The Barren Islands to the north of Shuyak Island are primarily rocky scapes. Tugidak Island on the south is relatively flat and supports extensive areas of wet and moist tundra. The outlying islands south of the Trinity Islands are lower in elevation than Kodiak Island and support more limited vegetation growth.

From Shuyak Island to northeastern Kodiak Island, stands of Sitka spruce dominate land from shore to the treeline. These stands extend south to a general northwest-southeast dividing line running from Kupreanof Peninsula to Cape Chiniak. Southwest Kodiak Island is relatively flat and supports extensive areas of wet and moist tundra.

Exposed bedrock and shallow soils prevail along the 2500-mile rugged coastline. Northwest Kodiak shows effects of glaciation, with long, narrow fjords and U-shaped valleys. These lie perpendicular to the mountains and the geologic fault lines. Rivers typically enter at the heads of the fjords and are backed by extensive flat lands. The east and southeast coasts of the Archipelago are characterized by shorter, wider estuarine embayments. Southwest Kodiak Island and the Trinity Islands tend toward long, continuous shorelines with few bays. Most of the sandy beaches occur on the west coast of Kodiak Island and the Trinity Islands. Specific geographic features within the Kodiak Island Borough include: offshore areas; estuaries; lagoons; wetlands and tidelands; rocky islands and sea-cliffs; exposed high-energy coasts; rivers, streams, and lakes; and important upland areas.

Offshore Areas

Offshore areas include submerged lands and waters beyond mean lower low water to the limit of Kodiak Island Borough. Because of the extensive estuarine system of the Borough, offshore areas are those outside the headlands of the estuaries. Living resources are abundant in the Borough's offshore area. Dominant fauna include shellfish, finfish, marine mammals, and marine birds. Kelp and other macroalgal beds provide habitat for sea otters, spawning herring, and juvenile fish. They are important feeding areas for waterfowl and marine birds, and provide valuable primary production exported as algal drift, which is assimilated elsewhere in the marine ecosystem.

Estuaries

In the borough, most nearshore marine waters are designated as estuarine because of their extensive dilution by fresh water. Estuarine areas are considered to extend from headland to headland of bays, inlets, and fjords. Well-developed delta systems, apparently dominated by tidal action, lie at the head of most Kodiak fjords. Kodiak estuarine areas are highly productive. The complexity of the submarine topography and sediments and good algae growth, including extensive kelp beds, provide basic nutrients and diverse habitat to support herbivore and carnivore populations. In addition, many marine finfish and shellfish utilize the estuarine areas during larval and juvenile stages of development.

Lagoons

Lagoons are most prevalent in the south and southwestern portions of the Archipelago. Unlike other estuarine systems of the Islands, lagoons included in this habitat are shallow and tend to have sandy or flat shorelines.

Wetlands and Tideflats

The presence of coastal tidelands surrounding the Kodiak Archipelago is relatively low; however, the actual amount of habitat varies by region. Kodiak and Afognak Islands have very limited tideflat wetland complexes. Extensive tideflat-wetland complexes usually occur only at the heads of bays or around lagoons on these islands. In addition to these saltwater habitats, large inland wetlands occur in the Karluk River and Ayakulik River drainages in southwestern Kodiak. In sharp contrast to the availability of these habitat types on Kodiak and Afognak Islands, shorelines around the Trinity Islands contain extensive tideflats, and most of the Tugidak Island mainland is wetland habitat. Tideflat-wetland complexes provide valuable habitat for birds and marine mammals, particularly when used in combination with adjacent waters. In addition, the tideflat areas, especially those that are composed of sandy beaches, provide habitat for abundant clam and polychaete populations.

Rocky Islands and Seacliffs

Rocky islands generally have rock or cliff-lined shorelines. Occasionally rocky islands have tundra-vegetated interiors or areas along their coasts that are fairly level. This habitat category applies to most of the offshore islands. Along the coast of the major islands, however, this habitat type is limited to those shores with vertical cliffs. Offshore rocky islands and seacliffs are particularly important to marine mammals and marine birds as haulout and nesting sites. Many of these sites are along the east coast of Kodiak Island in the vicinity of Chiniak and Ugak Bays. The remaining sites are distributed around the archipelago and along the shoreline on the west side of Shelikof Strait.

