|
The Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta is a river delta located where the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers empty into the Bering Sea on the west coast of Alaska. The delta, which consists mainly of tundra, is protected as part of the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge. This area has nearly no roads what-so-ever and travel across this region is done by bush plane and/or river boats in the summer and by snow machines in the winter.
At approximately 50,000 square miles in area, this delta is one of the largest deltas in the world, even larger than the Mississippi River Delta which varies between 12,500 and 47,100 square miles. This ecoregion is comparable in size to the entire state of Louisiana which is about 52,400 square miles in area.
Yukon Delta Nation National Wildlife Refute
The delta has approximately 25,000 residents. 85% of these are Alaska Natives: Yupik and Athabaskan people. The main population center and service hub is the city of Bethel, with an estimated population of around 6,219 (as of 2011). Bethel is surrounded by 49 smaller villages, with the largest villages consisting of over 1000 people. Most residents live a traditional subsistence lifestyle of hunting, fishing, and gathering. More than 30 percent have cash incomes well below the federal poverty threshold.
Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge
Pathway Journeys:
Footpath Journeys
Roadpath Journeys
|
