ABC Islands (Alaska)

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ABC islands
Overview map
Overview map
Waters Pacific Ocean
archipelago Alexander Archipelago
Geographical location 56 ° 59 ′  N , 134 ° 58 ′  W Coordinates: 56 ° 59 ′  N , 134 ° 58 ′  W
ABC Islands (Alaska) (Alaska)
ABC Islands (Alaska)
Number of islands 3
Main island Baranof Island
Total land area 13,334 km²
Residents 10,524 (2000)
Windfall Harbor, Admiralty Island
Windfall Harbor, Admiralty Island

The ABC Islands are a collective term for the islands of Admiralty Island , Baranof Island and Chichagof Island in the northwest of the Alexander Archipelago , which in turn is located in southeast Alaska . There is little industry and little human settlement on these islands.

Most of the islands are nature reserves, Admiralty Island is almost completely designated as a National Monument . There is a significant population of brown bears on the islands . Analyzes showed that the brown bear population of the ABC islands has a high genetic proportion of polar bears . Since all polar bears are descended from brown bears, but the genetic relationships in this case indicate a transfer in the opposite direction, an unusual genetic drift seems to have occurred in this region in recent periods.

Individual evidence

  1. »www.laender-center.de«
  2. James A. Cahill, Richard E. Green et al .: Genomic Evidence for Island Population Conversion Resolves Conflicting Theories of Polar Bear Evolution. In: PLOS Genetics, 9 (3): e1003345. doi : 10.1371 / journal.pgen.1003345