Exposed High-Energy Coasts

Exposed bedrock shores comprise approximately 50 percent of Kodiak and Afognak Islands, and a large percentage of the Alaska Peninsula coastline on the west side of Shelikof Strait. Almost 90 percent of the Barren Islands are exposed bedrock. Exposed bedrock shores usually have moderate to steep gradients. Exposed high-energy coasts provide habitat for a variety of marine littoral-zone flora and fauna, which in turn are used by important fish and wildlife resources. In addition, high-energy coasts provide feeding and nesting habitat for bird species and a food source and resting habitat for marine mammals.

Rivers, Streams, and Lakes

The largest lakes and longest rivers within the Borough are located in southwest Kodiak Island. Major southwest lakes include Karluk, Frazer, Red, Akalura, and South Olga lakes. Other important lake systems on Kodiak Island, such as Spiridon, Little River, Uganik, Terror, Buskin, and Lake Rose Tead, are significantly smaller. Small pothole and high mountain lakes are also prevalent. Pothole lakes are generally found along the Upper Ayakulik River, between Olga Bay and the ocean, at the mid-reach of the Karluk River, on the Lower Aluilik Peninsula, and throughout Tugidak Island. Pothole lakes are also prevalent in the north and northeast sections of Afognak Island and on Shuyak Island. Major lakes on Afognak Island include: Selief Lake, Afognak Lake, Big and Little Kitoi Lakes, Pauls, Laura, and Gretchen Lakes, Portage Lake, Little Waterfall Lake, Hidden Lake, and Upper and Lower Melina Lakes. Due to the steep topography of the Aleutian Range mountains on the west side of Shelikof Strait, there are few lakes located in that area of the Kodiak Island Borough. With the exception of the Ayakulik and Karluk rivers in southwest Kodiak Island, rivers in the archipelago tend to be short and steep, often originating in small mountain lakes or small glaciers. Rivers, streams, and lakes provide critical aquatic habitat for resident and anadromous fish populations. In addition, they support summer and winter activities of bird and mammal populations, particularly waterfowl, bear, beaver, and land otters. Rivers and streams are the conduit for the freshwater component of estuarine systems, and serve as a valuable link between upland and marine environments.

Uplands

The archipelago uplands can be subdivided into four general areas based primarily on vegetative and terrain features. These areas are; (1) north of Kodiak Island, (2) the major portion of Kodiak Island, (3) southwest of Kodiak Island, lower Aliulik Peninsula, and the Trinity Islands, and (4) the Alaska Peninsula coastline west of Shelikof Strait. The first category, characterized by well-developed stands of mature Sitka spruce, includes Shuyak, Afognak, Raspberry, Whale, Spruce, and Marmot Islands.

The major portion of Kodiak Island forms the second category of uplands. Upland habitat distributions are closely related to differences in elevation. At very high elevations, unconsolidated material is generally absent. Below the peaks, mountainous areas have typical alpine vegetation. Steep mountains below 3,000 feet have dense shrub and ground cover. Lower slopes and valley floors are covered by sand and gravel of glacial origin, valley alluvium, alluvial fans, talus deposits, and ash from the 1912 eruption of Mt. Katmai. Cottonwood and occasionally Kenai birch, are common stands along the lower reaches of major drainages. The third region includes southwest Kodiak Island and the Trinity Islands. This region escaped glaciation and is vegetatively and topographically different from the rest of the Kodiak Archipelago. Plants are uniquely similar to species found in the Alaskan Arctic and unlike those found elsewhere in the Archipelago. The area is characterized by extensive moist and wet tundra surrounded by rounded low hills. The upland terrain along the west side of Shelikof Strait is dominated by the northeast-southwest trending mountains of the Aleutian Range. The short, steep-gradient drainages to the Gulf of Alaska are generally situated in steep valleys with cottonwood stands along the stream courses. At higher elevations, the vegetation is characteristic alpine tundra and bare rock and soil.

Land Use and Ownership

Borough Lands

The Kodiak Island Borough owns roughly 56,500 acres of land within the Borough. Most of this land was originally obtained and selected under municipal entitlement from the State of Alaska; the configuration of other parcels are the result of land trades with the State. Over 50 percent of Borough land is located on Shuyak Island and Raspberry Island; Ugak Bay and Hidden Basin also include numerous pockets that total a sizeable portion of Borough land acreage. Lease and disposal of Borough lands are subject to approval by the Borough Assembly. The Kodiak Island Borough zoning ordinance contains 18 zoning districts: Watershed (W); Wildlife Habitat (WH), Natural Use Lands (NU); Conservation (C); Rural Development (RD); Rural Residential (RR); Rural Residential One (RR1); Rural Residential Two (RR2); Single Family Residential (R1); Two Family Residential (R2); Multi-Family Residential (R3); Business (B); Rural Neighborhood Commercial (RNC); Urban Neighborhood Commercial (UNC); Retail Business (RB); Light Industrial (LI); Industrial (I); and Public Use Lands (PL). Recreational land use includes 11 municipal parks totaling 60 acres in size.

