Sledge Island
Encyclopedia
Sledge Island, or Ayak Island, is a small island in the Bering Sea
. It is located 5.3 miles (8.5 km) from the southwestern shore of the Seward Peninsula
, off the shores of Alaska
.
Sledge island is of volcanic origin and is only 1.6 miles (2.6 km) across. The highest point is 36 feet (11 m). Administratively this island belongs to the Nome Census Area, Alaska
.
This island was named on August 5, 1778, by Captain James Cook
(1785, v. 2, p. 441), RN, who commented: "We found, a little way from the shore where we landed, a sledge, which occasioned this name being given to the island." Martin Sauer, the secretary of the 1791 Russia
n expedition who sailed under orders from Catherine II of Russia
, claimed in 1802 that the Inuit
name of this island is "Ayak."
Captain Frederick Beechey (1831, p. 291-292), RN, observed: "It is singular that this island, which was named Sledge Island by Captain Cook, from the circumstances of one of these implements being found upon it, should be called by a word signifying the same thing in Esquimaux language."
The island is part of the Bering Sea unit of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge
.
Bering Sea
The Bering Sea is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It comprises a deep water basin, which then rises through a narrow slope into the shallower water above the continental shelves....
. It is located 5.3 miles (8.5 km) from the southwestern shore of the Seward Peninsula
Seward Peninsula
The Seward Peninsula is a large peninsula on the western coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. It projects about into the Bering Sea between Norton Sound, the Bering Strait, the Chukchi Sea, and Kotzebue Sound, just below the Arctic Circle...
, off the shores of Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
.
Sledge island is of volcanic origin and is only 1.6 miles (2.6 km) across. The highest point is 36 feet (11 m). Administratively this island belongs to the Nome Census Area, Alaska
Nome Census Area, Alaska
Nome Census Area is a census area located in the state of Alaska, United States. As of the 2000 census, the population was 9,196. It is part of the unorganized borough and therefore has no borough seat. Its largest community by far is the city of Nome....
.
This island was named on August 5, 1778, by Captain James Cook
James Cook
Captain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...
(1785, v. 2, p. 441), RN, who commented: "We found, a little way from the shore where we landed, a sledge, which occasioned this name being given to the island." Martin Sauer, the secretary of the 1791 Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n expedition who sailed under orders from Catherine II of Russia
Catherine II of Russia
Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great , Empress of Russia, was born in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia on as Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg...
, claimed in 1802 that the Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
name of this island is "Ayak."
Captain Frederick Beechey (1831, p. 291-292), RN, observed: "It is singular that this island, which was named Sledge Island by Captain Cook, from the circumstances of one of these implements being found upon it, should be called by a word signifying the same thing in Esquimaux language."
The island is part of the Bering Sea unit of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge
Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge
The Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge 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 which is wilderness)...
.
