Kotzebue

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A city located in northwestern Alaska, known for its natural beauty and Native culture
2. A geographical area in Alaska, recognized for its unique ecological and cultural attributes
3. A settlement in Alaska that serves as a notable hub for indigenous traditions and Arctic wildlife

Etymology: Kotzebue is named after Otto von Kotzebue, a Baltic German naval officer in the service of the Russian Empire. In 1816 he commanded the expedition ship Rurik on a voyage of exploration through the Bering Strait, and in 1817 he sailed into a broad sound on the Seward Peninsula's northern coast. He named it Kotzebue Sound after his father, August von Kotzebue, a dramatist whose plays were hugely popular across Europe. The name stuck to the sound, and later to the settlement that grew on its shore. The place was known to the Inupiat people long before that voyage. The town's name therefore records a Russian naval expedition of the Napoleonic era, not any local tradition. The community itself was established in the early twentieth century, and it took the sound's name when it was founded.