Aleutian Islands
Encyclopedia
The Aleutian Islands are a chain of more than 300 small volcanic islands, forming part of the Aleutian Arc
in the Northern Pacific Ocean
, occupying an area of 6,821 sq mi (17,666 km²) and extending about 1200 mile westward from the Alaska Peninsula
toward the Kamchatka Peninsula
thus marking a line between the Bering Sea
and the Pacific Gulf of Alaska
. Crossing longitude 180°
, they are the westernmost part of the United States
(and by one definition the easternmost; see Extreme points of the United States
). Nearly all the archipelago
is part of Alaska
and usually considered as being in the "Alaskan Bush", but at the extreme western end the small, geologically-related, and remote Commander Islands are in Russia
. The islands, with their 57 volcanoes, are in the northern part of the Pacific Ring of Fire
. The Alaska Marine Highway
passes through the islands.
Physiographically, they are a distinct section of the larger Pacific Border province, which in turn is part of the larger Pacific Mountain System physiographic division.
The islands, known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, comprise five groups (east to west): the Fox
, Islands of Four Mountains
, Andreanof
, Rat
, and Near
island groups (with Buldir Island
halfway between Favian and Diana Islands, but part of neither group). They are all located between 51°
and 55°N latitude
and 172°E
and 163°W longitude
. The largest islands in the Aleutians are Attu
(also the nearest to the mainland), and Unalaska, Umnak
and Akun
in the Fox Islands
.
The axis of the archipelago near the mainland of Alaska has a southwest trend, but near the 179th meridian east
its direction changes to the northwest. This change of direction corresponds to a curve in the line of volcanic
fissures that have contributed their products to the building of the islands. Such curved chains are repeated about the Pacific Ocean in the Kuril Islands
, the Japan
ese chain, and in the Philippines
. All these island arcs are at the edge of the Pacific Plate
and experience much seismic
activity, but are still habitable; the Aleutians lie between the Pacific and North American tectonic plates
. The general elevation is greatest in the eastern islands and least in the western. The island chain is a western continuation of the Aleutian Range
on the mainland.
The great majority of the islands bear evident marks of volcanic origin, and there are numerous volcanic cones on the north side of the chain, some of them active; many of the islands, however, are not wholly volcanic, but contain crystalline or sedimentary rocks, and also amber and beds of lignite
. The coasts are rocky and surf-worn, and the approaches are exceedingly dangerous, the land rising immediately from the coasts to steep, bold mountains.
These volcanic islands reach heights of 6200 feet (1,889.8 m). Makushin Volcano
(5691 feet (1,734.6 m)) located on Unalaska Island, is not quite visible from within the town of Unalaska
, though the steam rising from its cone is visible on a (rare) clear day. Denizens of Unalaska need only to climb one of the smaller hills in the area, such as Pyramid Peak or Mt. Newhall, to get a good look at the snow-covered cone. The volcanic Bogoslof
and Fire Islands
, which rose from the sea in 1796 and 1883 respectively, lie about 30 miles (48.3 km) west of Unalaska Bay.
is very nearly the same. During the winter time the islands are the center for the semi-permanent low-pressure area called Aleutian low
.
The mean annual temperature for Unalaska, the most populated island of the group, is about 38°F (3°C), being about 30°F (−1°C) in January and about 52 °F (11 °C) in August. The highest and lowest temperatures recorded on the islands are 78°F (26°C) and 5°F (−15°C) respectively. The average annual rainfall is about 80 inches (2,032 mm), and Unalaska, with about 250 rainy days per year, is said to be one of the rainiest places within the United States
.
s, the vast majority of the chain is destitute of native trees. On some of the islands, such as Adak
and Amaknak
, there are a few coniferous
trees growing, remnants of the Russian period. While tall trees grow in many cold climates, Aleutian conifers—some of them estimated to be two hundred years old—rarely reach a height of even 10 feet (3 m), and many of them are still less than 5 feet (1.5 m) tall. This is because the islands, much like the Falklands
and other islands of similar latitude
s, experience such strong winds that taller trees are vulnerable to snapping off.
Instead of trees, the islands are covered with a luxuriant, dense growth of herbage and shrubs, including crowberry
, bluejoint, grasses
, sedges
, and many flowering plants. There are areas of peat bog near the coasts. Endemic plants include the endangered Aleutian Shield Fern
.
, with 21 breeding seabird species, including the Bering Sea-endemic Red-legged Kittiwake
. Large seabird colonies are also present at Kiska
, Gareloi
, Semisopochnoi
, Bogoslof
, and others. The islands are also frequented by vagrant Asiatic birds, including Common Rosefinch
, Siberian Rubythroat
, Bluethroat
, Lanceolated Warbler
, and the first North American record of Intermediate Egret
The habitats of the Aleutians are largely unspoiled but wildlife is affected by competition from introduced species such as cattle, caribou, and fox
es. Radioactivity is still present in the environment following the nuclear testing on Amchitka
in 1971. Today almost all the aleutians are protected as part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge
and the Aleutian Islands Wilderness
.
and reindeer
was once believed to be practicable. There are Bison
on islands near Sand Point. Sheep raising seems to have died off with the advent of synthetic fibers which lowered the value of wool. During the 1980s, there were some llama
being raised on Unalaska
. Today, the economy is primarily based upon fishing
, and, to a lesser extent, the presence of American military. The only crop is potato
. Chicken
s are raised in barns under protection from cold.
