Monday, July 3, 2017

Deserted places on Alaska's Adak Island


Adak Island is part of Alaska's Aleutian Islands, where Bering Sea meets the northern Pacific Ocean. Harsh winds and cold temperatures make Adak Island an inhospitable land, however it has been home to Aleut peoples since ancient times. 

Due to its strategically important location, the United States military constructed a base and an airfield on the island during World War II. From there, fight operations against the Japanese began in September 1942. After the war was over, the approximately 6,000 American military men who served on Adak recalled its cold, foggy, windy weather; mud; Quonset huts; few women and no trees; and a volcano that from time to time would issue puffs of smoke. Fresh food was a rarity.

The military continued to have a presence on the island with Adak Naval Air Station which remained operational during the Cold War and finally closed in 1997. The closure of the base brought the population of the island down to 326 residents from a high of 6,000. Although the town of Adak was incorporated with the former base, many structures were left abandoned. 

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