Shaktoolik, AK

United States

Shaktoolik is a remote Iñupiaq village on Norton Sound's eastern shore, about 125 miles northeast of Nome. There are no roads to this coastal community - access is by small plane through Shaktoolik Airport or winter ice routes when the sound freezes. The village sits on flat tundra at sea level and experiences harsh subarctic conditions. It serves as an official Iditarod checkpoint where mushers rest their dog teams each March.