The Aleut language
is one of the two main branches of the Eskimo–Aleut language family. This family is not known to be related to any others.
In the 2000 census
, there was a population of 8,162 on the islands, of whom 4,283 were living in the main settlement of Unalaska
.
period.
People living in the Aleutian Islands developed fine skills in hunting, fishing, and basketry. Hunters made their weapons and watercraft. The baskets are noted for being finely woven with carefully shredded stalks of beach rye.
beginning in 1741.
In 1741 the Russian government sent Vitus Bering
, a Dane
in the service of Russia, and Aleksei Chirikov
, a Russian, in the ships Saint Peter and Saint Paul on a voyage of discovery in the Northern Pacific
. After the ships were separated by a storm, Chirikov discovered several eastern islands of the Aleutian group, and Bering discovered several of the western islands, finally being wrecked and losing his life on the island of the Komandorskis (Commander Islands) that now bears his name (Bering Island
). The survivors of Bering's party reached the Kamchatka Peninsula
in a boat constructed from the wreckage of their ship, and reported that the islands were rich in fur-bearing animals.
Siberian fur hunters flocked to the Commander Islands and gradually moved eastward across the Aleutian Islands to the mainland. In this manner, Russia
gained a foothold on the northwestern coast of North America. The Aleutian Islands consequently belonged to Russia, until that country transferred
all its possessions in North America to the United States in 1867.
During the consolidation of the Russian-American Company there was sporadic conflict with the native population (frequently disastrous to the poorly-armed and vastly-outnumbered Russians). The colonies soon entered a relatively stable state based on cooperation, intermarriage, and official policies that provided social status, education, and professional training to children of mixed Aleut-Russian birth. Within a generation or two the day-to-day administration of the Russian-American colonies was largely in the hands of native-born Alaskans. Reversing the usual trend in colonization where indigenous technologies are replaced, the Russians adopted the Aleut kayak, or baidarka
, sea otter hunting techniques, and the working of native copper deposits. The Russians instituted public education, preservation of the Aleut language through transliteration of religious and other texts into Aleut via an adaptation of the Cyrillic alphabet, vaccination of the native population against smallpox
, and science-based sea mammal conservation policies that were far ahead of their time.
By 1760, the Russian merchant Andrian Tolstykh had made a detailed census in the vicinity of Adak
and extended Russian citizenship to the Aleuts.
During his third and last voyage, in 1778, Captain James Cook
surveyed the eastern portion of the Aleutian archipelago, accurately determined the position of some of the more important islands, and corrected many errors of former navigators.
missionaries to arrive in the Aleutian Islands was a party of ten Russian Orthodox
monks and priests, who arrived in 1793. Within two years, a monk named Herman was the only survivor of that party. He settled on Spruce Island
, near Kodiak Island
, and often defended the rights of the Aleuts against the Russian trading companies. He is now known in the Orthodox Church as Saint Herman of Alaska
.
Another early Christian missionary of the Russian Orthodox Church was Father Veniaminov who arrived in Unalaska
in 1824. He was named Bishop Innokentii in 1840 and moved to Sitka. He is now known in the Orthodox Church as Saint Innocent of Alaska
.
The principal settlements were on Unalaska Island. The oldest was Iliuliuk (also called Unalaska), settled in 1760-1775, with a customs house and an Orthodox church.
from Russia in 1867, further development took place. New buildings included a Methodist
mission and orphanage, and the headquarters for a considerable fleet of United States revenue cutters
which patrolled the sealing
grounds of the Pribilof Islands
. The first public school in Unalaska opened in 1883.
The U.S. Congress
extended American citizenship to all Natives (and this law has been held to include the indigenous peoples of Alaska) in 1924.
A hospital was built in Unalaska in 1933 by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs
.
, small parts of the Aleutian islands were occupied by Japan
ese forces, when Attu
and Kiska
were invaded in order to divert American forces away from the main Japanese attack at Midway Atoll
. The U.S. Navy, having broken the Japanese naval codes, knew that this was just a diversion, and it did not expend large amounts of effort in defending the islands. More than 90 Americans were taken to Japan as prisoners of war. Most of the civilian population (over 800) of the Aleutians and Pribilovians were interned by the United States in camps in the Alaska Panhandle
. During the Aleutian Islands Campaign, American and Canadian forces invaded Japanese-held Attu and defeated the Japanese, and subsequently regained control of all the islands. The islands were also a stopping point for hundreds of aircraft sent from California to Russia as part of the war effort.
Monday, June 3, 2002 was celebrated as Dutch Harbor Remembrance Day. The governor of Alaska ordered state flags lowered to half-staff to honor the 78 soldiers who died during the two-day Japanese air attack in 1942. The Aleutian World War II National Historic Area
Visitors Center opened in June 2002.
became law in 1971. In 1977, the Ounalashka Corporation (from Unalaska) declared a dividend
. This was the first village corporation to declare and pay a dividend to its shareholders.
In 1906 a new volcanic cone rose between the islets of Bogoslof and Grewingk, near Unalaska, followed by another in 1907. These cones were nearly demolished by an explosive eruption on September 1, 1907.
(DOE) conducted underground tests
of nuclear weapon
s on Amchitka Island
from 1965 to 1971 as part of the Vela Uniform
program. The final detonation, the Cannikin, was the largest underground nuclear explosion
by the United States.
