Spotlight on State's Seward Peninsula: Western Alaska offers rich culture, history and potential.

• Author: Barbour, Tracy
• Position: Regional Review - State overview

The Seward Peninsula is an expanse of land that stretches about 200 miles from Western Alaska into the Bering Sea. Situated just below the Arctic Circle, the region is mostly treeless tundra and it has long, frigid winters. Cape Prince of Wales occupies the western tip of the peninsula, the most western point in North America. Nome, the area's largest city, sits on the southern coast. Other cities on the peninsula include Shismaref, Buckland, Koyuk, Brevig Mission, Elim, Teller and White Mountain--all with populations ranging from 250 to 600. The region also includes the mining towns of Council, Solomon, Candle, Haycock and Taylor.

Like many places in Alaska, the Seward Peninsula has an abundance of wildlife and open spaces to support subsistence activities and outdoor recreation. Several rivers, including the Koyuk, Kuzitrin and Niukluk, carry fresh supplies of salmon, Dolly Varden, Arctic Grayling, whitefish and Northern Pike. Beautiful flora and fauna make a scenic backdrop for summer pastimes, such as fishing, hiking and bird-watching. During winter, snow machining, skiing and ice fishing are popular pursuits.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The Seward Peninsula has a number of distinctive geologic features. The Devil Mountain Lakes on the northern portion of the peninsula are the largest maar lakes (volcanically created depressions filled with standing water) in the world. They were formed more than 21,000 years ago as the result of an underground steam explosion. In addition, the peninsula was once part of the Bering land bridge, a 1,000-mile-wide stretch of land connecting Siberia with mainland Alaska during the Pleistocene Ice Age. The land bridge facilitated the migration of humans as well as plant and animal species from Asia to North America.

ECONOMY IN THE NOME CENSUS AREA

Much of the Seward Peninsula is encompassed in the Nome Census Area which has a population of just less than 10,000. The area's economy--like that of many rural places in Alaska--is driven by local government and health care jobs, according to Alaska Department of Labor Economist Alyssa Shanks. Fishing, mining and tourism are also important drivers of the economy.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Local government, as a whole, represents about 38 percent of all the employment in the Nome Census Area, Shanks says. Within that category, education is the biggest piece of employment and public administration is the second-largest source of jobs. Private health care makes up 18...