russian exploration of alaska began in the mid-18th century, with fur traders arriving shortly afterwards to take advantage of the sea otters that populated the coast. traders and native trappers took sea otters along both sides of the aleutian peninsula. the first recorded mention of the aniachak region appears in an 1827 atlas, which notes "baie amah-chak" and "cap kumlik." in 1831 the cast was mapped by the russian navy and followed up by two more expeditions in the 1840s. the region was mostly avoided through the rest of the 19th century, apart from a few fur trappers who did not prosper.