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St. Matthew Island
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St. Matthew Island
St. Matthew Island (Russian: Остров Святого Матвея, romanized: Ostrov Svyatogo Matveya) is an uninhabited, remote island in the Bering Sea in Alaska, 183 miles (295 km) west-northwest of Nunivak Island. The entire island's natural scenery and wildlife is protected as it is part of the Bering Sea unit of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge and as the Bering Sea Wilderness.
The island has a land area of 137.857 sq mi (357.05 km2), making it the 44th largest island in the United States. Its most southerly point is Cape Upright which features cliff faces which exceed 1,000 feet (300 m). Similar heights are found at Glory of Russia Cape on the north, and the highest point, 1,476 feet (450 m) above sea level, lies south from the island center.
There is a small island off its northwestern point called Hall Island. The 3.1 miles (5.0 km) wide sound between the two islands is called Sarichef Strait. A small rocky islet called Pinnacle Rock lies 9.3 miles (15.0 km) to the south of Saint Matthew Island.
The United States Coast Guard maintained a staffed LORAN station on the island during the 1940s.
The climatic conditions in the entire Bering Sea Area, according to National Climatic Data Center (1986), is reported as maritime with "considerable wind and cool, humid and cloudy conditions" with mean annual temperature of 37.8 °F (3.2 °C) and annual precipitation of 15.3 in (390 mm) on St. Matthew Island. The geological formation recorded on St. Matthew Island consists of calc-alkaline volcanic rocks of Late Cretaceous and earliest tertiary age with Pergelic Cryaquolls and Pergelic Cryoborolls soil types.
The first recorded attempt at settlement occurred in 1809, when a Russian group led by Demid Ilyich Kulikalov, under the aegis of the Russian-American Company, established an experimental outpost.
A 2013 sailing expedition to the island showed that, in spite of the lack of human habitation, extensive areas of beach were heavily contaminated with plastic marine debris, particularly from the fishing industry.
Presently, Arctic foxes and insular voles are the only mammals resident on the island, though polar bears occasionally visit via pack ice. Notably, St. Matthew Island represents the southern limit of the range of polar bears in the Bering Sea.
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St. Matthew Island
St. Matthew Island (Russian: Остров Святого Матвея, romanized: Ostrov Svyatogo Matveya) is an uninhabited, remote island in the Bering Sea in Alaska, 183 miles (295 km) west-northwest of Nunivak Island. The entire island's natural scenery and wildlife is protected as it is part of the Bering Sea unit of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge and as the Bering Sea Wilderness.
The island has a land area of 137.857 sq mi (357.05 km2), making it the 44th largest island in the United States. Its most southerly point is Cape Upright which features cliff faces which exceed 1,000 feet (300 m). Similar heights are found at Glory of Russia Cape on the north, and the highest point, 1,476 feet (450 m) above sea level, lies south from the island center.
There is a small island off its northwestern point called Hall Island. The 3.1 miles (5.0 km) wide sound between the two islands is called Sarichef Strait. A small rocky islet called Pinnacle Rock lies 9.3 miles (15.0 km) to the south of Saint Matthew Island.
The United States Coast Guard maintained a staffed LORAN station on the island during the 1940s.
The climatic conditions in the entire Bering Sea Area, according to National Climatic Data Center (1986), is reported as maritime with "considerable wind and cool, humid and cloudy conditions" with mean annual temperature of 37.8 °F (3.2 °C) and annual precipitation of 15.3 in (390 mm) on St. Matthew Island. The geological formation recorded on St. Matthew Island consists of calc-alkaline volcanic rocks of Late Cretaceous and earliest tertiary age with Pergelic Cryaquolls and Pergelic Cryoborolls soil types.
The first recorded attempt at settlement occurred in 1809, when a Russian group led by Demid Ilyich Kulikalov, under the aegis of the Russian-American Company, established an experimental outpost.
A 2013 sailing expedition to the island showed that, in spite of the lack of human habitation, extensive areas of beach were heavily contaminated with plastic marine debris, particularly from the fishing industry.
Presently, Arctic foxes and insular voles are the only mammals resident on the island, though polar bears occasionally visit via pack ice. Notably, St. Matthew Island represents the southern limit of the range of polar bears in the Bering Sea.
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