Duke Island
Encyclopedia
Duke Island is an island in the Gravina Islands
of the Alexander Archipelago
in the southeastern part of the U.S. state
of Alaska
. The island is just north of the Canadian border. It is 19 km (12 miles) long and 13 km (8.1 mi) wide. It hosts an Alaskan-type ultramafic complex which is currently being explored for magmatic sulfide Cu-Ni-PGE deposits
The original name for the island, in the Tlingit language is: Yeixhi (building (verb), referring to it looking like something under construction when viewed from the waters around it.
The island was named by William Healy Dall in 1879. He probably took the name from the island's southern cape, which George Vancouver
had named in 1793 after the Duke of Northumberland.
Gravina Islands
The Gravina Islands are part of the Alexander Archipelago in southeast Alaska. They are bounded by the Clarence Strait on the west and the Revillagigedo Channel on the east....
of the Alexander Archipelago
Alexander Archipelago
The Alexander Archipelago is a long archipelago, or group of islands, of North America off the southeastern coast of Alaska. It contains about 1,100 islands, which are the tops of the submerged coastal mountains that rise steeply from the Pacific Ocean. Deep channels and fjords separate the...
in the southeastern part of the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
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...
. The island is just north of the Canadian border. It is 19 km (12 miles) long and 13 km (8.1 mi) wide. It hosts an Alaskan-type ultramafic complex which is currently being explored for magmatic sulfide Cu-Ni-PGE deposits
The original name for the island, in the Tlingit language is: Yeixhi (building (verb), referring to it looking like something under construction when viewed from the waters around it.
The island was named by William Healy Dall in 1879. He probably took the name from the island's southern cape, which George Vancouver
George Vancouver
Captain George Vancouver RN was an English officer of the British Royal Navy, best known for his 1791-95 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of contemporary Alaska, British Columbia, Washington and Oregon...
had named in 1793 after the Duke of Northumberland.