King Island (Ugiuvak). This small island in the Bering Sea, located off the southwest coast of the Seward Peninsula, is known for the unusual style of the wooden dwellings on stilts that were built along the steep slopes of the island’s now abandoned village, but its interior landscape is equally striking. The group of tors in the distance is called Navatat, while the cluster in the background on the right is called Kiŋikmiut. View to the north, June 2006. Photograph by Matt Ganley.
Strong winds and choppy waters herald the beginning of winter near the Inuit village of Kangiqsujuaq, in Nunavik, 2008. The waters around Kangiqsujuaq are home to polar bears, seals, and beluga whales. A bowhead whale hunt has been revitalized in the nearby Hudson Strait—an activity that involves the entire community. Photograph by Scott A. Heyes.
Grand Central Pass, in the Kigluaik Mountains of the Seward Peninsula. At the summit of this broad pass lies Kuuŋmiut (Bear Rock Monument), a site commemorating the slaying of a brown bear by Tudliq, an ancestral hero of the Qawiaramiut, who lived in the area. View to the north along the Kougarok Road from Nome, 2012. Photograph by Matt Ganley.