Geography
The United States Census Bureau defines St. Lawrence Island as Block Group 6, Census Tract 1 of Nome Census Area, Alaska. As of the 2000 census there were 1,292 people living on a land area of 1,791.56 sq mi (4,640.1 km2). The island is about 90 miles (140 km) long and 8–22 miles (13–36 km) wide. The island has no trees, and the only woody plants are Arctic Willow, standing no more than a foot (30 cm) high.
The island's abundance of seabirds and marine mammals is due largely to the influence of the Anadyr Current, an ocean current which brings cold, nutrient-rich water from the deep waters of the Bering Sea shelf edge.
To the south of the island is a persistent polynya, formed when the prevailing winds from the north and east blow the migrating ice away from the coast.
Read more about this topic: St. Lawrence Island
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