Island (pop., 2000: 13,913), Alaska, U.S. Lying in the Gulf of Alaska , it is 100 mi (160 km) long and 10–60 mi (16–96 km) wide and has an area of 3,588 sq mi (9,293 sq km).
The Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge covers 75% of the island and is the habitat of the Kodiak bear. Discovered in 1763 by a Russian fur trader, the island, known as Kikhtak, became the site in 1784 of the first Russian colony in America. Russian control ended in 1867; the island was renamed Kodiak in 1901. In 1964 a destructive earthquake lowered the island by 5–6 ft (1.5–1.8 m).