Western Aleutian Islands, from a 1916 map of the Alaska Territory
Aleutian Arc
The Aleutian Arc is a large volcanic arc in the U.S. state of Alaska. It consists of a number of active and dormant volcanoes that have formed as a result of subduction along the Aleutian Trench...
in the Northern Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, occupying an area of 6,821 sq mi (17,666 km²) and extending about 1200 mile westward from the Alaska Peninsula
Alaska Peninsula
The Alaska Peninsula is a peninsula extending about to the southwest from the mainland of Alaska and ending in the Aleutian Islands. The peninsula separates the Pacific Ocean from Bristol Bay, an arm of the Bering Sea....
toward the Kamchatka Peninsula
Kamchatka Peninsula
The Kamchatka Peninsula is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of . It lies between the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Sea of Okhotsk to the west...
thus marking a line between the Bering Sea
Bering Sea
The Bering Sea is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It comprises a deep water basin, which then rises through a narrow slope into the shallower water above the continental shelves....
and the Pacific Gulf of Alaska
Gulf of Alaska
The Gulf of Alaska is an arm of the Pacific Ocean defined by the curve of the southern coast of Alaska, stretching from the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island in the west to the Alexander Archipelago in the east, where Glacier Bay and the Inside Passage are found.The entire shoreline of the Gulf is...
. Crossing longitude 180°
180th meridian
The 180th meridian or antimeridian is the meridian which is 180° east or west of the Prime Meridian passing through the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. It is common to both east longitude and west longitude. It is used as the basis for the International Date Line because it for the most part passes...
, they are the westernmost part of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(and by one definition the easternmost; see Extreme points of the United States
Extreme points of the United States
This is a list of the extreme points of the United States, the points that are farther north, south, east, or west than any other location in the country. Also included are extreme points in elevation, extreme distances, and other points of peculiar geographic interest.-Northernmost:*Point Barrow,...
). Nearly all the archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
is part of Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
and usually considered as being in the "Alaskan Bush", but at the extreme western end the small, geologically-related, and remote Commander Islands are in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. The islands, with their 57 volcanoes, are in the northern part of the Pacific Ring of Fire
Pacific Ring of Fire
The Pacific Ring of Fire is an area where large numbers of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur in the basin of the Pacific Ocean. In a horseshoe shape, it is associated with a nearly continuous series of oceanic trenches, volcanic arcs, and volcanic belts and/or plate movements...
. The Alaska Marine Highway
Alaska Marine Highway
The Alaska Marine Highway or the Alaska Marine Highway System is a ferry service operated by the government of the U.S. state of Alaska. It has its headquarters in Ketchikan, Alaska....
passes through the islands.
Physiographically, they are a distinct section of the larger Pacific Border province, which in turn is part of the larger Pacific Mountain System physiographic division.
Geography
Fox Islands (Alaska)
The Fox Islands are a group of islands in the eastern Aleutian Islands of the U.S. state of Alaska. The Fox Islands are the closest to mainland North America in the Aleutian chain, and just east of Samalga Pass and the Islands of Four Mountains group....
, Islands of Four Mountains
Islands of Four Mountains
Islands of Four Mountains is an island grouping of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska, United States. The chain includes, from west to east, Amukta, Chagulak, Yunaska, Herbert, Carlisle, Chuginadak, Uliaga, and Kagamil Islands. This island chain is located between Amukta Pass and the Andreanof Islands...
, Andreanof
Andreanof Islands
The Andreanof Islands are a group of islands in the Aleutian Islands in southwest Alaska. They are located between Amchitka Pass and the Rat Islands group to the west, and Amukta Pass and the Islands of Four Mountains group to the east, at about 52° North and 172°57' to 179°09' West. The islands...
, Rat
Rat Islands
The Rat Islands are a volcanic group of islands in the Aleutian Islands in southwest Alaska, between Buldir Island and the Near Islands group to its west, and Amchitka Pass and the Andreanof Islands group to its east, at about ....
, and Near
Near Islands
The Near Islands or Sasignan Islands are the smallest and westernmost group of the Aleutian Islands in southwestern Alaska.-Geography:The largest of the Near Islands are Attu and Agattu...
island groups (with Buldir Island
Buldir Island (Alaska)
Buldir Island is a small island in the western Aleutian Islands of the U.S. state of Alaska. It lies midway between the Near Islands in the West and the Rat Islands in the East....
halfway between Favian and Diana Islands, but part of neither group). They are all located between 51°
51st parallel north
The 51st parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 51 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean....
and 55°N latitude
55th parallel north
The 55th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 55 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean....
and 172°E
172nd meridian east
The meridian 172° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, New Zealand, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
and 163°W longitude
163rd meridian west
The meridian 163° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, North America, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
. The largest islands in the Aleutians are Attu
Attu Island
Attu is the westernmost and largest island in the Near Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, making it the westernmost point of land relative to Alaska and the United States. It was the site of the only World War II land battle fought on the incorporated territory of the United States ,...
(also the nearest to the mainland), and Unalaska, Umnak
Umnak
Umnak is one of the Fox Islands of the Aleutian Islands. With of land area, it is the third largest island in the Aleutian archipelago and the 19th largest island in the United States. The island is home to a large volcanic caldera on Mount Okmok and is separated from Unalaska Island by Umnak Pass...
and Akun
Akun Island
Akun Island is one of the Fox Islands subgroup of the Aleutian Islands in Aleutians East Borough of southwestern Alaska, USA. It lies east of Akutan Island and southwest of Unimak Island across the Unimak Pass. The Krenitzin Islands lie to its south and southeast across the Avatanak Strait...
in the Fox Islands
Fox Islands (Alaska)
The Fox Islands are a group of islands in the eastern Aleutian Islands of the U.S. state of Alaska. The Fox Islands are the closest to mainland North America in the Aleutian chain, and just east of Samalga Pass and the Islands of Four Mountains group....
