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Point Lay
Point Lay is located south of the Kokolik
River mouth, about 300 miles southwest of Barrow. It lies at
approximately 69° 45' N Latitude, 163° 03' W Longitude (Sec. 26, T005N,
R045W, Umiat Meridian). The community is located in the Barrow Recording
District. The area encompasses 17 sq. miles of land and 33 sq. miles of
water.
 Point
Lay is one of the more recently established Inupiaq villages on the
Arctic coast, and has historically been occupied year round by a small
group of one or two families. They were joined in 1929-30 by several
more families from Point Hope. The deeply indented shoreline has
prevented effective whaling, and the village never fully participated in
the whaling culture. In 1974, the village moved from the old site on a
gravel barrier island just offshore. The old village site is now used as
a summer hunting camp. Some residents of Barrow and Wainwright relocated
to the village in the mid-1970s. Due to seasonal flooding from the
Kokolik River, in the late 1970s the village relocated again to a site
near the Air Force Distance Early Warning station to the south. Homes
were relocated to the new townsite.
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