Nelson Lagoon (Unangax̂: Niilsanam Alĝuudaa) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Aleutians East Borough, Alaska, United States.

The community is on the northern coast of the Alaska Peninsula and sits on a narrow sand spit that separates the lagoon from the Bering Sea.

In March 2016, Nelson Lagoon was coated with tephra, during a strong eruption of nearby Mount Pavlof.

[4] The location where Nelson Lagoon sits was used as an Aleut summer campsite during the fishing season.

[5] In 1882, the lagoon was named for Edward William Nelson, a naturalist and explorer who travelled the region between 1877 and 1920.

[5] These men married local women, and today most native people in Nelson Bay have partial Scandinavian ancestry.

[5]In 1985, an environmental impact statement by the Minerals Management Service of the United States Department of the Interior was released, producing an in-depth analysis of the Nelson Bay community and its cultural, demographic, religious, political and educational atmosphere as well as predictions.

The study reported the five-member Nelson Bay village council was formed in 1971, still consisted of all its original members, met often, and was competent and unified in its representation of the community.

[6] The environmental impact statement wrote that culturally and economically, the village was much as it was at the time of its founding: small, relatively undeveloped and very isolated.

[6] The Russian Orthodox Church was the village's dominant religion at the time, but secularization was taking place.

[6] Education was highly valued in the Nelson Bay, and the 1985 environmental impact statement wrote this could have been a legacy of the village's Scandinavian ancestors.

A 1985 environmental impact statement by the Minerals Management Service of the United States Department of the Interior reported that while Russian Orthodoxy was the dominant religion in Nelson Lagoon, a trend towards secularization was taking place, especially among the younger generations.

[6] The report noted that religion "is an important secondary activity [that] neither factionalized nor integrated residents at the community level.

"[6] Nelson Lagoon depends on salmon fishing, and the nearby fishery area is especially productive.

[5] Due to the seasonal nature of the fishing industry, subsistence activities are necessary during parts of the year, including animal trapping.