Kodiak Island

Kodiak Island (kō`dēăk'), 5,363 sq mi (13,890 sq km), c.100 mi (160 km) long and 10–60 mi (16–96 km) wide, off S Alaska, separated from the Alaska Peninsula by Shelikof Strait. Alaska's largest island, Kodiak is mountainous and heavily forested in the north and east; the native grasses in the south offer good pasturage for cattle and sheep. The island has many ice-free, deeply penetrating bays that provide sheltered anchorages and transportation routes. The Kodiak bear and the Kodiak king crab are native to the island. Most of the island is a national wildlife refuge. In 1912 the eruption of Mt. Katmai on the mainland blanketed the island with volcanic ash, causing widespread destruction and loss of life (see Katmai National Park and Preserve). Explored in 1763 by Russian fur trader Stepan Glotov, the island was the scene of the first permanent Russian settlement in Alaska, founded by Grigori Shelekhov, a fur trader, on Three Saints Bay in 1784. The settlement was moved to Kodiak village in 1792 and became the center of Russian fur trading. The largest town on the island is Kodiak (1990 pop. 6,365). Salmon fishing is a major occupation; the Karluk River is famous for its salmon run. Livestock farms, numerous canneries, and some copper mining are also prevalent.

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Kodiak Island

Island (pop., 2000: 13,913), Alaska, U.S. Lying in the Gulf of Alaska, it is 100 mi (160 km) long and 10–60 mi (16–96 km) wide and has an area of 3,588 sq mi (9,293 sq km). The Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge covers 75% of the island and is the habitat of the Kodiak bear. Discovered in 1763 by a Russian fur trader, the island, known as Kikhtak, became the site in 1784 of the first Russian colony in America. Russian control ended in 1867; the island was renamed Kodiak in 1901. In 1964 a destructive earthquake lowered the island by 5–6 ft (1.5–1.8 m).