New Beginnings Church Of God - About Kotzebue, AK

Kotzebue is on the Baldwin Peninsula in Kotzebue Sound, on a 3-mile-long spit, which ranges in width from 1,100 to 3,600 feet. It is located near the discharges of the Kobuk and Noatak Rivers, 549 air miles northwest of Anchorage and 26 miles above the Arctic Circle.

This site has been occupied by Inupiat  for at least 600 years. "Qikiqtagruk" (almost an island) was the hub of ancient arctic trading routes long before European contact, due to its coastal location near a number of rivers. The German Lt. Otto Von Kotzebue "discovered" Kotzebue Sound in 1818 for Russia. The community was named after the Kotzebue Sound in 1899 when a post office was established. Since the turn of the century, expansion of economic activities and services in the area have enabled Kotzebue to develop relatively rapidly. An Air Force Base and White Alice Communications System were later constructed.

Kotzebue is located in the transitional climate zone, which is characterized by long, cold winters and cool summers. The average low temperature during January is -12; the average high during July is 58. Temperature extremes have been measured from -52 to 85. Snowfall averages 40 inches, with total precipitation of 9 inches per year. Kotzebue Sound is ice-free from early July until early October.