Cape Nome is a massive granitic outcrop that is much more resistant to weathering than surrounding lands. Local Alaska Native corporations quarry the rock, which is trucked or barged to large-scale construction projects up and down the coast. Nome’s seawall is built from this granite. Amidst considerable construction or quarry activity, birds continue to nest or roost on the rock faces. The thickly-vegetated slopes attract dense numbers of warbler and sparrow species during the spring nesting season. Peregrine falcon and common raven regularly nest on the quarry ledges. Murres, Kittlitz’s murrelet, pigeon guillemot, loons, and pelagic cormorant feed by diving in this deep water area, though ocean swells may make them tricky to see. Brant, eiders, scoters, puffins, gulls, and kittiwakes fly past the Cape at close and offshore distances.
