# Sand Point, Alaska

Sand Point, also known as Popof Island, is a city in Aleutians East Borough, Alaska, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 976, up from 952 in 2000, but by the 2020 Census this had reduced to 578. It is on northwestern Popof Island, one of the Shumagin Islands, off the Alaska Peninsula. It is the borough seat of Aleutians East Borough, and is near the entrance to the Bering Sea.
The Aleutians East Borough School District is in Southwestern Alaska along the Alaska Peninsula and Aleutian Chain The District was formed in 1988 from smaller districts that consolidated and formed a Borough with taxing authority. The Borough and District boundaries are the same, and stretch over approximately 15,000 square miles (39,000 km$^2$) of roadless, mostly treeless tundra, from the middle of the Alaska Peninsula to the north and east, going southwest out to Akutan just east of Dutch Harbor.

## History

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.

## Description

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 owned and operated by Trident Seafoods and Peter Pan has a support facility. There is an airport with a 5,200 feet (1,600 m) paved runway and daily flights (weather permitting) to Anchorage, 575 nautical miles (1,100 km) 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 °F (−23 to 24 °C), an average snowfall of 52 inches (130 cm) and an average rainfall of 33 inches (84 cm).
The Russian Orthodox St. Nicholas Chapel was built in Sand Point in 1933.

## Demographics

Sand Point first appeared on the 1890 U.S. Census as the Sand Point Station under Popof Island, but did not report a separate figure (the total population for the island and docked ships was 146). It first reported a separate figure in 1900 as Sand Point. It did not appear on the 1910 census, but returned in 1920 and in every successive census. It formally incorporated in 1966 and with the formation of the Aleutians East Borough in 1987, became the seat of government.
As of the census of 2000, there were 952 people, 229 households, and 155 families residing in the city. The population density was 122.1 inhabitants per square mile (47.1/km$^2$). There were 282 housing units at an average density of 36.2 units per square mile (14.0 units/km$^2$). 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 age distribution of the population shows 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.

## Climate

Like all of Southwest Alaska, Sand Point has a subpolar oceanic climate (Köppen Cfc), or a subarctic climate (Köppen Dfc) using the 0 °C isotherm common in the United States, though compared to most parts of the region it is a little less rainy and has fewer wet days - 145 as compared to over 220 throughout the Aleutian Islands and in most of Southeast Alaska.
Climate data for Sand Point, Alaska (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1941–present) :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 48 (9) | 56 (13) | 50 (10) | 56 (13) | 62 (17) | 77 (25) | 71 (22) | 72 (22) | 64 (18) | 57 (14) | 54 (12) | 52 (11) | 77 (25) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 42.5 (5.8) | 42.7 (5.9) | 43.7 (6.5) | 49.3 (9.6) | 55.4 (13.0) | 63.7 (17.6) | 65.0 (18.3) | 65.3 (18.5) | 60.4 (15.8) | 53.8 (12.1) | 48.7 (9.3) | 44.8 (7.1) | 67.4 (19.7) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 35.2 (1.8) | 34.9 (1.6) | 34.7 (1.5) | 39.5 (4.2) | 45.5 (7.5) | 51.9 (11.1) | 56.1 (13.4) | 57.0 (13.9) | 53.4 (11.9) | 45.5 (7.5) | 40.1 (4.5) | 36.5 (2.5) | 44.2 (6.8) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 30.9 (−0.6) | 31.4 (−0.3) | 30.8 (−0.7) | 35.3 (1.8) | 40.9 (4.9) | 47.2 (8.4) | 51.4 (10.8) | 52.5 (11.4) | 48.7 (9.3) | 41.2 (5.1) | 36.4 (2.4) | 32.7 (0.4) | 39.9 (4.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 26.6 (−3.0) | 27.9 (−2.3) | 27.0 (−2.8) | 31.1 (−0.5) | 36.2 (2.3) | 42.5 (5.8) | 46.6 (8.1) | 48.1 (8.9) | 44.0 (6.7) | 36.9 (2.7) | 32.6 (0.3) | 28.9 (−1.7) | 35.7 (2.1) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | 17.1 (−8.3) | 15.2 (−9.3) | 15.2 (−9.3) | 21.1 (−6.1) | 29.7 (−1.3) | 37.2 (2.9) | 42.0 (5.6) | 42.8 (6.0) | 36.8 (2.7) | 31.1 (−0.5) | 24.8 (−4.0) | 18.0 (−7.8) | 9.8 (−12.3) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −12 (−24) | 3 (−16) | 6 (−14) | 8 (−13) | 12 (−11) | 30 (−1) | 34 (1) | 36 (2) | 25 (−4) | 24 (−4) | 14 (−10) | 9 (−13) | −12 (−24) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 3.99 (101) | 4.43 (113) | 2.41 (61) | 2.64 (67) | 4.01 (102) | 3.10 (79) | 2.93 (74) | 3.89 (99) | 4.95 (126) | 4.97 (126) | 5.09 (129) | 6.51 (165) | 48.92 (1,243) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 5.6 (14) | 1.8 (4.6) | 1.5 (3.8) | 0.8 (2.0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1.2 (3.0) | 2.0 (5.1) | 12.9 (33) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 inch) | 20.1 | 17.3 | 14.1 | 17.4 | 18.2 | 13.1 | 14.8 | 15.0 | 17.2 | 19.5 | 20.1 | 22.5 | 209.3 |
| Source 1: NOAA ||||||||||||||
| Source 2: WRCC (Snowfall) ||||||||||||||