Dutch Harbor is an anchorage and fish-processing facility on the east coast of Amaknak Island, bordered by Mount Ballyhoo to the west and a gravel spit to the east that forms the natural harbor, about 33 miles (53 km) southwest of Akutan and 3 miles (5 km) north-northeast of Unalaska, Alaska. Amaknak Island is situated in Unalaska Bay, off the north coast of Unalaska Island in the Fox Islands group of the Eastern Aleutian Islands. The anchorage was reputedly named Holland Harbor by early Russian explorers who believed a Dutch vessel was the first to discover it. Lieutenant Gavril Sarychev of the Imperial Russian Navy, who wintered there in 1791–92, recorded the Aleut name for the bay as ‘Udakhta,’ possibly derived from ‘uddaq‘ and ‘daxtakuqing‘, meaning ‘bay’ and ‘to rest,’ respectively, in the local Unangan language. Amaknak Island lies near the eastern end of the Aleutian volcanic arc, which separates the abyssal northern Pacific Ocean from the Bering Sea. Mount Ballyhoo, the island’s highest peak, rises to 1,634 feet (498 m). About 70% of the island is covered by Paleogene volcanic and sedimentary rocks known as the Unalaska Formation. This thick sequence consists of coarse and fine sedimentary and pyroclastic rocks intruded by andesitic and basaltic dikes and sills. The sedimentary rocks are derived from eroded volcanics. While the full thickness of the formation is unknown, topographic and geologic data suggest it is between 16,400 and 32,800 feet (5,000–10,000 m). The spit forming the harbor consists of pebbles and sand eroded from the exposed northern base of Mount Ballyhoo and deposited by waves and winds from the north in the Bering Sea. These sediments are partially stabilized by vegetation and human infrastructure.

The Aleut, or Unangan, people traditionally inhabited the entire Aleutian archipelago and have lived on Unalaska Island for thousands of years. Their name for the island, ‘Ounalashka‘, means ‘near the peninsula.’ Genetic and archaeological evidence suggests that the Unangan descended from a population that crossed Beringia about 13,000 years ago. They appear to have diverged from other Beringian groups more than 6,000 years ago, with their closest relatives being the Siberian and Chukchi Eskimos. In 1759, the Russian fur trade reached Unalaska when Stepan Glotov arrived aboard the Julian. By 1762, Glotov departed with more than 1,000 fox pelts and a large cargo of sea otter skins. He also established relations with two chiefs on Umnak Island and three on Unalaska Island, who reportedly agreed to pay tribute to the Russians. Soon after, promyshlenniks (fur traders) flooded the Fox Islands, gaining notoriety for their brutality and greed. The original Unangan population suffered devastating impacts, including warfare and outbreaks of disease brought by the Russians. Between 1763 and 1764, about 166 promyshlenniks were killed by Unangan warriors. One of the best-known encounters occurred in present-day Captains Bay, about 6 miles (10 km) southwest of Dutch Harbor, when Unangan warriors attacked the Zakharii i Elisaveta, killing all aboard including Petr Druzhinin. They looted iron tools and goods, dumped the ship’s provisions overboard, and destroyed the vessel using six baidarkas. Despite resistance, the fur traders eventually prevailed. During Russian rule, some Unangan were forcibly relocated to the uninhabited Pribilof Islands and to Bering Island in the Commander Islands, near the Kamchatkan Peninsula. During the Second World War, Attu’s residents were taken to Japan, while the US government evacuated Aleut communities to Southeast Alaska. Today, Unangan live mainly in the eastern Aleutians, the Pribilofs, the Alaskan mainland, and Bering Island in the Commander Islands, Russia.

In 1912, the US Navy installed a radio station at Dutch Harbor. By 1940, construction had begun on a naval air station, a submarine base, and an army post to defend the site. Although Dutch Harbor offered excellent anchorage, Amaknak Island had little level land. As a result, the air station was initially designed for seaplanes, specifically PBY Catalina flying boats. A small airstrip with catapult and arresting gear, similar to an aircraft carrier, was also built. Eventually, a short runway was blasted from the rock at the base of Mount Ballyhoo to accommodate fighter aircraft. The navy facility became the Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base, while the army post was formally named Fort Mears in honor of Colonel Frederick Mears, a member of the original Alaskan Engineering Commission that built the Alaska Railroad. On June 3, 1942, twenty planes launched from two aircraft carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy bombed Dutch Harbor, targeting the radio station and petroleum tanks. This marked the first aerial attack on the continental United States during the Pacific war. The two-day assault killed 43 Americans and at least 10 Japanese. Dutch Harbor remained a key defensive outpost for the remainder of the Second World War but was abandoned shortly after the conflict ended. Many of its buildings stood empty for decades. In the 1950s, Dutch Harbor emerged as a hub for the Alaskan king crab fishery, and by 1978 it had become the largest fishing port in the United States. Former military buildings were repurposed as warehouses, bunkhouses, and family homes. After the king crab population collapsed in 1982, the local economy shifted to bottom fishing for pollock, restoring some stability. In the late 1980s, the US government funded a cleanup of the derelict fort, and the site was converted for commercial use. Read more here and here. Explore more of Dutch Harbor and Amaknak Island here: