# Nunivak Island
**Nunivak Island** is a volcanic island in the [Bering Sea](https://www.edgepedia.org/bering-sea), lying about 30 km off the coast of southwestern Alaska and about 135 miles west of Bethel[1](https://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=314020) • [2](https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=muskoxhunting.nunivak). It is the third largest island off Alaska's coastline[3](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282706110_A_history_of_human_settlement_on_Nunivak_Island_Alaska_Insights_from_recent_investigations_at_Nash_Harbor_village), and it is known for the muskox herd reintroduced there in the 1930s, which became the source stock for muskox populations across Alaska and Russia.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Location | Bering Sea, about 30 km off the coast of southwestern Alaska; 60.02°N, 166.33°W[1](https://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=314020) |
| Size | About 110 km wide; 1,632 square miles[1](https://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=314020) • [4](https://edit.sc.egov.usda.gov/catalogs/esd/239X/R239XY070AK) |
| Highest point | 511 m (1,677 ft)[1](https://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=314020) |
| Geology | Volcanic field with about 60 cinder cones and four maars over Cretaceous sedimentary rocks; eruptions from 6.1 million years ago to about 150,000 years ago[1](https://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=314020) |
| Protection | Designated a refuge in 1929; now part of the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, with the Nunivak Wilderness established by ANILCA in 1980[5](https://www.fws.gov/refuge/yukon-delta/about-us) |
| Population | About 200 people, all in the village of Mekoryuk, the island's only village[2](https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=muskoxhunting.nunivak) |
| Muskox herd | 34 animals from East Greenland released in the 1930s; herd reached 750 by 1968; management objective of 500 to 550 animals[6](https://www.awc.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=muskox.main) • [2](https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=muskoxhunting.nunivak) |
## Geography and geology
The island is permafrost-covered and its surface is dominated by thin pāhoehoe lava flows that form a carapace over [Cretaceous](https://www.edgepedia.org/cretaceous) sedimentary rocks[1](https://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=314020). Widespread lava flows originate from small shield volcanoes, and two of the island's maars have about 200 m of relief with floors near sea level[1](https://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=314020).
Volcanic activity occurred in five broad periods beginning 6.1 million years ago and continuing until about 150,000 years ago. Over 427 km³ of the volcanic field formed during two [Pleistocene](https://www.edgepedia.org/pleistocene) eruptive periods that ended about 300,000 years ago; the most recent eruptions produced alkalic basalt lava flows and tephra from cinder cones and maars in the southern part of the island[1](https://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=314020). The island belongs to the Yukon-Koyukuk Cretaceous province, which extends from the [Brooks Range](https://www.edgepedia.org/brooks-range) to Nunivak along Alaska's west coast[7](https://dggs.alaska.gov/webpubs/dggs/aof/text/aof033.pdf). Very little geologic or geophysical investigation has been published for the island; some coal outcrops have been reported on its north side, and there are no reports of metallic ore deposits[7](https://dggs.alaska.gov/webpubs/dggs/aof/text/aof033.pdf).
## Human settlement
The island's people, the Nuniwarmiut (or Nunivak Eskimos), are among the Central Yup'ik populations of southwestern Alaska[8](https://scholarworks.alaska.edu/uaf_grad_anth/81/). The Cup'ig people once inhabited the entire island, but today only one village remains, Mekoryuk, on the northern coast, with a population of about 200[9](https://mekoryuk.lksd.org/mekoryuk). Residents have long relied on subsistence hunting and fishing, including seals, reindeer, and fish[9](https://mekoryuk.lksd.org/mekoryuk) • [10](https://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic28-1-21.pdf).
## The muskox reintroduction
Muskox had disappeared from Alaska by the 1920s, surviving only in east [Greenland](https://www.edgepedia.org/greenland) and Arctic Canada[6](https://www.awc.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=muskox.main). In 1930, 34 muskoxen were captured in East Greenland and transferred to Nunivak Island, where they thrived; by 1968 the herd had grown to 750 animals[6](https://www.awc.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=muskox.main). The Nunivak herd became the source for translocations to the [Seward Peninsula](https://www.edgepedia.org/seward-peninsula), Cape Thompson, Nelson Island, the [Arctic National Wildlife Refuge](https://www.edgepedia.org/arctic-national-wildlife-refuge), and to Wrangel Island and the Taimyr Peninsula in Russia[6](https://www.awc.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=muskox.main). In 1967 and 1968, 23 animals were moved from Nunivak to nearby Nelson Island[11](https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wildlifenews.view_article&articles_id=1064).
The island herd today stands at roughly 500 to 550 animals, with a management objective of maintaining that minimum population[2](https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=muskoxhunting.nunivak). Because no natural predators of muskoxen are present on the island, hunter harvest is relied upon to keep the population at sustainable levels[2](https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=muskoxhunting.nunivak). Permits are divided between a fall hunt (August 1 to September 30) and a winter/spring hunt (January 15 to March 31), and drawn hunters have a nearly 100 percent success rate[2](https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=muskoxhunting.nunivak).
