Andreanof Islands

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Andreanof Islands
Map of the Andreanof Islands
Map of the Andreanof Islands
Waters Pacific Ocean
archipelago Aleutian Islands
Geographical location 52 ° 0 ′  N , 175 ° 30 ′  W Coordinates: 52 ° 0 ′  N , 175 ° 30 ′  W
Andreanof Islands (Alaska)
Andreanof Islands
Number of islands <80
Main island Adak Island
Total land area 3,924.737 km²
Residents 412 (2000)

The Andreanof Islands are a group of islands in the Aleutian Islands in southwest Alaska ( USA ). They lie between the Rat Islands in the west and the Islands of Four Mountains in the east. Earthquakes with a strength of more than 5 on the Richter scale are more common on the islands .

geography

The east-west extension of the islands is 440 km. The total land area of ​​all islands, including the group of Delarof Islands , is 3925 km². According to the 2000 census, 412 people live on the islands, the majority of them in Adak on Adak Island .

The Delarof Islands , a subgroup of the Andreanof Islands, form their westernmost part.

The largest islands of the Andreanof Islands are, from west to east, Gareloi Island , Tanaga Island , Kanaga Island , Adak Island , Kagalaska Island , Great Sitkin Island , Atka Island , Amlia Island and Seguam Island . The islands are mostly foggy and treeless due to the constant wind.

history

The group was named in 1761 after the Russian navigator Andreian Tolstyk, one of the first explorers of the islands. They were of great strategic importance in World War II , so several US military bases were established there. These were expanded after the war, but closed in 1995.

earthquake

On March 9, 1957 at 14:22:31 UTC an earthquake with a magnitude of 8.6 on the Richter scale occurred here . The strength used to be given as 9.1, so this value can be found in many older statistics. This great quake destroyed two bridges on Adak Island, damaged houses, and left a four-foot-wide crevice on a road. On Umnak Island, part of a dock was destroyed and Mount Vsevidof erupted after a 200-year slumber. There was also a 15 m high tsunami that hit the coastline at Scotch Cap and an 8 m high tsunami that washed away many buildings at Sand Bay . This tsunami continued to Hawaii, where it destroyed two villages on Oahu and Kauai . The tsunami also caused minor damage to California's San Diego Bay .

More than 300 aftershocks have been reported from the southern part of the Aleutian Islands from Unimak Island to the Amchitka Pass , a strait between Andreanof and Rat Islands . Among them on March 12th at 11:45 UTC an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 on the Richter scale, which was felt on Adak Island and Umnak . An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1 occurred on March 14 at 14:48 UTC and one with a magnitude of 7.0 on March 16 at 02:34 UTC, both of which were felt on Adak Island.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Earthquake of March 9, 1957 ( Memento of April 11, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ Earthquake of March 12, 1957 ( Memento of April 7, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ↑ Earthquake of March 14, 1957 ( Memento of April 9, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  4. ↑ Earthquake of March 16, 1957 ( Memento of October 10, 2006 in the Internet Archive )

Web links

Commons : Andreanof Islands  - Collection of images, videos and audio files