Puffin Island ( Iñupiaq: ''Aġviat'') is a rocky islet in the

Kotzebue Sound Kotzebue Sound (russian: Залив Коцебу) is an arm of the Chukchi Sea in the western region of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is on the north side of the Seward Peninsula and bounded on the east by the Baldwin Peninsula. It is long and wi ...

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 off Spafarief Bay at the mouth of Eschscholtz Bay, just south of the Choris Peninsula, in the

Northwest Arctic Borough Northwest Arctic Borough is a borough located in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,793, up from 7,523 in 2010. The borough seat is Kotzebue. The borough was formed on June 2, 1986. Geography According to t ...

at . This island is located NW of

Chamisso Island Chamisso Island is a small island in Kotzebue Sound, Alaska. It is located off Spafarief Bay at the mouth of Eschscholtz Bay, just south of the Choris Peninsula. The island is roughly triangular. It is long and an wide. The highest point on ...

, . SW of Selawik, Kotzebue-Kobuk Low. Puffin Island is a steep rock and, though much smaller than Chamisso Island, it has many more nesting birds on its surface, especially horned puffins. Both islands are part of the Chamisso Wilderness in the Chukchi 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 ...

. This island was named in 1826 by Captain

Frederick William Beechey Frederick William Beechey (17 February 1796 – 29 November 1856) was an English naval officer, artist, explorer, hydrographer and writer. Life and career He was the son of two painters, Sir William Beechey, RA and his second wife, Anne ...

(1831, p. 255), RN. He wrote, ''"Detached from Chamisso there is a steep rock which by way of distinction we named Puffin Island."'' Puffin Island has been a Natural Reserve since December 7, 1912. The protected area (Chamisso Wilderness) includes Chamisso Island and Puffin Island, as well as some rocky islets nearby.Roosevelt, Theodore. 1916. A Book-Lover's Holidays in the Open: Appendix B
/ref>

References

External links

GNIS listing
Islands of Alaska Seabird colonies Islands of Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska Islands of the Chukchi Sea Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Protected areas of Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska {{NorthwestArcticAK-geo-stub

See also

References

External links