Sand Point, Alaska

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Coordinates: 55°20′12″N 160°29′36″W / 55.33667, -160.49333
Sand Point, Alaska
Sand Point from the air
Location of Sand Point, Alaska
Country	United States
State	Alaska
Borough	Aleutians East
Area
- Total	28.9 sq mi (75.0 km²)
- Land	7.8 sq mi (20.2 km²)
- Water	21.1 sq mi (54.8 km²)
Elevation	39 ft (12 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	952
- Density	122.1/sq mi (47.1/km²)
Time zone	Alaska (AKST) (UTC-9)
- Summer (DST)	AKDT (UTC-8)
Area code(s)	907
FIPS code	02-67020
GNIS feature ID	1419182

Sand Point, also known as Qagun Tayagungin, is a city in Aleutians East Borough, Alaska, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 952. It is located on northwestern Popof Island, off the Alaska Peninsula. It is in the Aleutians East Borough of Alaska, and is near the entrance to the Bering Sea.

Sand Point was founded by a San Francisco fishing company in 1898 as a cod fishing station and trading post. Aleuts and Scandinavians were among the early residents. Gold mining was briefly a part of the economy during the early 1900s. Fishing remains an important industry, as Sand Point is home to one of the largest fishing fleets in the Aleutian Chain.

Almost half the inhabitants are of Aleut descent - mainly from the Qagan Tayagungin tribe, and support themselves by fishing and fish processing. There is a cold storage and fish-processing plant. There is an airport with a 4,000 foot paved runway and daily flights (weather permitting) to Anchorage, 575 airmiles to the northeast.

The town is above the treeline, and there is a small herd of 120 bison (first introduced in the 1930s) which provides some meat for the island's inhabitants. It is notorious for the high winds caused by the meeting of cold air flows from the Bering Sea with the warm air over the Japan Current. It has a maritime climate, with temperature averages ranging from -9 to 76 Fahrenheit, an average snowfall of 52 inches and an average rainfall of 33 inches.

The Russian Orthodox St. Nicholas Chapel was built in 1933.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Geography

Sand Point is located at 55°20′12″N, 160°29′36″W (55.336593, -160.493234)^[1].

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 28.9 square miles (75.0 km²), of which, 7.8 square miles (20.2 km²) of it is land and 21.1 square miles (54.8 km²) of it (73.05%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 952 people, 229 households, and 155 families residing in the city. The population density was 122.1 people per square mile (47.1/km²). There were 282 housing units at an average density of 36.2/sq mi (14.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 27.73% White, 1.47% Black or African American, 42.33% Native American, 23.21% Asian, 0.32% Pacific Islander, 2.21% from other races, and 2.73% from two or more races. 13.55% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 229 households out of which 39.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.4% were married couples living together, 15.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.9% were non-families. 25.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.17.

In the city the population was spread out with 20.4% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 41.5% from 25 to 44, 26.3% from 45 to 64, and 3.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 165.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 181.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $55,417, and the median income for a family was $58,000. Males had a median income of $20,000 versus $22,500 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,954. About 10.3% of families and 16.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.4% of those under age 18 and 32.1% of those age 65 or over.