Located on St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea. It is 39 miles southeast of Gambell and 164 miles west of Nome. Scheduled and charter air service is available from Nome. The population of Savoonga is 477. The zip code for the village is 99769.
Savoonga has a cool, moist, subarctic maritime climate with some continental influences during winter, when the Bering Sea freezes. Mean annual precipitation is 11 inches; mean annual snowfall is 58 inches. Winter temperatures average between -7° and 11°F. Summer temperatures average between 40 ° and 51°F.
A gravel airstrip is located 1 mile south of the village. It is 4,000 feet in length and is unattended. There is a passenger terminal and usually transportation to the village is available with locals. No scheduled service is available.
Accomodations are available at Alanga Lodge. Arts and crafts available for purchase include carved ivory, baleen baskets, handsewn skin garments and Eskimo artifacts. Moorage facilities are available. Land crossing permits are required if a visitor wishes to leave townsite and tour the island.
St. Lawrence Island has been inhabited for several thousand years. The Siberian Yup'ik Eskimos lived by subsistence for many years and had little contact with the rest of the world until Europeans traders began to frequent the area.
A herd of 70 reindeer was introduced to the island in 1900. The herd grew during the next 40 years, increasing to a peak of 10,000 animals. The reindeer tended to remain on the eastern side of the island and managing them from Gambell became impossible. A reindeer camp was established at Savoonga, 4 miles west of the abandoned village of Kookoolik, in 1916. Good hunting and trapping in the area attracted more residents. The population of Savoonga steadily increased and in the 1980 census surpassed that of Gambell. The community is built on wet, soft tundra and boardwalks crisscross the village providing dry routes to all buildings. In 1969 Savoonga was incorporated as a second-class city.
The economy of Savoonga is largely based on subsistence hunting, with some cash income. Savoonga is hailed as the "Walrus Capital of the world," and residents hunt these animals, as well as bowhead and gray whales, in spring and fall. During summer, the people fish, crab, hunt birds, gather eggs and harvest various seafoods, greens and berries. Seal, fish and crab are harvested through the winter. Arctic fox is trapped as a source of income, but there is no other commercial hunting or fishing. Reindeer roam free on the island, but the herd is not really managed. There are a few jobs in the village with the city, Native corporation, school and store.
St. Lawrence Islanders are famous for their ivory carvings which are a popular retail item. Artifacts found at some of the 35 older village sites on the island also are sold for income. These older villages were occupied in the 18th and 19th centuries when St. Lawrence Island supported a population of about 4,000 people. A tradgic famine from 1878 to 1880 decimated the population and in 1903 only 261 people were reported on the entire island.
Bird watching also is popular with visitors, who come to view and photograph the 2.7 million seabirds that nest on the island.
Communications in Savoonga include phones, mail plane, radio and TV. The community has a Presbyterian and Seventh Day Adventist churches and 2 schools with grades kindergarden to 12. There is a community electricity system, but no sewer system. Water is hauled from 3 watering points. Freight arrives in the community by plane, barge and ships.
