Learn about Kodiak Island’s Hidden Treasure
Kodiak Island is located in the Gulf of Alaska. It is the largest Alaskan Island and is the second-largest in the United States. This island is 160 km long and covers an area of 9,311 km². Kodiak Island is separated from the Alaska Peninsula by Shelikof Strait that is 30 miles off the Alaskan coast and 250 miles southwest of Anchorage. If Kodiak, Afognak, Shuyak and a few nearby islands are combined, it will form an archipelago that is an extension of the Kenai Mountains.
Kodiak Island Is Categorized As Uplands
Near the eastern coast, where it is heavily forested, the island exceeds 5,000 feet. Glacier-deposited sand and gravel fill valleys and lower slopes. The southwestern part of the island, on the other hand, has survived glaciation and is mostly made up of moist tundra. The plants that you will find in this region differ from those on the rest of the island and about two-thirds of the island was covered by the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, which was created in 1941.
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The People of Kodiak
The residents of Kodiak Island inhabited the island for 7,500 years before any contact with Europeans. The island’s population reached about 6,500 by the time of the European exploration and that was in 1763. This island was called Kodiak by Captain James Cook in 1778 and was renamed Kadiak in 1890, then finally in 1901, the spelling was changed to Kodiak.
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Tragedy the Island Has Gone Through
The eruption of the Novarupta Volcano covered Kodiak Island with 18 inches of ash which interrupted the agricultural and fishing activities of the island. On March 27, 1964, Alaska encountered a violent earthquake that caused the raising of some parts of the island. The seismic waves set off by the earthquake produced tsunamis that resulted in devastation to the island. In 1989 the oil tanker Exxon Valdez caused a massive oil spill on some of the beaches. Kodiak Island went through these trying times, recovered and still became stunning as ever.
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