.
The axis of the archipelago near the mainland of Alaska has a southwest trend, but near the 179th meridian east
179th meridian east
The meridian 179° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
its direction changes to the northwest. This change of direction corresponds to a curve in the line of volcanic
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
fissures that have contributed their products to the building of the islands. Such curved chains are repeated about the Pacific Ocean in the Kuril Islands
Kuril Islands
The Kuril Islands , in Russia's Sakhalin Oblast region, form a volcanic archipelago that stretches approximately northeast from Hokkaidō, Japan, to Kamchatka, Russia, separating the Sea of Okhotsk from the North Pacific Ocean. There are 56 islands and many more minor rocks. It consists of Greater...
, the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese chain, and in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. All these island arcs are at the edge of the Pacific Plate
Pacific Plate
The Pacific Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate that lies beneath the Pacific Ocean. At 103 million square kilometres, it is the largest tectonic plate....
and experience much seismic
Seismology
Seismology is the scientific study of earthquakes and the propagation of elastic waves through the Earth or through other planet-like bodies. The field also includes studies of earthquake effects, such as tsunamis as well as diverse seismic sources such as volcanic, tectonic, oceanic,...
activity, but are still habitable; the Aleutians lie between the Pacific and North American tectonic plates
Plate tectonics
Plate tectonics is a scientific theory that describes the large scale motions of Earth's lithosphere...
. The general elevation is greatest in the eastern islands and least in the western. The island chain is a western continuation of the Aleutian Range
Aleutian Range
The Aleutian Range is a major mountain range of southwest Alaska, extending from Chakachamna Lake to Unimak Island, at the tip of the Alaska Peninsula. It includes all of the mountains of the Peninsula. It is especially notable for its large number of active volcanoes, which are also part of the...
on the mainland.
The great majority of the islands bear evident marks of volcanic origin, and there are numerous volcanic cones on the north side of the chain, some of them active; many of the islands, however, are not wholly volcanic, but contain crystalline or sedimentary rocks, and also amber and beds of lignite
Lignite
Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, or Rosebud coal by Northern Pacific Railroad,is a soft brown fuel with characteristics that put it somewhere between coal and peat...
. The coasts are rocky and surf-worn, and the approaches are exceedingly dangerous, the land rising immediately from the coasts to steep, bold mountains.
These volcanic islands reach heights of 6200 feet (1,889.8 m). Makushin Volcano
Makushin Volcano
The Makushin Volcano is an ice-covered stratovolcano located on Unalaska Island in the Aleutian Islands of the U.S. state of Alaska. With an elevation of , it's summit is the highest point on the island. Makushin is one of the most active among the 40 volcanoes of Alaska...
(5691 feet (1,734.6 m)) located on Unalaska Island, is not quite visible from within the town of Unalaska
Unalaska, Alaska
Unalaska is a city in the Aleutians West Census Area of the Unorganized Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska. Unalaska is located on Unalaska Island and neighboring Amaknak Island in the Aleutian Islands off of mainland Alaska....
, though the steam rising from its cone is visible on a (rare) clear day. Denizens of Unalaska need only to climb one of the smaller hills in the area, such as Pyramid Peak or Mt. Newhall, to get a good look at the snow-covered cone. The volcanic Bogoslof
Bogoslof Island
Bogoslof Island or Agasagook Island is the summit of a largely submarine stratovolcano located in the Bering Sea in the U.S. state of Alaska, behind the main Aleutian volcanic arc. It has a land area of and is unpopulated. The peak elevation of the island is...
and Fire Islands
Fire Island, Alaska
There are three islands named Fire Island in the U.S. state of Alaska.-In the Kashevarof Passage:One is long and located in Kashevarof Passage, off the north coast of Prince of Wales Island, at .-Bogoslof Island:...
, which rose from the sea in 1796 and 1883 respectively, lie about 30 miles (48.3 km) west of Unalaska Bay.
Climate
The climate of the islands is oceanic, with moderate and fairly uniform temperatures and heavy rainfall. Fogs are almost constant. Summer weather is much cooler than Southeast Alaska (Sitka), but the winter temperature of the islands and of the Alaska PanhandleAlaska Panhandle
Southeast Alaska, sometimes referred to as the Alaska Panhandle, is the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Alaska, which lies west of the northern half of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The majority of Southeast Alaska's area is part of the Tongass National Forest, the United...
is very nearly the same. During the winter time the islands are the center for the semi-permanent low-pressure area called Aleutian low
Aleutian low
The Aleutian Low is a semi-permanent low pressure center located near the Aleutian Islands during the winter. It is one of the main centers of action in the atmospheric circulation of the Northern Hemisphere...
.
