NOME, AK Nome, a city of approximately 3,500 people sits on the southern coast of Alaska's Seward Peninsula, on the Norton Sound of the Bering Sea. The city was established during the gold rush at the start of the 20th century and had a population of about 20,000 during the height of the gold rush, but declined quickly as the rush subsided. Adventurers still come to Nome, hoping to strike it rich panning for gold, camping on the shores of the Norton Sound during the summer months.