Seward Peninsula

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Lore & Background

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. It projects about 200 mi (320 km) into the Bering Sea between Norton Sound, the Bering Strait, the Chukchi Sea, and Kotzebue Sound, just outside the Arctic Circle. The entire peninsula is about 210 mi (330 km) long and 90–140 mi (145–225 km) wide. Like Seward, Alaska, it was named after William H. Seward, the United States Secretary of State who fought for the U.S. purchase of Alaska. The Seward Peninsula is a remnant of the Bering land bridge, a roughly thousand-mile-wide swath of land connecting Siberia with mainland Alaska during the Pleistocene Ice Age. This land bridge aided in the migration of humans, as well as plant and animal species, from Asia to North America. Excavations at sites such as the Trail Creek Caves and Cape Espenberg in the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve as well as Cape Denbigh to the south have provided insight into the timeline of prehistorical migrations from Asia to the Seward Peninsula. Most of the peninsula is in the Nome Census Area, but part is in the Northwest Arctic Borough. Other locations on the Seward Peninsula include the mining towns of Council, Solomon, Candle, Haycock and Taylor. While still frequented by locals of neighboring communities, there are no longer year round residents in these locations. There was a United States Coast Guard LORAN station at Port Clarence. The U.S. Air Force operates a radar station at the 'Tin City' site, 7 mi (11 km) southeast of Wales.

Reader's Guide

The Seward Peninsula holds significance as a key geographic and historical link between Asia and North America. As a remnant of the Bering land bridge, it provides critical evidence for the migration of humans, plants, and animals during the Pleistocene Ice Age. Archaeological sites such as the Trail Creek Caves and Cape Espenberg have helped researchers understand the timeline of these prehistoric movements. The peninsula's geology includes the Devil Mountain Lakes on the northern portion, which are the largest maar lakes in the world and part of the Espenberg volcanic field, formed over 21,000 years ago as the result of an underground steam explosion. The Killeak Lakes and White Fish Lake are also volcanic maar lakes of notable size on the northern Seward Peninsula. The highest point in the peninsula is the peak of 4,714 ft (1,437 m) Mount Osborn in the Kigluaik (or Sawtooth) Mountains. The Lost Jim Lava Flow north of Kuzitrin Lake is a lava field formed roughly 1,000 to 2,000 years ago, covering roughly 88 sq mi (230 km2). The Seward Peninsula is the westernmost limit of distribution for the black spruce, Picea mariana. Alaska's reindeer herding was concentrated on the Seward Peninsula ever since the first shipment of reindeer were imported there from eastern Siberia in 1892. However, in 1997 the domesticated reindeer joined the Western Arctic Caribou Herd on their summer migration and disappeared. Cape Prince of Wales, the westernmost point on the mainland of the Americas, is on the western tip, only 51 mi (82 km) from Cape Dezhnev, the closest point on the Russian mainland. In August 2011 Russia announced an ambitious project to construct a rail tunnel under the Bering Strait, linking the Seward Peninsula in Alaska with the Chukchi Peninsula in Russia, which would cost an estimated US$65 billion and would be the world's longest tunnel at 64 mi (103 km) long.

Did You Know?

• The Devil Mountain Lakes on the northern Seward Peninsula are the largest maar lakes in the world, formed over 21,000 years ago by an underground steam explosion.
• The highest point on the peninsula is Mount Osborn, at 4,714 ft (1,437 m) in the Kigluaik Mountains.
• Cape Prince of Wales, the westernmost point on the mainland of the Americas, is only 51 mi (82 km) from Cape Dezhnev on the Russian mainland.
• In 1997, domesticated reindeer on the Seward Peninsula joined the Western Arctic Caribou Herd on their summer migration and disappeared.
• The Lost Jim Lava Flow north of Kuzitrin Lake covers roughly 88 sq mi (230 km2) and formed 1,000 to 2,000 years ago.