Buldir Island is a small island in the western Aleutian Islands of the U.S. state 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...

. It lies midway between the Near Islands

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...

 in the West and the Rat Islands

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 ....

 in the East.

The island is small, with an area of just 7.4482 square miles (19.3 km²). It is 4.3 miles (6.9 km) long and 2.5 miles (4 km) wide. There was no human population reported by the 2000 census

United States Census, 2000

The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...

. The two major volcano

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...

es on the island are the Buldir Volcano

Buldir Volcano

The Buldir Volcano is an inactive stratovolcano located in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, once described as "the westernmost volcanic center of the present Pleistocene to Recent Aleutian volcanic front." It shares its island of residence with a younger stratovolcano entitled East Cape.- Discovery...

, which forms most of the island, and the East Cape Volcano, which forms the island's northeast section. Buldir Volcano is the taller, reaching 2152 feet (655.9 m) in height, the highest point on the island. The coastlines along the island are often tall steep cliff

Cliff

In geography and geology, a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliffs are formed as erosion landforms due to the processes of erosion and weathering that produce them. Cliffs are common on coasts, in mountainous areas, escarpments and along rivers. Cliffs are usually...

s.

The island is home to 21 species of breeding seabird

Seabird

Seabirds are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations...

s, making it the most diverse seabird colony in the Northern Hemisphere

Northern Hemisphere

The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...

. The island's colonies include Crested Auklet

Crested Auklet

The Crested Auklet is a small seabird of the family Alcidae which nests in huge colonies in the Bering Sea and Sea of Okhotsk. They often breed in mixed-species colonies with Least Auklets, their smaller congener.The Crested Auklet can measure in length, in wingspan and weigh...

s and Least Auklet

Least Auklet

The Least Auklet, Aethia pusilla, is a seabird and the smallest species of auk. It is the most abundant seabird in North America, and one of the most abundant in the world, with a population of around nine million birds. They breed on the islands of Alaska and Siberia, and spend the winter close to...

s, as well as puffin

Puffin

Puffins are any of three small species of auk in the bird genus Fratercula with a brightly coloured beak during the breeding season. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crevices among...

s, storm-petrel

Storm-petrel

Storm petrels are seabirds in the family Hydrobatidae, part of the order Procellariiformes. These smallest of seabirds feed on planktonic crustaceans and small fish picked from the surface, typically while hovering. The flight is fluttering and sometimes bat-like.Storm petrels have a cosmopolitan...

s and other species. It is one of only four locations in the world where 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 ....

s breed.