Nome, Alaska

Nome is a small bush village located on the Bearing Sea, on the south coast of the Seward Peninsula. The village is 539 air miles from Anchorage (no roads lead to Nome), 102 miles south of the Arctic Circle, and 161 miles east of Russia. The temperature ranges from -20° to +20° F during the month of March. The sun rises around 6:30 a.m. and sets around 7:30 p.m. during that month. The population is 3,576, 46% of whom are female. The average age is 32 years.

A gold strike on Anvil Creek in 1898 transformed an isolated stretch of tundra into a city of 20,000 prospectors, gamblers, claim jumpers, saloon keepers, and prostitutes. By 1902 the more easily reached claims were exhausted and taken over by large mining companies with better equipment. Since the first strike, Nome yielded $136 million in gold. The gradual depletion of gold, a major influenza epidemic, the Great Depression, a fire that destroyed most of the city, World War II, and perhaps the weather conditions all influenced Nome’s population.

Today Nome is made up of 59% American Indian; 37% Caucasian; and 4% Hispanic, Black, and Vietnamese people. The religions most prevalent in the area are: Christian, Agnostic, shamanism, and Russian Orthodox.