State Lands

The most significant State lands in the Borough are the vast tidelands. The State does not own a significant amount of upland area in the Borough. Most State uplands are in the northeast part of the Borough near the City of Kodiak and south around Ugak Bay to Dangerous Cape. State land selections are now complete in the Borough and new additions to state ownership are not likely. The Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR) manages most state land in the Borough. A few areas have had management authority transferred to other State agencies. The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities manages roads and airport facilities, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) manages the Tugidak Island Critical Habitat Area and the Division of State Parks within DNR manages state park lands. State parks accessible by road include: Fort Abercrombie, Buskin River and Pasagshak State Recreation Sites. A large portion of Shuyak Island is an undeveloped state park accessible only by water or air. The newest State park in the borough is located on the northern coast of Afognak Island. In total, 5 state parks throughout Kodiak Island comprise 56,448 acres.

Federal Lands

Much of the Borough contains land managed by federal authorities. The major federal land owner in the Borough is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). USFWS manages the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge (KNWR), which comprises 1.8 million acres of the archipelago, the Becharof and Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge (APNWR), and the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge (AMNWR). The USFWS is the largest single land owner in the Borough. The Borough boundary on the west, across Shelikof Strait, includes a portion of Katmai National Park managed by the Department of the Interior, National Park Service. The refuges are managed as multiple use areas and allow a wide variety of uses that do not interfere with the primary purpose of each refuge. The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), Department of Transportation, manages several important facilities on Kodiak Island. The U.S. Coast Guard Support Center Kodiak, which is located near the Kodiak urban area, contains over 21,000 acres. The Support Center provides infrastructure to support several Coast Guard Cutters, Air Station Kodiak, Communications Station Kodiak, Loran Station Kodiak, Electronic Support Unit Kodiak, North Pacific Fisheries Training Center, Marine Safety Detachment Kodiak, plus several other Coast Guard detachments. The U.S. Navy SEAL (Sea, Air, Land Special Operations) Cold Weather Training Detachment is housed on the Support Center's facilities at Spruce Cape. Other tenants located on the Support Center's main complex include the FAA, NOAA, the National Weather Service, and the National Marine Fisheries Service. The Support Center contains a full range of facilities and land uses usually associated with a major urban area, including recreational, residential, institutional, and commercial. The uses of land on the Support Center and other federal facilities are generally exempt from local regulation. However, the uses are subject to federal requirements such as the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other environmental laws such as the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. A portion of the scattered small rural parcels in the Borough are federal trust lands. Except for Native Allotments and Federal Townsite lots, no other federal trust lands, such as Indian reservations, exist in the Borough. These parcels are held in trust by the federal government in the name of the owner. The activities on the parcel and any transfer of title must be approved by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Since they are federal trust lands, the parcels are exempt from most local and state regulations, as well as taxation, until ownership is transferred. Federal environmental laws such as NEPA and the Clean Air and Water Acts do apply.

Private Lands

The greatest growth among land ownership categories in the Borough has been privately held lands. Most of the lands selected by the Native regional corporation, Koniag, and the village corporations have been transferred for management or patented to the corporations. Over 750,000 acres of land have been transferred to these private corporations. This amounts to about 17 percent of the total land mass of the Borough. Much of this acreage, such as that on Afognak Island, was selected for timber resources or other development potential. However, some of this acreage was selected from within Wildlife Refuges and contains areas with high habitat values for fish and wildlife. Over the past several years, money from the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill settlement has allowed the federal government to repurchase much of this land. The surface estate to former Wildlife Refuge lands is subject to regulation to ensure its protection in a manner that will not materially impair the values for which the refuge was established and the subsurface estate (mineral rights) to such land was retained by the federal government. Except for lands previously part of a Wildlife Refuge, the subsurface estate of all Native lands is owned by Koniag, Inc.