Belkofski (; ) is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and Alaska Native Village Statistical Area (ANVSA) in the Aleutians East Borough in

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

. It has been uninhabited since the 1980s, reporting a population of 0 in 1990, 2000 and 2010.

Location

Belkofski is on a point at the eastern end of the

Alaska Peninsula The Alaska Peninsula (also called Aleut Peninsula or Aleutian Peninsula, ; Sugpiaq language, Sugpiaq: ''Aluuwiq'', ''Al'uwiq'') is a peninsula extending about to the southwest from the mainland of Alaska and ending in the Aleutian Islands. T ...

, 12 miles southeast of King Cove.

History

Russians originally invaded

Aleut Aleuts ( ; (west) or (east) ) are the Indigenous people of the Aleutian Islands, which are located between the North Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea. Both the Aleuts and the islands are politically divided between the US state of Alaska ...

s at Belkofski in 1823 to harvest

sea otter The sea otter (''Enhydra lutris'') is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between , making them the heaviest members of ...

s in the area; at its height, it was the area's most important village. It was called "S(elo) Belkovskoe" from "belka," meaning "squirrel." In the 1880s, three stores were constructed, which were stocked with goods from San Francisco. There was a

Russian Orthodox The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

Holy Resurrection church built at that time as well. When the sea otter population diminished, so did the population. The economy switched to trapping wild game, and many of Belkofski’s inhabitants would move to the neighboring communities of Sand Point, Alaska and King Cove. The final few inhabitants vacated Belkofski for King Cove in the 1980s, bringing everything with them and establishing a new Orthodox Church. The village’s abandoned buildings reportedly burned down in 2013.

Demographics

Belkofski first appeared on the 1880 U.S. Census as the unincorporated village of Belkovsky with 268 residents (making it the 25th largest community in the Alaska Territory). It appeared as "Belkovsky" in 1890, as Belkofski Village in 1900, it did not report in 1910, and as Belkofski from 1920-1970, with the exception of 1940 when it was erroneously reported as "Balkofski." Beginning in 1980, it was classified as an "Alaska Native Village" and from 1990 through 2010 censuses as an Alaska Native Village Statistical Area (ANVSA), but on the last three censuses has reported a population of zero.

Climate

The area is in a maritime climate zone. Temperatures range from . Average snowfall is , with an annual precipitation of a year.

Elevation

Generally above sea level.

References

External links

www.alaska.hometownlocator.com

www.awrta.org

{{authority control 1823 establishments in North America Populated coastal places in Alaska on the Pacific Ocean Populated places established in 1823 Road-inaccessible communities of Alaska Unincorporated communities in Aleutians East Borough, Alaska Ghost towns in Alaska