literal Pe&criptioH ’Done SHstrkt
The Nome Minin* District, comprising 22.100
*K-qu»tv miles, of territory, occupies a large section of
Northwestern Alaska known geographically as Seward
♦Vainsula i> bounded hy the Arctic Ocean on the North
md Bering Sea or. the West and possesses some 000 miles
>f coast lire Nome with a population varying from S50
'n« winter to 2. in summer, is the chief port and oom
ke«nercial center of the entire district, the regions farther
lorth and a vast section of the Northeast coast of Siberia
\n\omo .? the trail .. >trhutinc center for the entire district
n*nd is ft's -he . • .al he .-.d Quarters for the Second Al
, iska Division. in praciica'.y *11 things th? entire divi
der. is served fror. this pe: The country generally is
>f rolling character with wide valleys and numerous lakes
jard streams The lowlands merge into low rounded hills
ju>ontinp a single lofty range which crosses the heart of
tPfee district Th: mo*: summer temperature ranges be
tween 4 and 5<* degrees the mean annual temperature
oetweer 2> and 4 degrees Extremes of temperature re
sponded at Nome are around 77 degrees in duly to SO de
crees minus in .lar.nary Annual precipitation is about
i The district .s on^msttost^r one of the most
bipklT ir.iaw»>.J(‘(3 repioa* M ?bf kcoim «ir:h. G^ld
i9 the chief resource hu: :.ur. srou? varieties of leaser
t(miiser*H are found . rer & I arc* portism of the district
. and petroleum ;> kaova to exist in lk<> regies of Paint
teBa.rrvw & abort distance to the north of the peuinsal*
Oil indicator.* are also found within the district at sev
*r*l points The only real tir. mines in Alaska aud the
alarge*i known deposits cl tir. is \aierto are located in
*he Port Clarence sect*- ar c ooa. bed* of important ex
tl:est exist is the K sjrru V and Oap: Lashcrae retries a near
the northers coast
Sir.ee the discovery of gold 11 year* are the
^SeaM Pjstrtet ha? produced snore than fM.PM.f-M* in
9*re»d and seiner, is addition to tin. ttnjrstes. antimony and
irother metals valuer. at several million* Copper and
pprajthiv are hr:tt to exist is exploitable suartiije* and
^-Jch poM cuartz in air.*.. bodies and low yra.de quarts
ia large bodies has been found si numerous points
Almost ail the he?*, known metal* are fraxd in exploits- :
ahV tiunttths The psii produced is almost entirely
,,frorr. placers. .3 cart? mining not having reached a scare j
of active development as yet T're^.cw.s has heroine the
ohie.1 s t- hvL v- .' .. v* -a'.'. although numerous hy
draulic and * open ret" plant* are operated A very
',*rg* part of the known mineralised area* have been
hare It mere than prospected remote* ok* and inadOQnate
•transportation facilities ksv-ir.c greatly hindered develop
iment is the past and many new planer* and other min-.
Lera! discoveries may he exported in the future when the
district i* thoroupklv exploited
1 In addition to it* great mineral resource*, the
Nome District also contains tremendously important pos
sibilities is it* thriving reindeer ;niu«rj which altho
i hardly more than started on a cotnmerBsai scale ha* al- ‘
tready yielded revenue* approx.-muting
Fish of variocs species a hound in the lake*
p streams and coastal waters aid form the basis for a
great industry. Herrins are particularly plentiful and
are prone am* -a h> t-x^-ru ui*r-xoe.led hy any herring
known to the world's markets cialmon and other va
i* rieties are also plentiful
: The district also prod coos * large variety of fur ‘
bearing animals which yield a large air.lL revenue, it
addition tc game aT.lm.als and wild fowl is iarge numbers
Btrsts and wild Dowers arrow t a m nuance in the tn
endinfr day -fit of summer Alt-bench the district as t
■whole is devoid of : imber larger than willow* plant life
exists in great profusion and the lew h.II* and valleys are
covered with * vast carpet of thick iros* ai r. grasses
tr»Bsp?mri*n ».
extremely she— sighted
; the fed era.
ftersl polity n :h* part
e: :. inad; :. uaae and costly trans
- been the chief drawback to e.x
the great miner*: wealth tn owr
isrnrt MTthln t be nearly 1?. t r
^ucf miles et -frr:'ory there are less than I of miles of
permanent roads and more than per cent of the rota'
mileage is fonna w .thin ff ir./^ s of Xome Drvr-j.-.jw
Tneni canm**t proceed save at a slow pans nnSer snch enn
•ditioi-f DnriT.r thf pas: year ;.r :wr the frrvemmem
has inclined to mere liberal spirit and prospects are now
hnrh: for important extensions of present highway?
