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Dutch Harbor

Russian to American
Druzhinin The commander of the Russian ship Zakharii I Elisaveta is credited for discovering the deep water harbor now know as Dutch Harbor. Dutch harbor is located within the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, and more precisely within Fox Islands (Alaska) Amaknak. A mile long spit extending from the south west of Amaknak Island makes Dutch Harbor a natural port, protecting ships from the waves, and currents of the Bering Sea. Although the winds off the Bering sea have toss shipments from decks of ships “stockpiles of lumber were tossed like toothpicks about Dutch Harbor”. Dutch Harbor is in a great location allowing ease of accesses to some of the richest fishing in the world and it is ice free. The native people are known as the Aleut. The families or tribes would war with each other. When the Russian arrived they exploited the Aleut by taxing them in fur pelts. The Aleut accepted the Russian Orthodox Church because it offered them support and educated there children. The Russian-American Co. operated 1799 through mid 1800 they would use Dutch Harbor to transport goods Mainly Seal and sea otter Fur In 1867 Russia sold Alaska to the United States, Russia had been exhusted by the Crimean War, and they were haveing a tough time managing the extensive land of Alaska. Fur was the main export in Alaska after America took control. Kohl & Co. of San Francisco took over the assets on the Russian America Co. in 1867, but sold out in 1868 to the Alaska Commercial Co. A decline in the sea otter population slowed trade in 1895. 1897 brought a crowd looking to get rich. Aka “gold rush”

WWII
WWII brought a entire army and supplies to Dutch Harbor. During WWII the Japanese attacked Dutch Harbor, during the exchange The United States Captured a Japanese Zero AKA “Mitsubishi A6M Zero” a fighter plane. This Helped the USA to gain air superiority. During WWII Dutch Harbor was used to evacuate refugees from the Aleutian Islands. May 1943, a peak population of 10,151 sailors and 9,976 soldiers was stationed at the base. 1942 a skeleton submarine base was in place and Dutch harbor had a fleet of smelly old S-boats 1942 the USA knew there would be an attack in the N. pacific and code breakers warned Dutch harbor of an impending attack. June 3, 1942 at 5:45 a.m. 20 Japanese planes bombed the radio station and oil storage tanks. In the mid-1980s the U.S. army bulldozed and burned old WWII barracks On Amaknak Island the U.S. navy carved an air strip out of rock, this air strip is now used by Commercial jets today. In 1947 the last of the navy left Dutch Harbor and the base was decommissioned, and in 1952 the Army Corps of Engineers put up 232 surplus buildings and 447.6 acres of land on Fort Mears Military Reservation. During war time Troops and Civilian workers alike spent time at Blackies the only bar in the area the bar had cheap beer and 50 cent shots of whiskey but no stools or chairs as they ”splintered to easily in event of a fight” other entertainment was a brothel named “pleasure Island“ but was closed in 1941 and replaced by a Submarine base the 500man mess hall doubled as a theater tickets for military were 15 cents and 35 cents for civilian workers.

Fishing
Dutch Harbor is ranked to be a top fishing port with more than a Billion pounds are transferred each year. Huge harvests of Pollock and cod in the Bering Sea are cause for these numbers. The Bering Sea has a continental shelf which is one of the world’s largest, and supports a rich eco system.

Current events
As the economy and population grow the town of Unalaska can have trouble meeting the needs of citizens and travelers, infrastructure such as water plant treatment, landfills, doctors, and the police are pushed to the limit. Unalaska is expanding to meet the need of its citizens, employees and travelers. The area expects more eco tourism. The elbow room is ranked by Play boy magazine as the roughest bar in the U.S. Koosterboer’s facility is new for 2010 and provides processing storage and logistics to the fishing industry. In recent years Dutch harbor has become a full service port providing all the fishing industry needs.

Quote
I like the sun

Class Page
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_Program:California_Maritime_Academy/Information_Fluency_in_the_Digital_World_%28Spring_2013%29