Shungnak, Alaska facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Shungnak Isiŋnaq / Nuurviuraq
City
Location in Northwest Arctic Borough and the state of Alaska.
Country	United States
State	Alaska
Borough	Northwest Arctic
Incorporated	May 4, 1967
Area
• Total	8.98 sq mi (23.26 km2)
• Land	8.05 sq mi (20.85 km2)
• Water	0.93 sq mi (2.41 km2)
Elevation	144 ft (44 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	272
• Density	33.78/sq mi (13.04/km2)
Time zone	UTC-9 (Alaska (AKST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-8 (AKDT)
ZIP code	99773
Area code	907
FIPS code	02-70100
GNIS feature ID	1413983

Shungnak (which means Isiŋnaq or Nuurviuraq in the Iñupiaq language) is a small city in Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska, United States. In 2010, about 262 people lived there. By 2020, the population had grown slightly to 272 people.

History of Shungnak

Shungnak was first settled in 1899. It was located about 10 miles east of its current spot, along the Kobuk River. The name "Shungnak" comes from an Iñupiaq word meaning "jade." Jade is a special stone found in the area.

Moving the Village

In the 1920s, the river started to wear away the land where the old town was built. Because of this, many people had to leave their homes. In 1927, they moved to a new place called "Kochuk." The residents decided to rename Kochuk to the new Shungnak.

Old Shungnak Becomes Kobuk

Some people chose to stay at the old Shungnak village. To avoid confusion between the two places, the old village was renamed Kobuk in 1928. Shungnak officially became a city in 1967.

Geography of Shungnak

Shungnak is located in Alaska at coordinates 66.885846 degrees North and 157.137458 degrees West.

Land and Water Area

The city covers a total area of about 9.6 square miles (24.9 square kilometers). Most of this area, about 8.4 square miles (21.8 square kilometers), is land. The rest, about 1.3 square miles (3.4 square kilometers), is water.

Location in Alaska

Shungnak is located about 150 miles (241 kilometers) east of Kotzebue. Kotzebue is a larger town on the coast of Alaska.

People of Shungnak

The current Shungnak first appeared in the U.S. Census in 1930. The Shungnak listed in earlier censuses (1910 and 1920) was actually the old village, which later became Kobuk. This Shungnak has been counted in every census since 1930. It officially became a city in 1967.

Population Details

In 2000, there were 256 people living in Shungnak. These people lived in 56 households, and 51 of these were families. Most of the people in Shungnak are Alaska Native. About 94.53% of the population identified as Alaska Native, and 5.47% identified as White.

Many households (66.1%) had children under 18 living with them. The average household had about 4.57 people. The average family had about 4.53 people.

Age Groups

The population in Shungnak is quite young. Almost half of the people (48.4%) were under 18 years old. The median age was 19 years. This means half the people were younger than 19, and half were older.

Economy and How People Live

Shungnak has a "mixed economy." This means people get money and food in different ways. They earn money from jobs, use traditional hunting and fishing (called subsistence), and also get help from public programs.

Sources of Income

In 2012, the total income for the community was estimated at $4.1 million. The average household income was about $50,091. Most of this income (71%) came from jobs. These jobs included working for the local government, in services, and in mining.

Other income (about 28.7%) came from things like:

• Money from Native corporations (dividends).
• Food stamps.
• The Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend, which is money paid to Alaska residents each year.

Wild Food Harvest

People in Shungnak also rely a lot on wild foods. In 2012, residents harvested over 100,000 pounds of wild food. This is about 368 pounds per person!

The most common wild foods harvested were:

• Caribou (more than half of all wild food).
• Sheefish.
• Chum salmon.
• Broad whitefish.
• Moose.

Almost everyone in Shungnak harvests wild food for their families. On average, households harvested 7 different kinds of wild food and used 13 different kinds. Some households used as many as 27 different kinds of wild food!

Food Security

Most households in Shungnak (86%) had enough food in 2012. This is called being "food secure." This percentage was similar to the rest of the United States. However, a slightly higher number of households in Shungnak (7%) had "very low" food security compared to the rest of Alaska or the nation. This means they sometimes struggled to get enough food.

Community Facilities

Shungnak has a school called the Shungnak School. It is run by the Northwest Arctic Borough School District. In 2017, the school had 7 teachers and 86 students. About 95% of the students were Alaska Natives.

Water and Power

The town gets its water from a reservoir that is filled from the Kobuk River. They tried to use groundwater wells, but they didn't work well.

Shungnak also has a gravel runway for planes, which is 4,001 feet long. In 2006, it was hard to get enough fuel to the town by boat. Because of this, some fuel had to be flown in, which made the price of gasoline go up to $8.10 per gallon.

To help with power, Shungnak uses a special system. It's a "hybrid solar-plus-storage microgrid." This system uses 225 kilowatts of solar panels and stores 384 kilowatt-hours of energy. It helps power the town along with diesel generators. This project was funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Northwest Arctic Borough.

See also

In Spanish: Shungnak para niños