which wOl prove of vast benef: A projected pwa
mert extensioT. of the Nome-Koncarr-t railway thronch
the heart of the fiistrjcs to the Knrmt coal held* rl hot ;
f^v pmx i creat are* of mine~a_ lands to e.^ilnitatioa
hxt will also enable the aoiateition : ' cheat- fuel, the aV
s<nce of which has been a powr-fcl deterrent to mininc
and iT.dcstria' development ir aT. fi»»
Grid mining Sm* -’ucnrt lwet
eotrof of n<-arty one fourth of the mineral wealth pro
duced n the Alaska terr-.toiy d tone the past -L yoars
I'et withal i: is ;bf least developed portion of the ^country
Th f is larpelv due to the fact that onry the districts eas
iest . : access bt'e received the artontioi of thf miner
and prosper:. - There are still hundreds of secure
mfies o: known mineral bearm<r territwy untouched by
thf hand ,••; dustrv rvii.r to : bf absence of roads and
rest.':f.m difficulties of transjiortauon
SIX9CTOC 11VWS WiMP
Tijf sueaieo Hr Aitrec H Brontfc. r>I ih*
Vi. ;m< s;xtf>? Gocuof^nt^l Str-f-y Sam, kas fwciinmtftc
:.h&-: ii»f>39 c-#> over 21 f* sQUt-rf milnt f*J pbtrar pftic 6f~
*ritSur life csttfiaes f»I St vt-rt Paiuuiralfc' It, ul
Lftisr. i.bejv at; mnuerr-tis srrtS tkipnsrts ir iftnt f.rn
M-rt':<:rf*c 'Vrmifrbou* il»f discrks Cif liwwf 21T secure
mi>ef f>‘. jilwer frfufi *3*ftfc.s ijr^rfiely mart' Ih&x Hit* squats
Ti fV**- hivf T/>ncb«; by The jlibot, aJUinagfc Their
T-jaiif t&* beex fcDrvr tor jww*. fcmmxjr tb* iftsr
4-']~>y tirutireds re (£unt fiewwits jx^imoxiUt^ jrrrtcivrzive
juttsilu litis* ibsrs is r>oi om jcwSortUf: toSim* - This 3-s
I markable condition is due almost entirely to absence of
: h’.chway* durm* tic treater part ot tke two decades of
I gold production.
Despite the deterring conditions under which ii
labors, the Nome District was the most prosperous of the
Alaska placer mining regions in It produced
i gold valued at f 1.317.$19.0$. compared to'a combined
i total of $l.<fS.0?< from ail other placer districts.
; Eighteen dredges, about seventy five open cut mines car
| Thirteen deep or underground placers were operated;
aboat S5i» men being employed Regarding the future
placer outlook. Dr. Alfred H. Brooks of the l' S. Geologi
cal Surrey >rvs. "It mas estimated some years ago tlSflSi
that the value of the gold roaerre# in the gravel plain,
ancient beach and high beach placers of Seward Penin
sula mas about fflS.Ot'O.WO (•<•. Substracting the
amount of gold that has since been mined from these de
posits leaves the value of the reserve* *200.000.000.00.
Though the above estimates of the available placer re
serves mar appear extravagant to some, a comparison
mill be sho«n that they are moderate, t 1. With the
return of normal conditions, development has increased
steadily in recent months and several important small
strikes have been made as a result of renewed prospect
ing efforts
PUtimum *>• prMur»d ■« ai
»*ka in Iff (•. a large portion being obtained in the Nome
Diatric: The balk of the Nome output was mined from
the Rime Cr>-ek placers, although recoveries of consid
erable value were made on Boar and Sweepstake* Creeks,
and at Wi-lov Creek. Cntil 1*1« no effort was made to
recover this t Suable metal, but each succeeding year wit
nesw« an inr-oased output as efforts st recovery are ex
Cm mgs ten >«*nag lodes were developed at Fair
banks and Noc.r when the war needs led to abnormal de
mand • • • * Considerable Tungsten was skipped
from these properties beaween 1*1« and If IS and Schel
lire was recorfred from oonoentraies of gold dredges at
Nome • • • • In all about ST tons of Alaska Schellite
concentrates have been mined and marketed t 1.
