The placement of the settlement owes much to a sizeable polynia at the shore of the village,[REF][REF] allowing the inhabitants to hunt all year round.
The existence of the polynia attracts a wide variety of sea life, numerous[REF] species of whales and seals inhabit the area, and the village is situated along the main spring migration route of the Bowhead whale, the target of the majority of the Yupik inhabitants hunting [REF].