Kotzebue Sound is an arm of the Chukchi Sea

Chukchi Sea

Chukchi Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is bounded on the west by the De Long Strait, off Wrangel Island, and in the east by Point Barrow, Alaska, beyond which lies the Beaufort Sea. The Bering Strait forms its southernmost limit and connects it to the Bering Sea and the Pacific...

 in the western region of the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

. It is on the north side of the Seward Peninsula

Seward Peninsula

The Seward Peninsula is a large peninsula on the western coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. It projects about into the Bering Sea between Norton Sound, the Bering Strait, the Chukchi Sea, and Kotzebue Sound, just below the Arctic Circle...

 and bounded the east by the Baldwin Peninsula

Baldwin Peninsula

Baldwin Peninsula is a peninsula located on the Arctic Circle in the northwestern region of the U.S. state of Alaska, at . It extends into Kotzebue Sound from the Alaska mainland and defines the south boundary of Hotham Inlet. It is 2–19 km wide.The city of Kotzebue and Ralph Wien Memorial...

. It is 100 miles (160.9 km) long and 70 miles (112.7 km) wide.

Kotzebue Sound is located in the transitional climate zone, which is characterized by long, cold winters and cool summers. The average low temperature during January is -12 °F; the average high during July is 58 °F (14 °C). Temperature extremes have been measured from -52 °F to 85 °F (29 °C). Snowfall averages 40 inches (1,016 mm), with total precipitation of 9 inches (229 mm) per year. Kotzebue Sound is ice-free from early July until early October.

The towns of Kotzebue

Kotzebue, Alaska

As of the census of 2000, there were 3,082 people, 889 households, and 656 families residing in the city. The population density was 114.1 people per square mile . There were 1,007 housing units at an average density of 37.3 per square mile...

, Kiwalik

Kiwalik, Alaska

Kiwalik is an unincorporated village in the Northwest Arctic Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located where the Kiwalik River flows into Kotzebue Sound on the Seward Peninsula, south of Kotzebue....

 and Deering

Deering, Alaska

Deering is a city in the Northwest Arctic Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located on a sandy spit on the Seward Peninsula where the Inmachuk River flows into Kotzebue Sound, southwest of Kotzebue....

 are on the shores of Kotzebue Sound. Kotzebue Sound was explored and named in 1816 by Baltic German Lt. Otto von Kotzebue

Otto von Kotzebue

Otto von Kotzebue was a Baltic German navigator in Russian service....

 while searching for the Northeast Passage in the service of Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

.

Fauna

A wide variety of birdlife is apparent at Kotzebue Sound including the Tufted puffin

Tufted Puffin

The Tufted Puffin also known as Crested Puffin, is a relatively abundant medium-sized pelagic seabird in the auk family found throughout the North Pacific Ocean....

, Black-throated Diver

Black-throated Diver

The Black-throated Loon is a migratory aquatic bird found in the northern hemisphere. The species is known as an Arctic Loon in North America and the Black-throated Diver in Eurasia, its current name is a compromise proposed by the International Ornithological Committee.-Taxonomy:The...

 and Red-throated loon.

The sound is a location for the presence of the Polar bear

Polar Bear

The polar bear is a bear native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land carnivore and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous Kodiak Bear, which is approximately the same size...

, Ursus maritimus; in fact, the world's record largest Polar bear at 2210 pounds was observed at Kotzebue Sound.