Welcome to Egegik!

According to anthropologists, settlement of the Bristol Bay region first occurred over 6,000 years ago. Yup'ik and Athabascan natives jointly occupied the area. Aleuts arrived in later years. The first recorded contact by non-Natives was with Russian fur traders between 1818 and 1867. The village was reported by Russians as a fish camp called "Igagik" (meaning "throat") in 1876. Local people would travel each year from Kanatak on the gulf coast through a portage pass to Becharof Lake and then hike or kayak on to the Egegik Bay area for summer fish camp. In 1895, an Alaska Packers Association salmon saltery was established at the mouth of Egegik River, and a town developed around the former fish camp. During the influenza outbreaks beginning in 1918, natives from other villages moved to Egegik to isolate themselves from the disease. During World War II, men from Egegik were enlisted to help build the King Salmon Airport, with many subsequently serving in Dutch Harbor and elsewhere. Egegik later grew into a major salmon production port. Egegik incorporated as a second-class city in 1995.

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