Egegik Bay (

Yup'ik The Yupʼik or Yupiaq (sg & pl) and Yupiit or Yupiat (pl), also Central Alaskan Yupʼik, Central Yupʼik, Alaskan Yupʼik ( own name ''Yupʼik'' sg ''Yupiik'' dual ''Yupiit'' pl; Russian: Юпики центральной Аляски), are an ...

: ''Igyagiim painga'') is a

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

located just 69.1 miles from Dillingham 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 ...

and the northeastern arm of 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 ...

. The Egegik (''Igyagiiq'' in Yup'ik) village is located on a high bluff along the southern shore of the Egegik River at the upper extent of Egegik Bay. The nearest places to Egegik Bay are Coffee Point (3 km north), Coffee Point (4 km north), Goose Point (4 km north),

Egegik Airport Egegik Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport serving Egegik, a city in the Lake and Peninsula Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska. Scheduled passenger service is available at this airport. As per Federal Aviation Administration records ...

(5 km west), and Bartletts Airport (6 km north).

History

The first recorded contact by non-Natives was with Russian fur traders between 1818 and 1867. Chapter 3 – Region 12: Egegik, Becharof
/ref> The Egegik Yupik is one of the five Central Alaskan Yup'ik dialects. Local people are Central Alaskan Yup'ik people and would travel each year from Kanatak (an

Alutiiq The Alutiiq (pronounced in English; from Promyshlenniki Russian Алеутъ, "Aleut"; plural often "Alutiit"), also called by their ancestral name ( or ; plural often "Sugpiat"), as well as Pacific Eskimo or Pacific Yupik, are a Yupik ...

village) on the Gulf coast through a portage pass to Becharof Lake (south-east of Egegik). From there they would hike or

kayak ] A kayak is a small, narrow human-powered watercraft typically propelled by means of a long, double-bladed paddle. The word ''kayak'' originates from the Inuktitut word '' qajaq'' (). In British English, the kayak is also considered to be ...

on to the Egegik Bay are for the summer fish camp.

Nature

Although tideland areas adjacent to the coast are important for providing habitat to some species of birds as well as

harbor seal The harbor (or harbour) seal (''Phoca vitulina''), also known as the common seal, is a true seal found along temperate and Arctic marine coastlines of the Northern Hemisphere. The most widely distributed species of pinniped (walruses, eared sea ...

s, by far the most important and sensitive habitat area occurs at the mouth of the Egegik River within Egegik Bay. The remainder of Egegik Bay is included within tideland management unit R12T-02 and contains extensive areas of eelgrass, harbor seal haulouts, and waterfowl use. Beluga whales are present in the northern part of Region 12, although Egegik Bay is not known to contain calving areas.

Fishing

The Egegik Community (R12T-03) is a major commercial

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 ...

fishing area. Pink, chum, sockeye, coho and chinook salmon are harvested (drift net) commercially in Egegik Bay (R12T-01 & R12T-02) and at the mouth of the Egegik River. Fishermen will find a variety of fish including coho salmon, dolly varden and pink salmon here.Fishing Reports for Egegik Bay - Dillingham, Alaska
/ref>

References

External links

Egegik Bay Watershed

dec.alaska.gov: Egegik Bay, BB-N12
{{coord, 58, 11, N, 157, 28, W, dim:20000_region:US-AK, display=title Bays of Alaska Bodies of water of Lake and Peninsula Borough, Alaska