |594 |12.86% |15.22% |style='background: #ffffe6; |13.96% |
| Total
|4,283 |4,376 |style='background: #ffffe6; |4,254 |100.00% |100.00% |style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00% |
The most reported detailed ancestries were Filipino (33.3%), Mexican (9.2%), Ukrainian (5.5%), Samoan (4.7%), German (4.5%), and English (4.3%).{{cite web |title=TOTAL POPULATION |url=https://data.census.gov/table?t=-06:-1000E:-3000F:-4000G:-5000K:-7000E:-8000B&g=160XX00US0280770&d=DEC+Detailed+Demographic+and+Housing+Characteristics+File+A |website=data.census.gov |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau}}
=2010 census=
In the census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website }} of 2010, there were 4,376 people, 927 households, and 533 families residing in the city. There were 1106 housing units. The racial makeup of the city was 39% White, 7% Black or African American, 6% Native American, 33% Asian (28% Filipino, 3% Vietnamese, 1% Japanese, 1% Other Asian),{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov |title=U.S. Census website |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=June 7, 2016 }} 2% Pacific Islander, 7% from other races, and 6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15% of the population.
There were 927 households, out of which 34% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43% were married couples living together, 8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43% were non-families. 35% of all households had individuals under 18 and 5% had someone living who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.5 and the average family size was 3.2.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 15% under the age of 20, 6% from 20 to 24, 40% from 25 to 44, 36% from 45 to 64, and 3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 194.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 218.7 males.
Economy
File:Dutch Harbor, Alaska.jpg.]]
The port of Unalaska / Dutch Harbor is the main port and field base for the storied Bering Sea king crab fishery. The Dutch Harbor crabbing fleet is featured in the television show Deadliest Catch, a documentary style show on the Discovery Channel, and Dutch Harbor's facilities and local pub are featured prominently in numerous episodes.
Dutch Harbor has also been the largest fisheries port in the United States, in terms of volume of seafood caught, for nearly every year since 1981. Until 2000, it also ranked first in terms of the dollar value of its catch; since 2000, however, the port of New Bedford, Massachusetts, has outranked Dutch Harbor in that category.
A pilot project in Unalaska / Dutch Harbor, Alaska, is producing fish oil biodiesel from the local fish processing industry in conjunction with the University of Alaska Fairbanks. It is rarely economical to ship the fish oil elsewhere and Alaskan communities are heavily dependent on diesel power generation. The local factories process 3.5 million gallons{{cite web|url=http://peninsulaclarion.com/stories/022702/ala_022702ala0010001.shtml|title=New fish oil-diesel blend could benefit rural villages - Peninsula Clarion|first=DOUG|last=O'HARRA|website=peninsulaclarion.com|access-date=April 3, 2018}} of fish oil annually.
Government
=Local government=
File:Vince Tutiakoff speaking (35348586705).jpg
Unalaska has a council–manager form of government. The mayor is elected at large, and serves a three-year term; their powers are mostly ceremonial.
The city council is the legislative body of the city; it is made up of six members, who are elected at large by a direct vote of the city's electorate. They also serve three-year terms. The city council has for its mission to "enact the laws of the city, set the mill rate for property taxes within the city, approve the annual budget for the city, and appropriate funds to provide for city services".
The incumbent mayor is Vincent M. Tutiakoff Sr. Former mayor Frank Kelty served more terms than any other Unalaska mayor, with a total of six terms over the years.
Unalaska also maintains its own municipal police department.
=Legislative representation=
Unalaska is located in the Aleutians No. 2 voting precinct, in the 37th election district and Senate district S. The city is represented in the Alaska House of Representatives by Bryce Edgmon, an Independent from Dillingham, and in the Alaska Senate by Lyman Hoffman, a Democrat from Bethel.
Unalaska was home to Carl Moses, who moved there from King Cove in the mid-1960s and was a business and political leader in the community for decades until shortly before his death in 2014. Moses was the longest-serving member in the history of the Alaska House, serving a total of 22 years, from 1965 to 1973 and from 1993 to 2007. He also served under three different political parties, first as a Republican, later switching to Democrat, and also served the majority of one term as a member of the Alaskan Independence Party. The only other Unalaska resident to serve in the legislature was Eric G. Sutcliffe, at the time owner of Stormy's Restaurant. Sutcliffe served a single term in the House, from 1981 to 1983.
Education
=Primary and secondary education=
As Unalaska is designated a first-class city and located within the Unorganized Borough, it is required under state law to operate its own schools rather than participate in a Rural Education Attendance Area. The Unalaska City School District reported an enrollment of 418 students for the 2018–2019 school year, split roughly evenly between Eagle's View Elementary School (pre-elementary through 4th grade) and Unalaska Jr/Sr High School (5th through 12th grades).
UCSD was voted one of the best 100 school districts in the United States by Offspring Magazine, a Forbes publication. It has also consistently been one of the highest scoring schools in Alaska in both the Standards-based exams and Alaska Exit Exam. In 2006, the Alaska Association of School Boards awarded the school district with the Outstanding School Board Award and Superintendent of the Year award.{{citation needed|date=February 2017}}
Unalaska Headstart also serves the community's pre-elementary education needs.
