Ouzinkie, Alaska

Ouzinkie is located on the southwest shore of Spruce Island. It is characterized by swampy areas, volcanic and sedimentary rock and an abundance of tall spruce trees.  Ouzinkie was founded in the early 1800s by the Russian American Company as a retirement community. The Church of the Nativity, built in 1898, is tucked in a cove of spruce trees. Ouzinkie was home to St. Herman, the first canonized Russian Orthodox saint in North America. St. Herman's chapel is located at Monks Lagoon and can be explored with the local Russian Orthodox Church reader who explains the history of the holy sites and old grave stones.