The mean annual temperature for Unalaska, the most populated island of the group, is about 38°F (3°C), being about 30°F (−1°C) in January and about 52 °F (11 °C) in August. The highest and lowest temperatures recorded on the islands are 78°F (26°C) and 5°F (−15°C) respectively. The average annual rainfall is about 80 inches (2,032 mm), and Unalaska, with about 250 rainy days per year, is said to be one of the rainiest places within the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Flora
The growing season lasts about 135 days, from early in May until late in September, but agriculture is limited to the raising of a few vegetables. With the exception of some stunted willowWillow
Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...
s, the vast majority of the chain is destitute of native trees. On some of the islands, such as Adak
Adak Island
Adak Island is an island near the western extent of the Andreanof Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. Alaska's southernmost town, Adak, is located on the island...
and Amaknak
Amaknak Island
Amaknak Island or Umaknak Island is an islet in Unalaska Bay, northeast of Unalaska Island in the Fox Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in southwest Alaska. The Dutch Harbor area of Unalaska, Alaska is on Amaknak Island...
, there are a few coniferous
Pinophyta
The conifers, division Pinophyta, also known as division Coniferophyta or Coniferae, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. Pinophytes are gymnosperms. They are cone-bearing seed plants with vascular tissue; all extant conifers are woody plants, the great majority being...
trees growing, remnants of the Russian period. While tall trees grow in many cold climates, Aleutian conifers—some of them estimated to be two hundred years old—rarely reach a height of even 10 feet (3 m), and many of them are still less than 5 feet (1.5 m) tall. This is because the islands, much like the Falklands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
and other islands of similar latitude
Latitude
In geography, the latitude of a location on the Earth is the angular distance of that location south or north of the Equator. The latitude is an angle, and is usually measured in degrees . The equator has a latitude of 0°, the North pole has a latitude of 90° north , and the South pole has a...
s, experience such strong winds that taller trees are vulnerable to snapping off.
Instead of trees, the islands are covered with a luxuriant, dense growth of herbage and shrubs, including crowberry
Crowberry
Crowberry is a small genus of dwarf evergreen shrubs that bear edible fruit. They are commonly found in the northern hemisphere, from temperate to subarctic climates, and also in the Southern Andes of South America and on the South Atlantic islands of South Georgia, the Falklands and Tristan da...
, bluejoint, grasses
Poaceae
The Poaceae is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called grasses, although the term "grass" is also applied to plants that are not in the Poaceae lineage, including the rushes and sedges...
, sedges
Cyperaceae
Cyperaceae are a family of monocotyledonous graminoid flowering plants known as sedges, which superficially resemble grasses or rushes. The family is large, with some 5,500 species described in about 109 genera. These species are widely distributed, with the centers of diversity for the group...
, and many flowering plants. There are areas of peat bog near the coasts. Endemic plants include the endangered Aleutian Shield Fern
Polystichum aleuticum
Polystichum aleuticum, the Aleutian Shield Fern, is an endangered species of the Polystichum genus and currently consisting of a small, vulnerable population endemic and existing only on Adak Island, Alaska, a remote island of the Aleutian Islands chain in the northern Pacific Ocean...
.
Fauna
The Aleutians are home to many large colonies of seabirds, including Buldir IslandBuldir Island (Alaska)
Buldir Island is a small island in the western Aleutian Islands of the U.S. state of Alaska. It lies midway between the Near Islands in the West and the Rat Islands in the East....
, with 21 breeding seabird species, including the Bering Sea-endemic Red-legged Kittiwake
Red-legged Kittiwake
The Red-legged Kittiwake is a seabird species in the gull family Laridae. It breeds in the Pribilof, Bogoslof and Buldir islands of the USA, and the Commander Islands, Russia. Adults are long, with an wingspan and a body mass of ....
. Large seabird colonies are also present at Kiska
Kiska
Kiska is an island in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska located at . It is about long and varies in width from - Discovery :...
, Gareloi
Gareloi Island
Gareloi is a volcanic island in the Delarof Islands of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. It is located between the Tanaga Pass and the Amchitka Pass....
, Semisopochnoi
Semisopochnoi Island
Semisopochnoi Island is part of the Rat Islands group in the western Aleutian Islands of Alaska. The island is uninhabited and provides an important nesting area for maritime birds. The island is of volcanic origin, containing several volcanoes including Mount Cerberus...
, Bogoslof
Bogoslof Island
Bogoslof Island or Agasagook Island is the summit of a largely submarine stratovolcano located in the Bering Sea in the U.S. state of Alaska, behind the main Aleutian volcanic arc. It has a land area of and is unpopulated. The peak elevation of the island is...
, and others. The islands are also frequented by vagrant Asiatic birds, including Common Rosefinch
Common Rosefinch
The Common Rosefinch is the most widespread and common rosefinch of Europe, where it has spread westward from Asia in recent decades: it has even been recorded breeding in England once...
, Siberian Rubythroat
Siberian Rubythroat
The Siberian Rubythroat, Luscinia calliope, is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae...
, Bluethroat
Bluethroat
The Bluethroat is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae...
, Lanceolated Warbler
Lanceolated Warbler
The Lanceolated Warbler is an Old World warbler in the grass warbler genus Locustella. It breeds from northeast European Russia across northern Asia to northern Hokkaidō, Japan...
, and the first North American record of Intermediate Egret
Intermediate Egret
The Intermediate Egret, Median Egret, or Yellow-billed Egret is a medium-sized heron. It is a resident breeder from east Africa across tropical southern Asia to Australia. It often nests in colonies with other herons, usually on platforms of sticks in trees or shrubs...
