City Of Atka

About

Location Atka is located on Atka Island, 1,100 air miles from Anchorage and 90 air miles east of Adak. It lies at approximately 52d 12m N Latitude, 174d 12m W Longitude. (Sec. 22, T092S, R176W, Seward Meridian). Atka is located in the Aleutian Islands Recording District. The area encompasses 8.7 sq. miles of land and 27.4 sq. miles of water. Atka lies in the maritime climate zone. Temperatures range from 20 to 60 degrees. Precipitation averages 60 inches per year, including 61 inches of snow. There are frequent winds and severe storms in the winter, and calm, foggy weather in summer. History The island has been occupied by the Unangax̂ people for at least 2,000 years. Unangax̂ people from Atka speak the Niiĝuĝim tunuu, the Western dialect, known since the Russian era as “Aleuts”. Recent archaeological evidence indicates that the present village site may have had human use since prehistoric times. The first contact with Russians occurred in 1747, and Atka became an important trade site and safe harbor for Russians. In 1787 a number of hunters were enslaved and relocated to the Pribilofs to work in the fur seal harvest. The townsite was settled in the 1860s. After the end of the sea otter hunting era in the late 1800s, Atka had no viable cash economy. Reindeer were introduced to the Island in 1914. During the 1920s, Atka became relatively affluent due to fox farming. After the Japanese attacked Unalaska and seized Attu and Kiska in June 1942, the U.S. Government evacuated Atka residents to the Ketchikan area. Atka was burned to the ground to prevent Japanese forces from using it and advancing. The community was rebuilt by the U.S. Navy after the War and residents were allowed to return. Many Attu villagers, released from imprisonment in Japan in […]