Spruce Island (Alaska) Explained

Spruce Island
Pushpin Map:Alaska
Pushpin Label:Spruce Island
Pushpin Map Caption:Location within Alaska
Location:North Pacific Ocean
Country: United States
Country Admin Divisions Title:State
Country Admin Divisions Title 1:Borough
Country Admin Divisions 1:Kodiak Island Borough
Archipelago:Kodiak Archipelago
Area Sqmi:17.786
Elevation Ft:1,339
Population:242
Population As Of:2000

Spruce Island (Russian: Еловый остров) is an island in the Kodiak Archipelago of the Gulf of Alaska in the US state of Alaska. It lies just off the northeast corner of Kodiak Island, across the Narrow Strait.

Size and demographics

Spruce Island has a land area of 46.066 km2 (17.786 sq mi) and a population of 242, at the time of the 2000 census,[1] whom reside mainly at the island's one settlement, Ouzinkie (in the southwestern part of the island).

History

From 1808 to 1818, Spruce Island was the hermitage of Herman of Alaska, later glorified as a saint and considered the patron saint of the Russian Orthodox Church, in the Americas. The island was referred to as New Valaam (Russian: Ново-Валаамский) by St. Herman, and is a site of pilgrimages by Orthodox Christians.

In 2008, a group of commentators and researchers—led by the mayor of the northern Siberian city of Yakutsk—argued that the island should, legally, still belong to the Russian Orthodox Church, as the Russian Empire had no authority to sell "religious property" as part of the Alaska Purchase.[2]

Notes and References

  1. https://www.census.gov Spruce Island: Blocks 2034 thru 2045, Census Tract 1, Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska
  2. Tetraultfarber, G. "After Crimea, Russians Say They Want Alaska Back". The Moscow Times. April 1, 2014.