Kodiak Island is a large island on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska, separated from the Alaska mainland by the Shelikof Strait. A state of the United States (a U.S. state) is any one of the fifty states (four of which officially favor the term commonwealth) which, along with the District of Columbia, form the United States of America. ... Official language(s) English Capital Juneau Largest city Anchorage Area  Ranked 1st  - Total 663,267 sq mi (1,717,854 km²)  - Width 808 miles (1,300 km)  - Length 1,479 miles (2,380 km)  - % water 13. ... The Shelikof Strait is a strait in southern Alaska between the Alaska mainland and Kodiak and Afognak islands. ...

It is the largest island in Alaska and the second largest island in the United States, after the Big Island of Hawaii, with 8,975 square kilometres (3,465 mile²) of area. It is 160 km (100 miles) long and varies from 16 to 96 km (10 to 60 miles) wide. Kodiak Island is the largest island in the Kodiak Archipelago. The Island of Hawaii (called the Big Island or Hawaii proper) is one of eight main islands that make up the U.S. State of Hawaii. ... The Kodiak Archipelago is an archipelago, or group of islands, south of the mainland of the United States state of Alaska, about 405 km (252 miles) by air south of Anchorage in the Gulf of Alaska. ...

Kodiak Island is mountainous and heavily forested in the north and east and fairly treeless on the south. The island has many ice-free, deep bays that provide sheltered anchorages for boats.

Most of the island is a national wildlife refuge. The Kodiak Bear and the Kodiak king crab are native to the island. Binomial name Ursus arctos Linnaeus, 1758 The Brown Bear (Ursus arctos) is a species of bear that can reach weights of 130-700 kg (300 to 1500 pounds). ...

Kodiak is the ancestral land of the Koniaga, an Alutiiq nation. The original inhabitants subsisted by hunting, fishing, farming and gathering. The first Westerners to settle on the island were Russians explorers under Grigory Shelikhov, who founded a Russian settlement on Kodiak Island at Three Saints Bay, near the present-day village of Old Harbor, in 1784. Following the Alaskan Purchase of 1867, Americans moved in and engaged in hunting and fox farming. The Alutiiq (plural: Alutiit), also called Pacific Yupik or Sugpiaq, are a southern, coastal branch of Alaskan Yupik. ... Grigory Ivanovich Shelikhov (Shelekhov) (Шелихов (Шелехов), Григорий Иванович in Russian; English spelling varies from Shelekov to Shelikof)(1747 — 7. ... 1867 (MDCCCLXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

The settlement of Grigory Shelikhov on Kodiak Island.

The Koniagas had been studied by European explorers, who marveled at their practice of male concubinage: "A Kodiak mother will select her handsomest and most promising boy, and dress and rear him as a girl, teaching him only domestic duties, keeping him at women's work, associating him with women and girls, in order to render his effeminacy complete. Arriving at the age of ten or fifteen years, he is married to some wealthy man who regards such a companion as a great acquisition. These male concubines are called Achnutschik or Schopans'" (Richard Francis Burton in his Terminal Essay, after Holmberg, Langsdorff, Joseph Billings, Choris, Yuri Lisiansky and Marchand) Image File history File links Shelikhov_settlement. ... Image File history File links Shelikhov_settlement. ... Grigory Ivanovich Shelikhov (Shelekhov) (Шелихов (Шелехов), Григорий Иванович in Russian; English spelling varies from Shelekov to Shelikof)(1747 — 7. ... Richard Burton, portrait by Frederic Leighton, National Portrait Gallery, London. ... Joseph Billings (c. ... Yuri Fyodorovich Lisyansky (also spelled as Urey Lisiansky) (Russian: , August 13, 1773—March 06, 1837) was an officer in the Imperial Russian Navy and explorer. ...

Kodiak Island was explored in 1763 by Russian fur trader Stepan Glotov. The island was the location of the first permanent Russian settlement in Alaska, founded by Grigory Shelikhov, a fur trader, on Three Saints Bay in 1784. The settlement was moved to the site of present-day Kodiak in 1792 and became the center of Russian fur trading. In 1912 the eruption of Novarupta on the mainland (erroneously attributed at one time to the more famous Mount Katmai) blanketed the island with volcanic ash, causing widespread destruction and loss of life. The island was also hit by the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake and tsunami, which destroyed much of the town. Grigory Ivanovich Shelikhov (Shelekhov) (Шелихов (Шелехов), Григорий Иванович in Russian; English spelling varies from Shelekov to Shelikof)(1747 — 7. ... Three Saints Bay is a small inlet on the southeast side of Kodiak Island in southern Alaska. ... Aerial view of Kodiak Kodiak is a city located in Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska. ... Novarupta, meaning new eruption, is a volcano located on the Alaska Peninsula in the Katmai area, about 290 miles southwest of Anchorage. ... This article is about Katmai, the volcano. ... Epicenter Fourth Avenue, Anchorage Turnagain Heights landslide Seward waterfront, mid-1964 The power of the tsunami is shown by its ability to impale this tire with a piece of wood. ...

Kodiak Island is part of the Kodiak Island Borough of Alaska. The largest town on the island is Kodiak. Villages include Ahkiok, Old Harbor, Karluk, Larsen Bay, Port Lions, and Ouzinki. Kodiak Island Borough is a borough located in the state of Alaska. ... Karluk is a census-designated place located in Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska. ...

Fishing is a major occupation; fisheries include salmon, halibut, and crab. The Karluk River is famous for its salmon run. Logging, ranching, numerous canneries, and some copper mining are also prevalent. Kodiak is also home to a large U.S. Coast Guard station, Integrated Support Command Kodiak. The Karluk River is located on the southwest end of Kodiak Island in Alaska. ... Coast Guard shield The United States Coast Guard is the coast guard of the United States. ... Integrated Support Command Kodiak is the largest operating base of the United States Coast Guard, in Kodiak, Alaska. ...

External links

• Official Kodiak Island website