Previously the Aleutian Region School District, which serves rural areas in the western Aleutian Islands, had its administrative headquarters in Unalaska;Fried, Neal and Brigitta Windisch-Cole. "[http://labor.state.ak.us/trends/trendspdf/feb98.pdf Public School Education: A Big Industry]." Alaska Economic Trends. February 1998. Start: p. 2/17. CITED: p. 7/17. "Name of District[...]Aleutian Region District School Center[...]Location of Headquarters of District Office[...]Unalaska" the school board's mailing address was in Unalaska."[https://web.archive.org/web/20000815215304/http://www.eed.state.ak.us/Alaskan_Schools/1999-2000EDDirectory.pdf Alaska Education Directory, School Year 1999-2000]." Alaska Department of Education. p. 3 (PDF p. 9/58). Retrieved on February 20, 2017. [http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED443640.pdf Available at] ERIC (info in the ERIC PDF is on PDF p. 8/58).
=Tertiary education=
The University of Alaska Fairbanks also has a campus in Unalaska, the University of Alaska, Aleutian Pribilof campus. This college is part of the College of Rural Alaska network and offers both conventional classroom and distance classes. It offers university classes, community workshops, local courses, as well as dual credit for high school students.{{cite web|url=https://www.uaf.edu/iac/centers/aleutian-pribilof-center/|title=Aleutian-Pribilof Center - Interior Alaska Campus|access-date=June 7, 2016}}
11% of Unalaska residents age 25 and older have a bachelor's or advanced college degree.
Transportation
Unalaska is connected to the rest of the state by air via the Unalaska Airport, a {{convert|4500|by|100|ft|abbr=on|0}} paved runway owned by the state of Alaska, from which daily flights are scheduled. These flights consist of turboprop service to and from Anchorage.{{Cite web|title=OST_R {{!}} BTS {{!}} Title from h2|url=https://www.transtats.bts.gov/OT_Delay/OT_DelayCause1.asp?pn=1|access-date=September 1, 2020}} A seaplane base is also available. In 2002, the state of Alaska changed the name of the airport to "Tom Madsen Airport", after a bush pilot killed in an accident that year, although the FAA still uses the airport's original name.
The Alaska Marine Highway operates once every two weeks from Kodiak between April and October. Out of the ten major docks in Unalaska, three are operated by the city. A World War II sub dock was refurbished and now offers ship repair services.
There are approximately {{convert|7|mi|km}} of paved road, and {{convert|38|mi|km}} of road total in Unalaska. According to traffic counts taken by the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, the most heavily traveled roads in Unalaska are Airport Beach Road between 5th Street and East Point Road, 5th Street between Broadway Avenue and Airport Beach Road, and Broadway Avenue between 5th Street and Steward Road. These roads recorded an annual average daily traffic volume of approximately 3,000 cars.{{cite report|first=Jennifer W.|last=Witt|editor-first=Edith|editor-last=Yan|year=2013|title=Annual Traffic Volume Report|edition=2010-2011-2012|url=http://www.dot.state.ak.us/stwdplng/mapping/trafficmaps/trafficdata_reports_cen/2012_ATVR.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130930151119/http://www.dot.state.ak.us/stwdplng/mapping/trafficmaps/trafficdata_reports_cen/2012_ATVR.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 30, 2013|publisher=Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities|pages=III-8 – III-9|access-date=November 14, 2013}}
Churches
- Russian Orthodox Church of the Holy Ascension of Christ, oldest Russian Church in the United States, built 1825
- Saint Christopher-By-The-Sea Catholic Church
- United Methodist Church-Unalaska
- Unalaska Reformed Church Southern Baptist Convention{{Cite web|url=https://www.unalaskareformed.org/|title=Unalaska Reformed Church|first=Jacob|last=Whitaker|website=Unalaska Reformed Church}}
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints{{cite web|url=https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/facts-and-statistics/state/alaska |title=Facts and Statistics|publisher=Church News |date=2020 |access-date=March 28, 2020}}
Sister cities
Unalaska has been twinned with Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia since 1990.
References
{{reflist|30em|refs=
{{cite web|last=Kraegel|first=Laura|url=http://kucb.org/post/mayor-kelty-outlines-priorities-3-year-term|title=Mayor Kelty Outlines Priorities For 3-Year Term|work=KUCB|publisher=Alaska Public Media|date=November 23, 2016|access-date=May 4, 2017}}
Moffatt, Riley. Population History of Western U.S. Cities & Towns, 1850–1990. Lanham: Scarecrow, 1996, 8.
{{FAA-airport|ID=DUT|use=PU|own=PU|site=50801.*A}}
}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikivoyage|Dutch Harbor-Unalaska}}
- {{Official website|http://ci.unalaska.ak.us/}}
- [http://www.ci.unalaska.ak.us/community/page/convention-and-visitor-bureau Unalaska/Port of Dutch Harbor Convention and Visitors Bureau]
- [http://www.aleutians.org Museum of the Aleutians, which can be found in Unalaska]
- [http://coastmariner.com/bin/chart2.php?chartId=16500_1&lat=53.8979&lon=-166.517&locId=5388 Nautical Chart: Unalaska Island to Amukta Island, centered on Dutch Harbor]
=Articles=
- [http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20180724-the-us-island-that-once-belonged-to-russia The US island that once belonged to Russia: Unalaska Island in the remote Aleutian archipelago was part of an epic, but now mostly forgotten, military campaign during World War II.] By John Zada, July 25, 2018, bbc.com.
{{Aleutians West Census Area, Alaska}}
{{Russian America}}
{{Alaska}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Cities in Aleutians West Census Area, Alaska
Category:Populated coastal places in Alaska on the Pacific Ocean