Amatusuk Hills

Coordinates: 69°07′N 162°56′W / 69.117°N 162.933°W / 69.117; -162.933
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Amatusuk Hills
Highest point
Elevation413.92 m (1,358.0 ft)
Coordinates69°3′39″N 163°19′17″W / 69.06083°N 163.32139°W / 69.06083; -163.32139
Dimensions
Length45 mi (72 km)
Geography
StateAlaska
SettlementKivalina

Amatusuk Hills is a mountain range in North Slope Borough, Alaska, in the United States.[1][2] It is part of the Brooks Range.[3]

Amatusuk is likely a name of Indigenous origin of unknown meaning.[4]

History[edit]

In 1838, Amatusuk Hills was noted in A.F. Kashevarov's Coastal Explorations in Northwest Alaska as "the last elevation of note that a coastal traveller heading north will see in northwest Alaska".[5]

In 1920, Archdeacon Stuck published the name as 'Amahk-too-sook'.[6] It has been variously spelled as: Amahtooscok Mountain, Amatosuk Hills, Amatusak Hills, and Amooktoosuk Hills.[7]

The inland area is known for hunting, fishing, and fur trapping.[8] The Inupiat residents of Point Lay used the rivers as navigational points, but only during bad weather.[9] The Kukpowruk River is used as a reference point to the trapping regions when the coastal area is impassable during bad weather.[9]

References[edit]

  1. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Amatusuk Hills
  2. ^ "Amatusuk Hills". Alaska Guide. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  3. ^ "Red Dog Mine Extension AqqAluk Project: Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement" (PDF). October 2009.
  4. ^ Geological Survey (U.S.) (1960). Geological Survey Professional Paper. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 52.
  5. ^ Vanstone, James W.; Kraus, David H.; Kashevarov, A. F. (1977). "A. F. Kashevarov's Coastal Explorations in Northwest Alaska, 1838". Fieldiana. Anthropology. 69: i–104. ISSN 0071-4739. JSTOR 29782496.
  6. ^ Orth, Donald J. (1967). Dictionary of Alaska Place Names. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 70.
  7. ^ Geological Survey Professional Paper. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1967.
  8. ^ "Community Profiles for North Pacific Fisheries – Alaska: Point Lay" (PDF). NOAA-TM-AFSC-259 – Volume 4.
  9. ^ a b Tremont, John D. (1987). "Surface-Transportation Networks of the Alaskan North Slope" (PDF). U.S. Department of the Interior Minerals Management Service. pp. 19–20.

69°07′N 162°56′W / 69.117°N 162.933°W / 69.117; -162.933