Platinum
Bethel (CA) · USGS GNIS name record 1408072
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Original USGS record for Platinum ↗Dataset snapshot 2026-09-02 · Source record edited 05/13/2010 · NAD83 · approximate source location
USGS description & history
population 55, near mouth of Small River on Goodnews Bay, 11 mi. SW of Goodnews, Kilbuck-Kuskokwim Mts.
Mining village reported to have been named in the 1930's by Sam Cotten, a former miner, for the platinum deposits in the vicinity. In 1937 Platinum was Alaska's newest boomtown with a population of 50, two trading posts, a roadhouse and a post office which was established in 1935 (Ricks, 1965, p. 51) . Adjoining it was a Eskimo village, now abandoned, named "Agvik," reported to mean "small stone to Sharpen Knives,: The Eskimo name was obtained about 1951 at Goodnews by J. M. Hoare, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). In 1950 the population of Platinum was 72, and the village was the center of most of the commercial activity in t he area (U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, 1954, p. 516). The population was 43 in 1960 and 55 in 1970. Platinum was incorporated as a city on February 13, 1975.
Source notes may describe earlier conditions.Source files & checksums
SHA-256 20c96936a3ba430b345eed1c7395b6aab52875aac8e1e2905fab37b388cab381
SHA-256 45ad8d56b3bb4990ad8105cdda15ee7d2f07afd6941afe75b783f29b02723697
SHA-256 919fac887628b8547ec1b24fae319522a9481a56909c3914d1e0a2b56783147c