The habitats of the Aleutians are largely unspoiled but wildlife is affected by competition from introduced species such as cattle, caribou, and fox
Fox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
es. Radioactivity is still present in the environment following the nuclear testing on Amchitka
Amchitka
Amchitka is a volcanic, tectonically unstable island in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in southwest Alaska. It is part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. The island is about long, and from wide...
in 1971. Today almost all the aleutians are protected as part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge
Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge
The Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge is a United States National Wildlife Refuge comprising 2,400 islands, headlands, rocks, islets, spires and reefs in Alaska, with a total area of , of which is wilderness)...
and the Aleutian Islands Wilderness
Aleutian Islands Wilderness
The Aleutian Islands Wilderness is a wilderness area in the Aleutian Islands of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is about in area and was designated by the United States Congress in 1980. It is part of the Aleutian Islands unit of Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge.-External links:*** by Marla...
.
Economy
On the less mountainous islands, the raising of sheepDomestic sheep
Sheep are quadrupedal, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Although the name "sheep" applies to many species in the genus Ovis, in everyday usage it almost always refers to Ovis aries...
and reindeer
Reindeer
The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...
was once believed to be practicable. There are Bison
Bison
Members of the genus Bison are large, even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Two extant and four extinct species are recognized...
on islands near Sand Point. Sheep raising seems to have died off with the advent of synthetic fibers which lowered the value of wool. During the 1980s, there were some llama
Llama
The llama is a South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since pre-Hispanic times....
being raised on Unalaska
Unalaska Island
Unalaska is an island in the Fox Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in the U.S. state of Alaska, at . The island has a land area of . The city of Unalaska, Alaska, covers part of the island and all of neighboring Amaknak Island where the Port of Dutch Harbor is located...
. Today, the economy is primarily based upon fishing
Fishing industry
The fishing industry includes any industry or activity concerned with taking, culturing, processing, preserving, storing, transporting, marketing or selling fish or fish products....
, and, to a lesser extent, the presence of American military. The only crop is potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
. Chicken
Chicken
The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
s are raised in barns under protection from cold.
Demographics
The native people refer to themselves as Unangan, and are now generally known by most non-natives as the "Aleut".The Aleut language
Aleut language
Aleut is a language of the Eskimo–Aleut language family. It is the heritage language of the Aleut people living in the Aleutian Islands, Pribilof Islands, and Commander Islands. As of 2007 there were about 150 speakers of Aleut .- Dialects :Aleut is alone with the Eskimo languages in the...
is one of the two main branches of the Eskimo–Aleut language family. This family is not known to be related to any others.
In the 2000 census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
, there was a population of 8,162 on the islands, of whom 4,283 were living in the main settlement of Unalaska
Unalaska, Alaska
Unalaska is a city in the Aleutians West Census Area of the Unorganized Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska. Unalaska is located on Unalaska Island and neighboring Amaknak Island in the Aleutian Islands off of mainland Alaska....
.
Prehistory
Because of the location of the islands, stretching like a broken bridge from Asia to America, many anthropologists believe they were a route of the first human occupants of the Americas. The earliest known evidence of human occupation in the Americas is much farther south; the early human sites in Alaska have probably been submerged by rising waters during the current interglacialInterglacial
An Interglacial period is a geological interval of warmer global average temperature lasting thousands of years that separates consecutive glacial periods within an ice age...
period.
People living in the Aleutian Islands developed fine skills in hunting, fishing, and basketry. Hunters made their weapons and watercraft. The baskets are noted for being finely woven with carefully shredded stalks of beach rye.
Russian period
Explorers, traders and missionaries arrived from RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
beginning in 1741.
In 1741 the Russian government sent Vitus Bering
Vitus Bering
Vitus Jonassen Bering Vitus Jonassen Bering Vitus Jonassen Bering (also, less correNavy]], a captain-komandor known among the Russian sailors as Ivan Ivanovich. He is noted for being the first European to discover Alaska and its Aleutian Islands...
, a Dane
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
in the service of Russia, and Aleksei Chirikov
Aleksei Chirikov
Aleksei Ilyich Chirikov was a Russian navigator and captain who along with Bering was the first Russian to reach North-West coast of North America. He discovered and charted some of the Aleutian Islands while he was deputy to Vitus Bering during the Great Northern Expedition.- Life and work :In...
, a Russian, in the ships Saint Peter and Saint Paul on a voyage of discovery in the Northern Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. After the ships were separated by a storm, Chirikov discovered several eastern islands of the Aleutian group, and Bering discovered several of the western islands, finally being wrecked and losing his life on the island of the Komandorskis (Commander Islands) that now bears his name (Bering Island
Bering Island
Bering Island is located off the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Bering Sea. At long by wide, it is the largest of the Commander Islands with the area of ....
). The survivors of Bering's party reached the Kamchatka Peninsula
Kamchatka Peninsula
The Kamchatka Peninsula is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of . It lies between the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Sea of Okhotsk to the west...
in a boat constructed from the wreckage of their ship, and reported that the islands were rich in fur-bearing animals.
Siberian fur hunters flocked to the Commander Islands and gradually moved eastward across the Aleutian Islands to the mainland. In this manner, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
gained a foothold on the northwestern coast of North America. The Aleutian Islands consequently belonged to Russia, until that country transferred
Alaska purchase
The Alaska Purchase was the acquisition of the Alaska territory by the United States from Russia in 1867 by a treaty ratified by the Senate. The purchase, made at the initiative of United States Secretary of State William H. Seward, gained of new United States territory...
all its possessions in North America to the United States in 1867.
