Dago Creek ( ) is a stream, long, on 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 ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

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 ...

. Beginning in a small lake southeast of Egegik, it meanders southwest across the flats to enter

Ugashik Bay Ugashik Bay is a bay of the Bering Sea in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is an elongated, comma-shaped estuary formed where the Ugashik River empties into Bristol Bay, on the western coast of the Alaska Peninsula. Its waters are characteristically ...

southeast of

Smoky Point Smoky Point is a point of land in the U.S. state of Alaska, located at , where Ugashik Bay joins the much larger Bristol Bay. The most easily distinguishable landmark is the United States Coast Guard lighthouse which is visible to mariners on the ...

. The name derives from the numerous Sicilian

fishermen A fisherman or fisher is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishermen may be professional or recr ...

who would anchor in the protected waters during closed fishing periods and collectively celebrate their heritage with plenty of food and wine. At first used in a pejorative way, the Sicilians embraced the terminology and the name stuck, becoming official when the area was first definitively mapped in 1943. The area is still used as a small boat harbor for the nearby village of Pilot Point, especially with the completion of a bulkhead-style dock and boat launch in 1990. Although a few fish swim up, and reportedly spawn in, its waters, the stream is primarily a drain for the multitude of small

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

s, marshland and

tundra In physical geography, a tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. There are three regions and associated types of tundra: #Arctic, Arctic, Alpine tundra, Alpine, and #Antarctic ...

of the coastal zone north of Ugashik Bay. The creek generally flows from north to south, beginning with the drainage from Dago Lake, a large but shallow freshwater lake located approximately 25 miles (40 km) north of the creek's mouth. It then begins a slow and meandering path towards the sea, with several oxbow lakes and false channels along the way. Though relatively narrow, the entire length of the stream has been navigated by vessels from the

Bristol Bay Bristol Bay (, ) is the easternmost arm of the Bering Sea, at 57° to 59° North 157° to 162° West in Southwest Alaska. Bristol Bay is 400 km (250 mi) long and 290 km (180 mi) wide at its mouth. A number of rivers flow in ...

fishing fleet. The creek also serves to break the contiguous land mass of the north/east shore of Ugashik Bay, separating the village of Pilot Point from the neighboring community of Smoky Point. It also serves as a point of subsistence salmon fishing, although its waters are officially closed to commercial fishing activity. Local

Alaska Natives Alaska Natives (also known as Native Alaskans, Alaskan Indians, or Indigenous Alaskans) are the Indigenous peoples of Alaska that encompass a diverse arena of cultural and linguistic groups, including the Iñupiat, Yupik, Aleut, Eyak, Tli ...

also catch abundant supplies of small, oily, herring-like fish called smelt which helps supplement the local diet.

References

{{authority control Rivers of Lake and Peninsula Borough, Alaska Rivers of Alaska

See also

References