Besboro Island ( Inupiaq: ''Qikiqtaq'') is a small island in the

Norton Sound Norton Sound (russian: Нортон-Саунд) is an inlet of the Bering Sea on the western coast of the U.S. state of Alaska, south of the Seward Peninsula. It is about 240 km (150 mi) long and 200 km (125 mi) wide. The Yukon ...

, Bering Sea, off the shores 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. ...

. It is located west of the mainland and southwest of Christmas Mountain, Nulato Hills. Besboro island stretches from north to south and is only 2 miles in length and a half mile across at its widest. It is, however, very craggy, rising up to a height of . Administratively, this island belongs to the

Nome Census Area, Alaska Nome Census Area is a census area located in the U.S. state of Alaska, mostly overlapping with the Seward Peninsula. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,046, up from 9,492 in 2010. It is part of the unorganized borough and therefore ...

. It is owned by the Unalakleet Native Corporation (90%) and the Shaktoolik Native Corporation (10%). It is used by the locals for subsistence and recreational activities and by deep water vessels for safe harbor in stormy weather. The tidal sand spit that stretches off the northeast corner is a haul out area for seal. This island was named on September 12, 1778, by Captain James Cook(1785, v. 2, p. 479), RN, who published it as "Besborough Island." It is part of the Bering Sea unit 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 whi ...

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Birdlife

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Islands of the Bering Sea Islands of Alaska Islands of Nome Census Area, Alaska Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Protected areas of Nome Census Area, Alaska Islands of Unorganized Borough, Alaska {{NomeAK-geo-stub