Point Whitshed (previously Witshed, Whitshet, and Punta de Orevilla) is a
peninsula
A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...
of
Prince William Sound
Prince William Sound (Sugpiaq: ''Suungaaciq'') is a sound of the Gulf of Alaska on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located on the east side of the Kenai Peninsula. Its largest port is Valdez, at the southern terminus of the Tr ...
near
Cordova in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
.
Geography
Whitshed is a low, wooded peninsula, presenting a cragged appearance to the sea, and reaching within about five miles of Point Bentinck. This intermediate five miles has been described by
Johnstone
Johnstone ( sco, Johnstoun,
as "a low, uninterrupted, barren sand as far as the eye could reach." It is an extensive flat of bluish yellow mud, covered with water during stormy days at flood tide; but at low tide no water is present. From Point Whitshed to the southward and eastward, there is a long line of piled ice, with dwarf trees marking the channel of
Eyak River
The Eyak (Eyak: ʔi·ya·ɢdəlahɢəyu·, literally "inhabitants of Eyak Village at Mile 6"Krauss, Michael E. 1970. ''Eyak dictionary''. University of Alaska and Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1963-1970) are a Native American indigenous ...
, extending out into the flats.
History
Situated west of the mouth of the
Copper River Copper River may refer to several places:
*Copper River (Alaska), in the United States
* Copper River (British Columbia), a tributary of the Skeena River
The Skeena River is the second-longest river entirely within British Columbia, Canada (afte ...
was named Witshed by
George Vancouver
Captain George Vancouver (22 June 1757 – 10 May 1798) was a British Royal Navy officer best known for his 1791–1795 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of what a ...
in 1794 after Captain Witshed, R. N. It appears in the text of the original 4th edition of Vancouver's voyage, but in the accompanying atlas and in the text of the 8th edition of 1801, it is called Whitshed after Captain
Whitshed. Whitshed appears to be in general use by the early 20th century. It has been erroneously printed Whitshet. The Spaniards in 1779 called it Punta de Orevilla. Fish camps were seasonally occupied by
Eyak people
The Eyak (Eyak: ʔi·ya·ɢdəlahɢəyu·, literally "inhabitants of Eyak Village at Mile 6"Krauss, Michael E. 1970. ''Eyak dictionary''. University of Alaska and Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1963-1970) are a Native American indigenous ...
at Point Whished.
References
Bibliography
*
*
Attribution
*
*
Peninsulas of Alaska
Landforms of Chugach Census Area, Alaska
{{Coord, 60.4478, -145.8828, display=title