St. George Island (Alaska)

St. George Island (Russian: Остров Святого Георгия) is one of the Pribilof Islands of the state of Alaska, United States, in the Bering Sea off the western coast of the state. The island has a land area of 90 km² (35 sq mi) and a population of about 100 people, all living in its only community, the city of St. George, which encompasses the entire island.

Location in Alaska
The wreck of the crab-fishing vessel All American shipwreck on St. George Island in 1996. She ran aground there without loss of life on February 29, 1996.[1]

The island was discovered by Gavriil Pribylov on June 25, 1786, during a search for the breeding grounds of northern fur seals. The island is named after Pribylov's ship, the St. George. St. George Island was the first of the Pribilofs to be discovered.[2]

The island is notable as being the breeding site of over 75% of the known population of red-legged kittiwakes.[3]

In 2016, a new species of beaked whale, Berardius beringiae, was discovered near the island.[4]

St. George Island is considered part of the Bering Sea Volcanic Province.[5]

The sole church on the island is St. George Church, an Eastern Orthodox Church in the Diocese of Alaska of the Orthodox Church in America.

References
  1. alaskashipwreck.com Alaska Shipwrecks (A)
  2. "Pribilof Islands Restoration Project Historical Overview". NOAA. November 10, 2005. Retrieved January 22, 2009.
  3. Byrd, G. V.; Williams, J. C. (1993). "Red-legged Kittiwake". Birds of North America Online. Retrieved 2018-08-26.
  4. Rosen, Yereth (July 27, 2016). "New and rare whale species identified from carcass found in Pribilofs". Alaska Dispatch News. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  5. The 40Ar/39Ar chronology and eruption rates of Cenozoic volcanism in the eastern Bering Sea Volcanic Province, Alaska


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