During the consolidation of the Russian-American Company there was sporadic conflict with the native population (frequently disastrous to the poorly-armed and vastly-outnumbered Russians). The colonies soon entered a relatively stable state based on cooperation, intermarriage, and official policies that provided social status, education, and professional training to children of mixed Aleut-Russian birth. Within a generation or two the day-to-day administration of the Russian-American colonies was largely in the hands of native-born Alaskans. Reversing the usual trend in colonization where indigenous technologies are replaced, the Russians adopted the Aleut kayak, or baidarka
Baidarka
Baidarka is the Russian name used for Aleutian style sea kayak. The ancient Unangan name is Iqyax. The word has its origins from early Russian settlers in Alaska. Iqya-x builders who kept the tradition of building skin-on-skeleton boats alive in the 20th century include Sergie Sovoroff.A prominent...
, sea otter hunting techniques, and the working of native copper deposits. The Russians instituted public education, preservation of the Aleut language through transliteration of religious and other texts into Aleut via an adaptation of the Cyrillic alphabet, vaccination of the native population against smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
, and science-based sea mammal conservation policies that were far ahead of their time.
By 1760, the Russian merchant Andrian Tolstykh had made a detailed census in the vicinity of Adak
Adak Island
Adak Island is an island near the western extent of the Andreanof Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. Alaska's southernmost town, Adak, is located on the island...
and extended Russian citizenship to the Aleuts.
During his third and last voyage, in 1778, Captain James Cook
James Cook
Captain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...
surveyed the eastern portion of the Aleutian archipelago, accurately determined the position of some of the more important islands, and corrected many errors of former navigators.
Christian influences
Among the first ChristianChristianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
missionaries to arrive in the Aleutian Islands was a party of ten Russian Orthodox
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
monks and priests, who arrived in 1793. Within two years, a monk named Herman was the only survivor of that party. He settled on Spruce Island
Spruce Island (Alaska)
Spruce Island is an island in the Kodiak Archipelago of the Gulf of Alaska in the state of Alaska, USA. It lies just off the northeast corner of Kodiak Island, across the Narrow Strait...
, near Kodiak Island
Kodiak Island
Kodiak Island is a large island on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska, separated from the Alaska mainland by the Shelikof Strait. The largest island in the Kodiak Archipelago, Kodiak Island is the second largest island in the United States and the 80th largest island in the world, with an...
, and often defended the rights of the Aleuts against the Russian trading companies. He is now known in the Orthodox Church as Saint Herman of Alaska
Herman of Alaska
Saint Herman of Alaska was one of the first Eastern Orthodox missionaries to the New World, and is considered by Orthodox Christians to be the patron saint of the Americas.-Biography:Saint Herman was born in the town of Serpukhov in the Moscow Diocese around 1756...
.
Another early Christian missionary of the Russian Orthodox Church was Father Veniaminov who arrived in Unalaska
Unalaska Island
Unalaska is an island in the Fox Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in the U.S. state of Alaska, at . The island has a land area of . The city of Unalaska, Alaska, covers part of the island and all of neighboring Amaknak Island where the Port of Dutch Harbor is located...
in 1824. He was named Bishop Innokentii in 1840 and moved to Sitka. He is now known in the Orthodox Church as Saint Innocent of Alaska
Innocent of Alaska
Saint Innocent of Alaska , also known as Saint Innocent of Moscow was a Russian Orthodox priest, bishop, archbishop and Metropolitan of Moscow and all Russia. He is known for his missionary work, scholarship and leadership in Alaska and the Russian Far East during the 19th century...
.
The principal settlements were on Unalaska Island. The oldest was Iliuliuk (also called Unalaska), settled in 1760-1775, with a customs house and an Orthodox church.
U.S. possession
After the American purchase of AlaskaAlaska purchase
The Alaska Purchase was the acquisition of the Alaska territory by the United States from Russia in 1867 by a treaty ratified by the Senate. The purchase, made at the initiative of United States Secretary of State William H. Seward, gained of new United States territory...
from Russia in 1867, further development took place. New buildings included a Methodist
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
mission and orphanage, and the headquarters for a considerable fleet of United States revenue cutters
United States Revenue Cutter Service
The United States Revenue Cutter Service was established by Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton in 1790 as an armed maritime law enforcement service. Throughout its entire existence the Revenue Cutter Service operated under the authority of the United States Department of the Treasury...
which patrolled the sealing
Seal hunting
Seal hunting, or sealing, is the personal or commercial hunting of seals. The hunt is currently practiced in five countries: Canada, where most of the world's seal hunting takes place, Namibia, the Danish region of Greenland, Norway and Russia...
grounds of the Pribilof Islands
Pribilof Islands
The Pribilof Islands are a group of four volcanic islands off the coast of mainland Alaska, in the Bering Sea, about north of Unalaska and 200 miles southwest of Cape Newenham. The Siberia coast is roughly northwest...
. The first public school in Unalaska opened in 1883.
The U.S. Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
extended American citizenship to all Natives (and this law has been held to include the indigenous peoples of Alaska) in 1924.
A hospital was built in Unalaska in 1933 by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs
Bureau of Indian Affairs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is an agency of the federal government of the United States within the US Department of the Interior. It is responsible for the administration and management of of land held in trust by the United States for Native Americans in the United States, Native American...
.
