Spruce Island (Alaska) facts for kids
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 Spruce Island
Location in Alaska
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| Geography | |
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| Location | North Pacific Ocean |
| Coordinates | 57°55′05″N 152°24′35″W / 57.91806°N 152.40972°W |
| Archipelago | Kodiak Archipelago |
| Area | 17.786 sq mi (46.07 km2) |
| Highest elevation | 1,339 ft (408.1 m) |
| Administration | |
| State |  Alaska |
| Borough | Kodiak Island Borough |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 242 (2000) |
Spruce Island (Russian: Еловый остров) is a special island located in the Kodiak Archipelago in Alaska, United States. It sits in the Gulf of Alaska, very close to the northeast part of Kodiak Island. A narrow body of water called the Narrow Strait separates the two islands.
Spruce Island is about 46 square kilometers (17.786 square miles) in size. In the year 2000, 242 people lived there. Most of these people live in the island's only town, Ouzinkie, which is on the southwestern side of the island.
The History of Spruce Island
Spruce Island has a rich history, especially for Orthodox Christians.
Saint Herman of Alaska
From 1808 to 1818, Spruce Island was the home of a very important religious figure named Herman of Alaska. He lived there as a hermit, which means he lived a simple life, often alone, for religious reasons. He was later recognized as a saint and is now considered the patron saint of the Orthodox Church in the Americas. Saint Herman called the island New Valaam (Russian: Ново-Валаамский).
Today, Spruce Island is a popular place for pilgrimages by Orthodox Christians. People travel there to visit the places where Saint Herman lived and prayed.
The Alaska Purchase and Island Ownership
In 2008, some researchers from Yakutsk, a city in northern Siberia, raised a question about Spruce Island. They suggested that the island should still legally belong to the Russian Orthodox Church. Their argument was that when the Russian Empire sold Alaska to the United States in 1867 (an event known as the Alaska Purchase), the Russian government did not have the right to sell land that belonged to the church. This claim is a historical discussion about land ownership.
