Unalaska
Native name: Nawan-Alaxsxa^[1]
Map of the island
Unalaska Unalaska in Alaska
Geography
Location	Aleutian island archipelago, United States and Russia
Coordinates	53°40′24″N 166°38′54″W / 53.67333°N 166.64833°W / 53.67333; -166.64833
Archipelago	Fox Islands
Major islands	Unalaska
Area	1,051 sq mi (2,720 km²)
Length	128 km (79.5 mi)
Width	56 km (34.8 mi)
Highest elevation	6,680 ft (2036 m)
Highest point	Mount Makushin
Administration
United States
State	Alaska
Census Area	Aleutians West Census Area
Largest settlement	Unalaska, Alaska (pop. 4432)
Demographics
Population	5,638 (2019)
Pop. density	1.83/km² (4.74/sq mi)
Ethnic groups	Aleut and other Native Alaskan groups

Unalaska (Aleut: Nawan-Alaxsxa,^[1] Russian: Уналашка) is a volcanic island in the Fox Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in the US state of Alaska located at 53°38′N 167°00′W / 53.633°N 167.000°W / 53.633; -167.000. The island has a land area of 1,051 square miles (2,720 km²). It measures 79.4 mi (127.8 km) long and 34.7 mi (55.8 km) wide. The city of Unalaska, Alaska, covers part of the island and all of neighboring Amaknak Island where the Port of Dutch Harbor is located. The population of the island excluding Amaknak as of the 2000 census was 1,759 residents.

Unalaska is the second-largest island in the Fox Islands group and the Aleutian Islands. The coastline of Unalaska is markedly different in appearance than other major Aleutian Islands, with numerous inlets and peninsulas. The irregular coastline is broken by three long deep bays, Beaver Inlet, Unalaska Bay, and Makushin Bay, as well as by numerous smaller bays and coves. Unalaska's terrain is rugged and covered with mountains, and during the greater part of the year, the higher elevations are covered with snow.^[2] The highest point on Unalaska is the active volcano Mount Makushin.

Unalaska is the Aleut name for the island. Several theories about its origin exist; the most likely is that the name derives from the Russian word Ounalashka, an adaptation of the Aleut word for near the mainland, nawan Alaskax.

History

Cape Aiak, on the south coast of Unalaska Island in July

Native Unalaskans, called Unangan or Aleuts, to non-Unangan, have lived on the island for at least 10,000 years.^[3] The island was first seen by westerners in 1741 by Vitus Bering.^[4] By 1759, at least 3,000 Aleuts lived on Unalaska island. A Russian settlement was constructed in 1759, but four years later it was destroyed by the Aleuts, together with four merchant ships. The attacks claimed the lives of 162 Russian settlers. The survivors managed to hold their own until 1764, when they were rescued by the Russians. This event triggered bloody reprisals against the natives which took the lives of about 5,000 Aleuts. By 1787, many Aleut seal hunters were enslaved by the Russian American Company and forced to harvest seal fur. By 1840, only 200 to 400 Aleuts still lived on the island.^[5]

In October 1778, English explorer James Cook visited the island for three weeks on his third voyage, and spelled it Oonalashka in his journal.^[6]

The 1788 expedition of Esteban José Martínez and Gonzalo López de Haro explored the coast of Alaska as far as Unalaska Island, marking the farthest west the Spanish ever explored in the region.^[7]

The Russian ship Rurik led by Otto von Kotzebue visited Unalaska twice, in 1815 and 1816. During the second visit, the French-German naturalist Adelbert von Chamisso collaborated with natives to create three-dimensional models of different whale species, in order to transfer and conserve indigenous knowledge about whales. He published drawings along with Aleut species names of the painted driftwood models,^[8] which are preserved in Berlin.^[9]^[10]^[11]

In Moscow on May 31, 1988, President Ronald Reagan mentioned the meeting of Americans and Russians on this island in the 19th century as an example of early US-Russian friendship.

On December 8, 2004, the Malaysian cargo ship Selendang Ayu ran aground off Unalaska Island, causing a large oil spill.