Unimak Island ( ale, Unimax, russian: Унимак) is the largest

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

in the

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a cha ...

chain of 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 ...

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

It is the easternmost island in the Aleutians and, with an area of , the ninth largest island in the United States and the 134th largest island in the world. It is home to

Mount Shishaldin Shishaldin Volcano, or Mount Shishaldin (), is a moderately active volcano on Unimak Island in the Aleutian Islands chain of Alaska in the United States.

, one of the ten most active

volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are ...

es in the world. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, there were 64 people living on Unimak as of the 2000 census, all of them in the city of False Pass at the eastern end of the island. Cape Lutke is a headland on the island.

Cape Pankof Cape Pankof (also spelled Pan'kov and Pankov) and Pankov Rock are located on Unimak Island in the Aleutian Islands in the U.S. state of Alaska, at and respectively. They were named by Russian explorer Gavril Sarychev after the Aleut The Aleu ...

is located at the extreme southwest of the island. The

Fisher Caldera Fisher Caldera, also known as Mount Fisher and Fisher Volcano, is a large volcanic caldera, measuring about by , located on Unimak Island in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. Formed by the destructive eruption of an andesitic stratovolcano about 9,1 ...

is a

volcanic crater A volcanic crater is an approximately circular depression in the ground caused by Volcano, volcanic activity. It is typically a bowl-shaped feature containing one or more vents. During Types of volcanic eruptions, volcanic eruptions, molten magm ...

in the west-central part of Unimak. Some characteristics include many

volcanic cone Volcanic cones are among the simplest volcanic landforms. They are built by ejecta from a volcanic vent, piling up around the vent in the shape of a cone with a central crater. Volcanic cones are of different types, depending upon the nature and ...

s and undrained

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

s. It is named for Bernard Fisher, a

U.S. Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and ...

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

who was killed in

Umnak Pass Umnak Pass is a strait between the Bering Sea and the North Pacific Ocean in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. It lies between Unalaska Island to the northeast and Umnak Island Umnak ( ale, Unmax, Umnax; russian: Умнак) is one of the Fox Isl ...

Mount Westdahl Westdahl Peak, also known as Westdahl Volcano or Mount Westdahl, is a stratovolcano of the Aleutian Range, in the U.S. state of Alaska. The volcano last erupted from November 29, 1991 to January 15, 1992.

, in elevation, is a

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and per ...

of the

Aleutian Range The Aleutian Range is a major mountain range located in southwest Alaska. It extends from Chakachamna Lake (80 miles/130 km southwest of Anchorage) to Unimak Island, which is at the tip of the Alaska Peninsula. It includes all of the mountain ...

on the island situated at its western end.

Natural history

When the

Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) is a United States federal law signed by President Jimmy Carter on December 2, 1980. ANILCA provided varying degrees of special protection to over of land, including national parks, na ...

was passed on 2 December 1980, of the island was designated as wilderness. This area is managed by the

United States Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...

as part of the

Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge The Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge (often shortened to Alaska Maritime or AMNWR) 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 whic ...

. As a

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...

l extension of the

Alaska Peninsula The Alaska Peninsula (also called Aleut Peninsula or Aleutian Peninsula, ale, Alasxix̂; Sugpiaq: ''Aluuwiq'', ''Al'uwiq'') is a peninsula extending about to the southwest from the mainland of Alaska and ending in the Aleutian Islands. The ...

, Unimak has a relatively diverse assemblage of terrestrial mammals, including

Alaska Peninsula brown bear The Alaska Peninsula brown bear or "peninsular grizzly" is a colloquial nomenclature for a brown bear that lives in the coastal regions of southern Alaska. It is a population of the mainland grizzly bear subspecies (''Ursus arctos horribilis''). ...

s and

porcupine caribou The Porcupine caribou ''(Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus'') is a herd or ecotype of barren-ground caribou, the subspecies of the reindeer or caribou found in Alaska, United States, and Yukon and the Northwest Territories, Canada. A recent revisio ...

. West of Unimak Island, the largest native mammal in the Aleutians is the

red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe ...

Buildings

Scotch Cap Light The Scotch Cap Light is a series of lighthouses located on the southwest corner of Unimak Island in Alaska. It was the first station established on the outside coast of Alaska. History In 1903, the Scotch Cap Light was built. The original lightho ...

house was built in 1903 and was staffed by the US Coast Guard. On April 1, 1946, during the

1946 Aleutian Islands earthquake The 1946 Aleutian Islands earthquake occurred near the Aleutian Islands, Alaska on April 1, 1946. The shock had a moment magnitude () of 8.6, a tsunami magnitude of 9.3, and a surface-wave magnitude () of only 7.4, and a maximum Mercalli inten ...

, the lighthouse was struck by a

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...

. Even though the lighthouse was above the sea, the lighthouse slid into the sea, killing five Coast Guard personnel.DrGeorgePC website with photos
/ref> The Cape Sarichef Lighthouse and the

Cape Sarichef Airport Cape Sarichef Airport was a small landing strip located on the western end of Unimak Island in the Aleutian Islands of the U.S. state of Alaska. It was used to supply and support a United States Coast Guard LORAN station and U.S. Air Force DEW L ...

are also located on the island. Unimak Volcanoes

References

External links

{{authority control Fox Islands (Alaska) Islands of Aleutians East Borough, Alaska Islands of Alaska

Geography

Natural history

Buildings

See also

References

Further reading

External links