Shageluk
Location
Shageluk Lake
Shageluk is a traditional Deg Xinag Athabaskan community that has been on the Innoko River for countless generations. It is the last village on the river and is surrounded by boreal forest. Shageluk is a subsistence community that relies on the moose, beaver, fish, etc. of the region. Native residents have observed changes in the river/lake ice freeze-up and break-up dates as well as changes in vegetation. For example, more willow and other deciduous trees grow on the Innoko hills and along the river and sloughs than 30 years ago.
The Shageluk observatory is located on Shageluk Lake (also known as "Swimming Lake"),
about 4 km north of the village and close to the airstrip. Shageluk Lake was once a
channel of the Innoko River that was cut off as the river shifted course, as all rivers
tend to do in this region.
An aerial view of the"old" Shageluk, Alaska with the airstrip at the top of the image. The area where the ALISON site is located is indicated by the red astrid.
