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Great informational site on Alaska:
http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/sitemap1.html
IMAGES OF
Gambell,  Alaska

Follow me on an 'adventure' tour of the sights of Gambell.
Although you may see many of the bird species found at Gambell in the
accompanying galleries (BACK on your browser) we have left this gallery
page as a scenic tour of a visit to this remote island in the Bering Sea.


GAMBELL, ST. LAWRENCE ISLAND
* A number of images have been omitted in respect of the village laws *
* stating that the Yup'ik Eskimos' wish their privacy respected *

Gambell, at the northwest corner of St. Lawrence Island, is located in
the Bering Sea over 230 miles west of Nome.  It is one of only two Inuit
(northern Eskimo) villages on the island, the other being Savoonga.
The island is quite large, over 70 miles in length and approx. 25 miles wide.
The significance is that it is only 38 miles from Siberia and since the
International Date Line traverses equidistant from Gambell and the
Siberian coastline, you can actually SEE Tomorrow!



Leaving Nome, AK with Bering Air.  Nome is the 'end' of the famed
Iditarod Dog Race which is held annually during mid-winter.  During a
period when Ms. Butcher was winning that race a shirt became popular with
the inscription, "Alaska, where men are men and WOMEN win the Iditarod" !



The view back toward Nome just after taking off.  As you can see,
even in late May the Bering Sea still has ice pack!



The first view of the village of Gambell.  It's a small Yup'ik Eskimo Village of
approximately 300 people who survive by subsistence hunting from the sea.
The entire village is set on 'beach gravel'.  This gravel is like giant marbles
which you walk on to go anywhere and can be extremely tiring after only a
few hundred yard walk as your feet sink into it.  Anyone who has been here
will always point out the Beach Gravel!



Although remote, Gambell does have a small store.  It has
a fairly decent variety of foods and general needs however
in very limited quantities and at fairly high prices as expected.



Gambell itself is only 38 miles from the Siberian coastline!  Only 19 miles
out over the sea is also the International Date Line thus, you can actually
see 'tomorrow' !!  During early June the sun only sets for a couple of hours
(doesn't really get dark!) as Gambell is just south of the Arctic Circle.
(In case you were wondering - that's Siberia in the background -
think of what great birds are over there, huh?!)



The 'point watch' is usually the first (and daily) ritual that one finds
themselves attending.  In early June the numbers of puffins, auklets, murres,
kittiwakes, eiders, loons, etc. that pass by the point either migrating to their
arctic breeding grounds or local nesters on Sivaquaq mountain are astounding.
I'm not sure I can estimate better but it's in the tens of thousands per hour
at times!  Absolutely overwhelming!



The Bering Sea is extremely cold and a few hours spent at 'the point'
can find yourself with frozen toes and fingers irregardless of what gear
you have on.  It is something to respect as falling into the icy waters may
very well end in death if exposed for more than a few minutes.  Beware!



The village is scattered with 'debris' consisting of mostly whale bones
with the smell of whale blubber rotting on the newly left bones.
Fortunately the wind blows constantly here therefore the odor is tolearable!



The famed 'bone yards' of Gambell.  Two 'bone yard' areas exist - one to the
south of the village and another near the base of Sivaquaq mountain on the east.
These areas are where the Yup'ik Eskimo 'throw out' the 'waste' from previous hunts
and are now dug up to find the ivory tusks from walrus.  The ivory is carved
and sold to visitors to the island.  However, the 'bone yards' also harbor great
birds that find shelter and sometimes food while on their journey to the arctic.



The surrounding habitat is typical barren tundra but with many small
ponds and marshy areas which also harbor that possible great shorebird.
Passerines are also existent such as Snow Buntings and Lapland Longspurs
which nest throughout the arctic and here on St. Lawrence Island.



ATV's (All Terrain Vehicles) are the primary mode of transportation for the
Yup'iks.  At times you will see families of five astride one as they 'barrel'
around the village.  During the winter months they utilize snow mobiles.
A lucky birder may at times solicit a ride - at a nominal charge.



..and the children (no age limit for licensed drivers here!) utilize them
as a source of recreation!



The life at Gambell is certainly a hardship by our standards.  Imagine living
in the middle of the Bering Sea and withstanding the months of winter with little
sunlight each day and surviving only on what they obtain from the sea, not to
mention being over 230 miles from any 'real' civilization?  And yet the cold and
isolation doesn't seem to bother them.  After many a conversation with the
youth (15-19 yr olds), I've not found one who stated to me that they would
ever want to live anywhere else - and most of them have travelled to other
parts of the world each summer on a high school exchange program!!


A kind gentleman from Barrow, Alaska offered these comments for those who
wish to understand the cultural differences of the Eskimos (as most Americans
refer to them) of Alaska, Siberia, Canada, and Greenland:

While all Eskimos in Canada and Greenland are Inuit, in Siberia they
are all Yupik and in Alaska there are both kinds (Yupik and Inuit).
The people of St. Lawrence Island are Siberian Yupik, and speak a Yupik
dialect that can be understood very easily in Siberia, and hardly at all by
any other Alaskan Yupik speaking people!


Some more to come !!  Hope you enjoyed your stay !!


Some great Gambell, Alaska Links for more info:

General Info:
http://www.ilovealaska.com/Alaska/Gambell/#location
http://www.beringsea.com/cgi-bin/comm.pl?community=Gambell

http://www.camacdonald.com/birding/usalaska.htm

Weather:
http://www.wunderground.com/US/ak/Gambell.html  (up to date weather to check just before leaving home)
http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?akgamb

Ivory Purchases:
http://www.ulimaaq.com/IvoryJewelry/IvoryJewelryHome.html

 

 

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