“Nunivak Island, situated about halfway between Nome and Unalaska, consists mainly of rolling tundra, practically treeless except for very stunted willow and a pigmy birch, which attains an average height of about six inches. In the interior there are several more or less prominent hills, the highest of which is said to have an altitude of about 600 feet. The shore line at the extreme western end of the island is rugged and precipitous, the cliffs rising perpendicularly to a height of from 100 to 200 feet. Here sea birds, particularly murres, nest in numbers, the natives paying annual visits to the nesting grounds to secure skins of puffins, murres and others for clothing. Only a few miles from Cape Mohican, the western extremity, the cliffs become less precipitous, and evidence of rapid erosion is noticeable along both coasts.

Eastward along the north shore the mossy tundra slopes gradually down to the water’s edge, with sandy beaches in the bays. In the lower areas of the interior there are numerous lakes and sloughs, while toward the western part of the island outcroppings of rock are frequent in the hills, forming the habitat of the few Rock Ptarmigan observed. In the draws, or sheltered coulees, the combination of ‘niggerheads’ and a tangled mass of stunted willows, with long grass covering the pitfalls between, makes travel on foot difficult.

The country in the vicinity of Cape Etolin (the northeastern part) differs strikingly from other sections visited. There, near the mouth of the Mekokayak River, there are several extensive tidal mud-flats, the largest about two miles long and one mile wide. Exposed at low tide, these form a great attraction to geese and waders. A rather surprising feature of this locality is the considerable area of sand-dune country, mostly overgrown with tall ‘rye grass’ (Elymus mollis). This grass, the seeds of which constitute the main food supply of the snow buntings in the fall, is woven into baskets, mats, and even socks, by the Eskimos.