Beluga Point Site (49ANC-054) is an archaeological location along

Turnagain Arm Turnagain Arm (Denaʼina language, Dena'ina: ''Tutl'uh'') is a waterway into the northwestern part of the Gulf of Alaska. It is one of two narrow branches at the north end of Cook Inlet, the other being Knik Arm. Turnagain is subject to climate e ...

Cook Inlet Cook Inlet (; Sugpiaq language, Sugpiaq: ''Cungaaciq'') stretches from the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage, Alaska, Anchorage in south-central Alaska. Cook Inlet branches into the Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm at its northern end, almost surrounding ...

, near

Seward Highway The Seward Highway is a highway in the U.S. state of Alaska that extends from Seward, Alaska, Seward to Anchorage, Alaska, Anchorage. It was completed in 1951 and runs through the scenic Kenai Peninsula, Chugach National Forest, Turnagain Arm ...

Milepost 110, south of

Anchorage Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolita ...

, in the U.S. state of

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 was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on March 30, 1978. Artifacts of the area are evidence of early human habitation. Beluga Point North 1 (BPN1) artifacts are 8,000–10,000 years old and believed to be evidence of the oldest habitation in Anchorage municipality. Various other artifacts at Beluga Point South 1 and 2 (BPS1 and BPS2) are believed to be 3,500 to 4,000 years old, while some newer ones are dated at 600 to 800 years old. Beluga whale breaching near Beluga Point

Beluga whale breaching near Beluga Point

Beluga Point is also a wildlife viewing area under the jurisdiction of the

Alaska Department of Fish and Game The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) is a department within the government of Alaska. ADF&G's mission is to protect, maintain, and improve the fish, game, and aquatic plant resources of the state, and manage their use and development i ...

. Beluga whales can be sighted seasonly July through August as hundreds of the

cetacean Cetacea (; , ) is an infraorder of aquatic mammals belonging to the order Artiodactyla that includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. Key characteristics are their fully aquatic lifestyle, streamlined body shape, often large size and exclusively c ...

s visit Cook Inlet to feed on the

Pacific salmon ''Oncorhynchus'', from Ancient Greek ὄγκος (''ónkos''), meaning "bend", and ῥύγχος (''rhúnkhos''), meaning "snout", is a genus of ray-finned fish in the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae, native to coldwater tributarie ...

run.

References

Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Alaska Geography of Anchorage, Alaska History of Indigenous peoples of North America Native American history of Alaska Tourist attractions in Anchorage, Alaska National Register of Historic Places in Anchorage, Alaska {{AnchorageAK-geo-stub

See also

References