Silver bearing ores are found in many places in the
Nome Ihsmc: Tbe Omalik silver-lead mine ttj Fish
River has produced considerable ore in the past but su*»
pe»dec operations with the decline in silver some rears
aco Promising lodes are located at various other
points, notably on the Kugruk River, where ertensir,
development work has been dene during tbe past two
rears although transportation difficulties hare so far
pres ented shipment of ore t •
Jim time*f <w®. ™ the form of utibnite. is one of the
most widely distributed minerals in Alaska • • • • The
high price and ready market for antimony during the
war led tc development of stibnite ores at several lo
calities m the Nome restrict • • • • The facts, in hand
indicate that there are large rBeenes of antimony ore in
this district - i.
CepptT deposits hare been fonni cm Seward Penin
sula and some of these hare been developed in a small
way A fev test shipments hare been made • • • •
Copper lodes hare been located in several places in the
Nokatak-Kobut region of Northern Alaska . Consider
able prospecting has beat done on some of these deposits
near Sfccnjat, in the middle Kobnk valley • • • •
Were those deposits no: so isolated, they would undoubt
edly hare beer mined ■* l
Ctm Aiasta has produced about £TI ions of metallic tin.
v hi:h has nearly all oome from the placers of the Tort
District a: the west end of Seward Peninsula . A nnm
Ik* of discoveries of lode tm hare been made in the York
section The only development lias been at the L.ojt
River hi.ne The best hope of the contrruarion of A'
aska tix miring as based on the lode tin in the York Dis
trict The IrfWT Riven- mine is the only property *uffi
risrtly developed to justify the belief that it will soot
BEAC8 MIXING AT NOME
become a jm^oner ym ttere an -other deposits it dis
repinr vhirh deserT* fxnher pmspetuznc fl
JfiQg I IttXjf irnrk liar beer Arm nr irmt ospnsltf nr
Seward Peninsula located atom twenty **e mDes north
west of Nome. Ax uu^kscI nrplwn Iruu nw depos;
showed fifty four per next of inn. sc titanium and Pi;
per ef ; of P-f r*—^. The surfaae erttaKW mdicatr
tv-.b- :b* njperbliEltr tpmtt ahisat nonsidemh'f
a considerable sunuritief bur beer fourc
rt the Keewalik Mountains. Af« miiee north of Nome. and
6?sR99£iilf re the ■ fis freer iTrjrct Basin ▼Inch if con
nected by ri«u.', «rusrr with Port Clarence Ihf pnj
lute .1. '.bis district occur* us lamia lx *«arti liiirr te
schist*, which are themiJves craphJtir These deposits
rre r>f suffiracxi stz* xr just^ the hope that they car i*e
pmHraKlF -euploiiec * 1
Cm/ The lucres: areas n? tawaalUe rnalf are those
nr : hf Arctic slope where there art believed to he eutei—
s:t{ fifties The eoals are chief.y nf jot prude tel in
clude sr.mt excellent brqrm.inoue nonb Most of These
coals- are not now available.. but some of then: near Cape
~t ~T»^ nan l*e developed for uap a* Nnnif and in othsr
parr? r: Seward Peninsula a IT. 5 Geoimlicaj Survey
Pal'"tin So.. 174. P 4f Coal ha? beer nimanec lor x
run. i*er of years foam the X-uprrk cot] beds. havin? iteec
it. Bt CSdo^ge Treek me nr the Snjrruh. between
Pemneer me Mortar* Creek* This emu is nsec ex
taufi-Tftiy m Oandie and Tbwrirp * * * * - ~ ^ " t®3
depns-:. located near the Xucruk Prrer aisr supply the
! Ino.; reads of that semi or
Since Iff .Alaska has pmfiocec furs tc the
nttf of about Iff T.H of which about S£A$M PW
rejiresert the value nf the fur seat skins The msiar
nf foxes and other fur beariaf animals if nr the m crease
unc p-rvrrtsftf. to become a most riapnrtan: industry Ths
efjuenae ax hand fnyH«LT«»fc tV.v this seetinr <uf Alaska
▼tt rurrtirne to yield a valuable annua] fur product * A.
Xnroe if The flistributinir pmin for trade, with
thnsf -erespad it the fur business ix Xnrthwes: Alaska
and Siberia, and maty rhnnsunfif nf unllure worth of fur
pelts are handed annuaUr at this Par:
Berweex Iff" and IftftS. the Government
imported l-2St* reindeer into Alaska* for the use of the
Alack* natives The natural increase Iron: the animal
isttocl has reunited ix a herd, mntberinc energy ‘Dfc.bDP.
j beiidM which About 100.000 bn been killed for food
, ud *kiu • • • • Shipments of reindeer meet are llm
: ited to (he cold Mcnte capacity of itetmen running to
Nome, end were 90.000 pounds in 1913. 37,000 pounds in
; 1919. and 257.54 4 in 1920. There mre extensive rein*
| deer pastures in the interior of Alaska and on the shores
; cf Bering Sen and the Arctic Ocean It is estimated
: that these pastures should support n total of Ten Million
, animals * 4.
