Puffin Island (Alaska)

For other uses, see Puffin Island.
Puffin
Native name: <span class="nickname" ">(?)
Geography
Location Arctic
Coordinates 66°13′40″N 161°51′31″W / 66.22778°N 161.85861°W / 66.22778; -161.85861
Country
United States
State Alaska
Demographics
Population 0

Puffin Island is a rocky islet in the Kotzebue Sound, Alaska. It is located off Spafarief Bay at the mouth of Eschscholtz Bay, just south of the Choris Peninsula, in the Northwest Arctic Borough at 66°13′40″N 161°51′31″W / 66.22778°N 161.85861°W / 66.22778; -161.85861.

This island is located 3.3 km (2.1 mi) NW of Chamisso Island, 58 mi (93 km) . 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.[1]

This island was named in 1826 by Captain Frederick William Beechey (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.[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Chukchi Sea Unit, AMNWR U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
  2. ↑ Roosevelt, Theodore. 1916. A Book-Lover's Holidays in the Open: Appendix B

External links


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