Kayak Island, ( Eyak: ''Qe'yiłteh'') which includes the Bering Expedition Landing Site, is located in the

Gulf of Alaska The Gulf of Alaska (Tlingit: ''Yéil T'ooch’'') is an arm of the Pacific Ocean defined by the curve of the southern coast of Alaska, stretching from the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island in the west to the Alexander Archipelago in the east ...

, SE of

Cordova, Alaska Cordova ( ) is a city in Chugach Census Area, Alaska, United States. It lies near the mouth of the Copper River, at the head of Orca Inlet on the east side of Prince William Sound. The population was 2,609 at the 2020 census, up from 2,239 in ...

Malaspina Coastal Plain, on the eastern edge of Chugach National Forest. It has a land area of and no population. A brief visit by the Bering Expedition's German naturalist George Steller is among the first contributions to the West's knowledge of the natural and human history of the region. The island was named " Kayak" in 1826 by Lt. Sarychev of the Russian Navy, because of the fancied resemblance of its outline to the Eskimo skin canoe. Captain James Cook visited the island on May 12, 1778, and buried a bottle with a paper and two small pieces of silver given to him by Dr. Richard Kaye, the chaplain of

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

, for this purpose. Because of this, Capt. Cook gave the name this feature. The 1779 expedition of Spanish explorer Ignacio de Arteaga y Bazán sighted the island about July 16, the feast day of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel (or Carmen), and so named it "Nuestra Senora del Carmen" or "Isla del Carmen." The Bering Expedition Landing Site was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1978. and

Cape Saint Elias Cape Saint Elias is a cape in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located at the southwest end of Kayak Island, 104 km (65 mi) southeast of Cordova, at . It is commonly believed that Mount Saint Elias, the second highest mountain in the Un ...

is located on the southwest end of the island.

Mount Saint Elias Mount Saint Elias (also designated Boundary Peak 186), the second-highest mountain in both Canada and the United States, stands on the Yukon and Alaska border about southwest of Mount Logan, the highest mountain in Canada. The Canadian side of ...

— about 115 miles to the ENE, and at 18,009 feet (5,489 m) the second highest mountain in both the United States and Canada — was likely named after this cape. The cape is also the site of Alaska's first confirmed tornado, which caused minor damage to the area on November 4, 1959. It was the 50th and last state to confirm their first tornado since 1950. The Cape St. Elias Light is an important aid-to-navigation located on the island.

References

External links

Kayak Island: Block 1191, Census Tract 2, Valdez-Cordova Census Area, Alaska
United States Census Bureau
Amateur Radio Expedition Kayak Island NL6/VE7ACN
{{Authority control Islands of Alaska Islands of Chugach Census Area, Alaska Islands of Unorganized Borough, Alaska

See also

References

External links