World War II
During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, small parts of the Aleutian islands were occupied by Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese forces, when Attu
Attu Island
Attu is the westernmost and largest island in the Near Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, making it the westernmost point of land relative to Alaska and the United States. It was the site of the only World War II land battle fought on the incorporated territory of the United States ,...
and Kiska
Kiska
Kiska is an island in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska located at . It is about long and varies in width from - Discovery :...
were invaded in order to divert American forces away from the main Japanese attack at Midway Atoll
Midway Atoll
Midway Atoll is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, near the northwestern end of the Hawaiian archipelago, about one-third of the way between Honolulu, Hawaii, and Tokyo, Japan. Unique among the Hawaiian islands, Midway observes UTC-11 , eleven hours behind Coordinated Universal Time and one hour...
. The U.S. Navy, having broken the Japanese naval codes, knew that this was just a diversion, and it did not expend large amounts of effort in defending the islands. More than 90 Americans were taken to Japan as prisoners of war. Most of the civilian population (over 800) of the Aleutians and Pribilovians were interned by the United States in camps in the Alaska Panhandle
Alaska Panhandle
Southeast Alaska, sometimes referred to as the Alaska Panhandle, is the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Alaska, which lies west of the northern half of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The majority of Southeast Alaska's area is part of the Tongass National Forest, the United...
. During the Aleutian Islands Campaign, American and Canadian forces invaded Japanese-held Attu and defeated the Japanese, and subsequently regained control of all the islands. The islands were also a stopping point for hundreds of aircraft sent from California to Russia as part of the war effort.
Monday, June 3, 2002 was celebrated as Dutch Harbor Remembrance Day. The governor of Alaska ordered state flags lowered to half-staff to honor the 78 soldiers who died during the two-day Japanese air attack in 1942. The Aleutian World War II National Historic Area
Aleutian World War II National Historic Area
The Aleutian World War II National Historic Area is a U.S. National Historic Site on Amaknak Island in the Aleutian Island Chain of Alaska. It offers visitors a glimpse of both natural and cultural history, and traces the historic footprints of the U.S. Army Base, Fort Schwatka, located at the...
Visitors Center opened in June 2002.
Recent and miscellaneous developments
The Alaska Native Claims Settlement ActAlaska Native Claims Settlement Act
The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, commonly abbreviated ANCSA, was signed into law by President Richard M. Nixon on December 23, 1971, the largest land claims settlement in United States history. ANCSA was intended to resolve the long-standing issues surrounding aboriginal land claims in...
became law in 1971. In 1977, the Ounalashka Corporation (from Unalaska) declared a dividend
Dividend
Dividends are payments made by a corporation to its shareholder members. It is the portion of corporate profits paid out to stockholders. When a corporation earns a profit or surplus, that money can be put to two uses: it can either be re-invested in the business , or it can be distributed to...
. This was the first village corporation to declare and pay a dividend to its shareholders.
In 1906 a new volcanic cone rose between the islets of Bogoslof and Grewingk, near Unalaska, followed by another in 1907. These cones were nearly demolished by an explosive eruption on September 1, 1907.
Nuclear Testing on Amchitka
The United States Department of EnergyUnited States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
(DOE) conducted underground tests
Underground nuclear testing
Underground nuclear testing refers to test detonations of nuclear weapons that are performed underground. When the device being tested is buried at sufficient depth, the explosion may be contained, with no release of radioactive materials to the atmosphere....
of nuclear weapon
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
s on Amchitka Island
Amchitka
Amchitka is a volcanic, tectonically unstable island in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in southwest Alaska. It is part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. The island is about long, and from wide...
from 1965 to 1971 as part of the Vela Uniform
Vela Uniform
Vela Uniform was an element of Project Vela conducted jointly by the United States Department of Energy and the Advanced Research Projects Agency...
program. The final detonation, the Cannikin, was the largest underground nuclear explosion
Nuclear explosion
A nuclear explosion occurs as a result of the rapid release of energy from an intentionally high-speed nuclear reaction. The driving reaction may be nuclear fission, nuclear fusion or a multistage cascading combination of the two, though to date all fusion based weapons have used a fission device...
by the United States.
See also
- 1946 Aleutian Islands earthquake
- Aleutian Islands Campaign
- Aleutians East Borough, AlaskaAleutians East Borough, Alaska- See also :*List of airports in the Aleutians East Borough*National Register of Historic Places listings in Aleutians East Borough, Alaska-External links:*-References:...
- Aleutians West Census Area, AlaskaAleutians West Census Area, AlaskaAleutians West Census Area is a census area located in the U.S. state of Alaska. It contains most of the Aleutian Islands, from Attu Island in the west to Unalaska Island in the east, as well as the Pribilof Islands, which lie north of the Aleutians in the Bering Sea. As of 2010, the population is...
- List of Aleutian Island volcanoes
- List of Aleutian Islands
- List of birds of Aleutian Islands
- Maritime Fur TradeMaritime Fur TradeThe Maritime Fur Trade was a ship-based fur trade system that focused on acquiring furs of sea otters and other animals from the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast and natives of Alaska. The furs were mostly sold in China in exchange for tea, silks, porcelain, and other Chinese...
- Military history of the Aleutian IslandsMilitary history of the Aleutian IslandsThe military history of the Aleutian Islands began almost immediately following the purchase of Alaska by the United States. Prior to the early 20th century, the Aleutian Islands were essentially ignored by the military of the United States, although the islands played a small role in the Bering...
- Peter the AleutPeter the AleutCungagnaq is venerated as a martyr and saint by some jurisdictions of the Eastern Orthodox Church. He was allegedly a native of Kodiak Island , and is said to have received the Christian name of Peter when he was baptized into the Orthodox faith by the monks of St...
Western Aleutian Islands, from a 1916 map of the Alaska Territory