Sledge Island, or Ayak Island, ( Inupiaq: ''Ayaaq'';

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 ...

: ''Asaaq'') is a small volcanic island in the

Bering Sea The Bering Sea ( , ; rus, Бе́рингово мо́ре, r=Béringovo móre, p=ˈbʲerʲɪnɡəvə ˈmorʲe) is a marginal sea of the Northern Pacific Ocean. It forms, along with the Bering Strait, the divide between the two largest landmasse ...

. It is located from the southwestern shore of the

Seward Peninsula The Seward Peninsula is a large peninsula on the western coast of the U.S. state of Alaska whose westernmost point is Cape Prince of Wales. The peninsula projects about into the Bering Sea between Norton Sound, the Bering Strait, the Chukchi ...

, off the shores 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 ...

Geography

Sledge Island is of volcanic origin and is only across. The average elevation is . Administratively this island belongs to the

Nome Census Area, Alaska Nome Census Area is a census area located in the U.S. state of Alaska, mostly overlapping with the Seward Peninsula. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,046, up from 9,492 in 2010. It is part of the unorganized borough and therefor ...

. The island is long and wide. The island is part of the Bering Sea unit of the

Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge The Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge (often shortened to Alaska Maritime or AMNWR) is a United States National Wildlife Refuge comprising 2,400 islands, headlands, rocks, islets, spires and reefs in Alaska, with a total area of , of wh ...

History

This island was named on August 5, 1778, by Captain

James Cook Captain (Royal Navy), Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 176 ...

, who commented: ''"We found, a little way from the shore where we landed, a sledge, which occasioned this name being given to the island."'' Martin Sauer, the secretary of the 1791

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n expedition who sailed under orders from

Catherine II of Russia Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

, claimed in 1802 that the

Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...

name of this island was "Ayak." Captain

Frederick Beechey Rear-Admiral Frederick William Beechey (17 February 1796 – 29 November 1856) was an English naval officer, artist, explorer, hydrographer and writer. Life and career He was the son of two painters, Sir William Beechey, RA and his sec ...

observed: ''"It is singular that this island, which was named Sledge Island by Captain Cook, from the circumstances of one of these implements being found upon it, should be called by a word signifying the same thing in Esquimaux language."'' The island was featured in seasons 8 and 11 of Bering Sea Gold, as a site to prospect and mine for seafloor placer gold.

Demographics

Sledge Island first appeared in the U.S. Census in 1880 as the unincorporated Inuit village of Aziak. All 50 of its residents were Inuit. It returned again in 1890 as Sledge Island, with 67 residents (all native). However, this included the residents of the island (listed as the village of "Ahyak") and three adjacent small villages on the mainland, including Okinoyoktokawik, Senikave & Sunvalluk. These were located approximately 19–20 miles west of present-day Nome, near a feature called West Point. It has not reported in any census since.

References

External links

USGS-GNISPicture of the island from the air
Islands of the Bering Sea Islands of Alaska Islands of Nome Census Area, Alaska Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Protected areas of Nome Census Area, Alaska Islands of Unorganized Borough, Alaska {{NomeAK-geo-stub