Umiat

Umiat in Detail.

population 5, on N bank of Colville River, 75 mi. S of Harrison Bay, Arctic Slope.

Eskimo name meaning "boats," a name applied to the localtiy because the river boats were cached there. The name was borrowed from the Eskimo when an emergency airfield was established there, and in 1945 the place became a suppl y and operation base for oil exploration in Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 4. The place is still maintained as a major airfield between Barrow and Fairbanks.