Noorvik is downriver from the 1.7-million acre
Kobuk Valley National Park in the
Northwest Arctic Borough. The village was established by Kowagmuit Inupiat Eskimo fishermen and hunters in the early 1900s. Noorvik means, "a place that is moved to."
Subsistence is a major focus of the Noorvik economy - caribou, fish, waterfowl, berries, and moose are utilized. There are no roads linking the village to other areas of the state. Noorvik is accessible by plane and shallow-draft vessels.