Akun Island facts for kids
Akun Island (Aleut: Akungan) is a small island in the Aleutian Islands. This group of islands is located off the coast of southwestern Alaska. Akun Island is part of the Fox Islands subgroup.
Geography
Akun Island is found in the Aleutians East Borough of Alaska. It lies to the east of Akutan Island. To its southwest is Unimak Island. These islands are separated by a strait called Unimak Pass. South and southeast of Akun Island are the Krenitzin Islands. They are separated by the Avatanak Strait.
Akun Island covers about 166.77 square kilometers (64.39 square miles) of land. It is about 22.57 kilometers (14.02 miles) long. The island is also about 18.2 kilometers (11.31 miles) wide.
Life on Akun Island
Akun Island is mostly unpopulated. Only a few people live there. These include airport workers and some people who look after the cattle.
The island is home to a small number of cows. These cows are no longer tame. They live in the wild, but their population is managed. Three domesticated horses also live on Akun Island.
Akutan Airport
For many years, people traveled to Akutan by seaplane. The Akutan Seaplane Base closed in 2012. A new airport was built on Akun Island to replace it. This new airport is called Akutan Airport. It cost about $75.5 million to build. The airport is about 6 miles (9.7 km) across the water from Akutan.
At first, a very expensive hovercraft connected the airport on Akun Island to Akutan. However, the hovercraft could not run safely in strong winds or big waves. It also cost a lot to operate. Now, a helicopter provides the link between Akun Island and Akutan. The airport has a small hotel. Travelers use this hotel if their flight arrives and the helicopter cannot fly due to bad weather.