## Qiviut and the knitting cooperative
The muskox underwool, called qiviut, is among the warmest natural fibers, and a knitting cooperative on Nunivak has operated since 1969, processing yarn for members primarily in the Nelson and Nunivak Island communities[12](https://akguntrader.com/knowledge-center/alaska-muskox-hunting/) • [13](https://www.doi.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2024-03/fsb-mm-vol-1-lo-res-2024-03-19-223614.pdf). The economic impact on Nunivak Island began with a qiviut knitting workshop initiated in 1968 as part of John Teal's Muskox Project[14](https://www.minpaku.ac.jp/assets/pages/research/publication/research-publications/bulletin/houkoku_49-4.pdf). Muskox products also enter customary trade: one Nunivak Island resident described a single pelt as potentially covering the $536 round-trip cost of travel from Bethel to Anchorage[13](https://www.doi.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2024-03/fsb-mm-vol-1-lo-res-2024-03-19-223614.pdf).
## Reindeer and the local economy
Reindeer husbandry is the island's other distinctive land use. Permits costing $20 per reindeer were issued by the Bering Sea Reindeer Corporation, the agency responsible for the care and maintenance of all reindeer on Nunivak Island; each family was allowed to take four reindeer per year for subsistence, and a dressed reindeer weighs about 100 pounds (45 kg)[10](https://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic28-1-21.pdf). The reindeer project was turned over to Mekoryuk in 1970 for a five-year experimental period by the U.S. [Bureau of Indian Affairs](https://www.edgepedia.org/bureau-of-indian-affairs)[10](https://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic28-1-21.pdf). Reindeer processing continues at Nuniwarmiut Reindeer and Seafood Processing in Mekoryuk, formerly the Bering Sea Reindeer Products Company[15](https://dnr.alaska.gov/ag/MMMS/MMMSReviewandRecommendationsFinalReport120103.pdf), and Nunivak reindeer meat has been carried by Alaska Commercial Company stores, including in Bethel[16](https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=5044836&itype=CMSID).
## References
1. [Nunivak Island, Global Volcanism Program, Smithsonian Institution](https://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=314020)
2. [Nunivak Island Muskox Hunting Information, Alaska Department of Fish and Game](https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=muskoxhunting.nunivak)
3. [A history of human settlement on Nunivak Island, Alaska: Insights from recent investigations at Nash Harbor village](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282706110_A_history_of_human_settlement_on_Nunivak_Island_Alaska_Insights_from_recent_investigations_at_Nash_Harbor_village)
4. [Ecological Site R239XY070AK, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service](https://edit.sc.egov.usda.gov/catalogs/esd/239X/R239XY070AK)
5. [Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, About Us, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service](https://www.fws.gov/refuge/yukon-delta/about-us)
6. [Muskox Species Profile, Alaska Department of Fish and Game](https://www.awc.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=muskox.main)
7. [Summary and Recommendations, Alaska DGGS Annals of Operations File 33](https://dggs.alaska.gov/webpubs/dggs/aof/text/aof033.pdf)
8. [Nuniwarmiut Land Use, Settlement History and Socio-Territorial Organization, 1880–1960, Kenneth L. Pratt](https://scholarworks.alaska.edu/uaf_grad_anth/81/)
9. [Nuniwarmiut School, Mekoryuk](https://mekoryuk.lksd.org/mekoryuk)
10. [Subsistence Trends in a Modern Eskimo Community, Arctic 28(1)](https://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic28-1-21.pdf)
11. [Keeping Nelson Island Muskox Population on Target, Alaska Department of Fish and Game](https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wildlifenews.view_article&articles_id=1064)
12. [Musk Ox Hunting in Alaska: Nunivak & North Slope Guide](https://akguntrader.com/knowledge-center/alaska-muskox-hunting/)
13. [Federal Subsistence Board Public Materials: Volume I](https://www.doi.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2024-03/fsb-mm-vol-1-lo-res-2024-03-19-223614.pdf)
14. [国立民族学博物館研究報告 49巻4号](https://www.minpaku.ac.jp/assets/pages/research/publication/research-publications/bulletin/houkoku_49-4.pdf)
15. [MMMS Review and Recommendations Final Report](https://dnr.alaska.gov/ag/MMMS/MMMSReviewandRecommendationsFinalReport120103.pdf)
16. [Eskimo village aims to serve up reindeer meat far and wide, The Salt Lake Tribune](https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=5044836&itype=CMSID)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Places and geography › Landforms and terrestrial features › Islands and dry-land coastal features › Islands and island geography of the Americas › North American coastal islands*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license