Shishmaref

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Shishmaref
View of Shishmaref from the air
View of Shishmaref from the air
Location in Alaska
Shishmaref (Alaska)
Shishmaref
Shishmaref
Basic data
Foundation : July 13, 1969
State : United States
State : Alaska
Borough : Unorganized Borough
Coordinates : 66 ° 15 ′  N , 166 ° 4 ′  W Coordinates: 66 ° 15 ′  N , 166 ° 4 ′  W
Time zone : Alaska ( UTC − 9 / −8 )
Residents : 579 (as of: 2014)
Population density : 80.4 inhabitants per km 2
Area : 18.8 km 2  (about 7 mi 2 ) of
which 7.2 km 2  (about 3 mi 2 ) are land
Height : 3 m
Area code : +1 907
FIPS : 02-69770
GNIS ID : 1409434
Mayor : Donna Barr

Shishmaref or Qiġiqtaq in the Inupiaq language or Russian Шишмарёв is a village in the Nome Census Area of the US state Alaska with 579 inhabitants (2014).

geography

Shishmaref is located on Sarichef Island , which is off the Seward Peninsula and is located directly on the Chukchi Sea . In the west is the Bering Strait , in the east the Kotzebue Sound . The mainland with the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve in the south is around 15 kilometers away. 200 kilometers south is Nome and 170 kilometers northeast of Kotzebue .

history

The indigenous people of the area were Alaskan tribes ( Eskimos ), primarily members of the Iñupiat who made their living by fishing and hunting caribou . When the explorer and circumnavigator Otto von Kotzebue discovered the place in 1816 as part of the Rurik expedition , he named it Shishmaref , based on his captain Gleb Simonowitsch Schischmarew. In 1900 some prospectors settled there and in 1901 a post office was opened. The official establishment of Shishmaref took place on July 13, 1969. A severe storm surge in 1997 caused considerable damage in the place. Parts of the coastal strip eroded and some houses were washed into the sea. After that, too, there were repeated floods on the coast. Apparently, global warming is accompanied by a melting of sea ice and a thawing of the permafrost , leading to a rise in sea levels. For this reason, the residents voted in 2002 to give up the place and relocate elsewhere. Due to a lack of financial resources, this project could not be implemented. In 2016, the majority of the residents voted again in a referendum in favor of relocation to the mainland. Since the question of the financing of such an action has not yet been clarified, a quick implementation of the relocation is not to be expected.

Demographic data

In 2014 a population of 579 people was determined. This means an increase of 3.0% compared to the year 2000. The average age in 2014 was 21.3 years, well below the value of Alaska, which was 33.1 years. 94.7% of the residents are descended from the indigenous peoples of Alaska .

Web links

Commons : Shishmaref  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Susanne Schwarz: A village is fleeing from climate change . Klimaretter.info, August 20, 2016, accessed August 26, 2017.
    The History of Shishmaref . ExploreNorth.com, January 7, 2016, accessed August 26, 2017.
  2. ↑ Shishmaref, Alaska . City-data.com, August 26, 2017, accessed on August 26, 2017.