TheNorton Sound (Inupiaq:Imaqpak) is an inlet of theBering Sea on the western coast of theU.S. state ofAlaska, south of theSeward Peninsula.[1] It is about 240 km (150 mi) long and 200 km (125 mi) wide. TheYukon River delta forms a portion of the south shore and water from the Yukon influences this body of water. It is ice-free from June to October.
Norton Sound was explored by CaptainJames Cook in September 1778. He named the body of water afterSir Fletcher Norton, thenSpeaker of theBritish House of Commons.[1]
The Norton Sound area has been home toYup'ik andIñupiat for many centuries. It is the boundary between the two peoples; the Inupiat live to the north and the Yup'ik to the south. The town ofNome is along the northern edge of Norton Sound.[1] The villages ofElim,Golovin,Stebbins,White Mountain,Koyuk,Shaktoolik,St. Michael, andUnalakleet are on the shores or waterways flowing into Norton Sound. TheIditarod Trail Sled Dog Race runs through coastal villages between Unalakleet and Nome.
Theseaplane tenderUSS Norton Sound was named after the inlet. TheEliot Staples Bering Sea Ice Golf Classic occurs at the sound in mid-March.Nome National Forest is located just off the coast of Nome.
63°54′N163°18′W / 63.9°N 163.3°W /63.9; -163.3
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