RKINURER HERD GR.UHG
Tisberits Salmon fishing in the None District over- i
iDdocs the rest of the fishing industry • Canner
ies located at the month of the Yakoa Hirer operate each
year and yield a large retain annnally. The yearly ran
of herring at Golorin Bay. offers am opportunity for large ,
investment Beluga—white whale—frequent the flats
of the Yukon Hirer hut as yet, so effort has been made
. to catch and market this valuable sea mammal, de
I spit* large commercial possibilities Walrus and hair
; seal are numerous, and present strong possibilities as
j leather resources, as well as unique game for the sports- j
< man and hunter
XOME -VXD NORTHWESTERN ALASKA WILL
IfCODrCE MILLION'S IN' OIL
| Groviac out of the fact that use of oi! for power
■ and locomotion has created a vast and uhPrecedented de
1 maud for that product during the past year. the Standard
Oi3 Company and also a group of Western investors sent
into the Point Barrow region of Northwestern Alaska a
number of representatives and several well known geolo
gists to investigate the oil seepages found in that section.
A number of these investigators went to the district dar
ing the winter by dog team and were followed by the geol_
egica! experts in gas boats daring the past summer. These
mrrey parties made extensive examinations and also loca
tions during the summer and filed for prospecting permits
at the United States Land Office at Nome. Active oper
ations are scheduled to commence next spring npon open
ing of navigation.
The Point Barrow oil region lies in latitude some
what farther north than the Fort Norman oil fields, com
wt*» thonsands of square miles of territory, and will ir
all probability become the greatest oil producing area on
the continent as development ffeweeds Tbe district is
ranch larger than the combined areas of Texas. Oklahoma.
Wyoming. Montana. Arkansas and Louisiana, and con
tains thonsands of acres of undeveloped oil lands. With
the exception of leas than twenty locations, all of this
great oil bearing ares is stall open to entry.
The existence of these vast oil deposits in the Bar
row region been known for years, but only darinc the
past wilier and summer has there bees any effort on the
part of either individuals or corporations to invest-rate j
he field Last summer's investigations were of such J
promising character that Nome is now preparing for an
nil stampede that will equal the great gold rush of 1§<*#.
when people came to this section of Alaska in
search of the yellow metal. This time the rush will be
for ''Liquid Trillions’'! It must be said, however, -hat
hose who antic pate coming to this district to locate
should be prepared with sufficient capital to carry on. as
I'Tospertinr for oil requires time and money The gov
ernment has adopted a very liberal policy with respect to
-.3 locations, the regulations providing that ci:
corporations may locate five claims of 2IM acres each.
Providing oil is discovered, the prospector can lease one
quarter of the area covered by his permit, with £m ne
! eronoe on the remainder Royalty on production is as
low as tor per cent*
Nowhere » there a greater opportunity for oil
in continent and practically all of this vast oil terri- ;
may with its uemi-prewea acreage is awaiting the coming j
af for development. Prospecting and development j
may be confidently exported t© reveal an oil area that will
HYWIArU* WSOB SEE3SE
foirpria* the world anti make frlaaka kncw~r. a? Due of tie
ppet.t£ir oi- «*t'.uxmt of the gtobe
Iteilmis: tar -col is alar in profres? patent to
i jcome at jnnrmin E-i»t reports gTven out by officials of the
cimfpBxx ciscktwe that favorable cal indications have bees
encountered Back-of Konne in the interior of Seward ;
j J*eiuiisiils utbw t»T indications have t*e*m recently found . 1
A lew location* wahit acreage in this *ectk*n have al :
«sdr been filed The district* last heferred to are ad-1
janetr. to water aac rail tranKjmtaxjox DrSIlins is ft- j
parted to cnrnmenee next J-tme Sews! locations have
alar been made in The Bon Clarence section and permits
i applied lor. JLIi the r>2 section* indirJBtec may tv reaeV
X* §. -GebiQfaca] Sarvey BaDetzn X?. T
r. £. Geniinginal Serve?- BnBeur Xe.
C . £ ■ Geological Survey BaBettin Xn.
Fur Farther hJmauatiini Wria Tl« Secretary
Pfcmn* hj- iMmen ln«,
TSUf P*r» Cwtrih«t*d kt Tk* Ste»,