About

Barter Island, one of the larger barrier islands in the Beaufort Sea, is a 4-mile wide tundra plateau between the Arey and Kaktovik Lagoons. The island is separated from the mainland in summer by a quarter of a mile of shallow lagoon and connected by sea ice in the winter. Barter Island rests approximately 50 miles north of Alaska's Brooks Range.

Kaktovik is the easternmost village in the North Slope Borough, 70 miles west of the Canadian border, 120 miles east of Deadhorse, 310 miles east of Barrow, and 382 miles north of Fairbanks. Kaktovik lies on the northern boundary of the 19.5-million acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Its geographic coordinates are 70° 08' North and 143° 38' West.

The current 630-acre village site of Kaktovik, located on the east shore of Barter Island facing Kaktovik Lagoon, is situated on approximately 1 square mile of land (or 630 acres) and water on the northeastern shore on the Kaktovik Lagoon between the Okpilak and Jago rivers.