Buldir Island

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Buldir Island
Aerial view of Buldir Island
Aerial view of Buldir Island
Waters Pacific Ocean
Archipelago Aleutian Islands
Geographical location 52 ° 21 ′ 0 ″  N , 175 ° 56 ′ 0 ″  E Coordinates: 52 ° 21 ′ 0 ″  N , 175 ° 56 ′ 0 ″  E
Buldir Island (Alaska)
Buldir Island
length 7 km
width 4 km
surface 19.291 km²
Highest elevation Buldir volcano
656  m
Residents uninhabited
Map of the West Aleutian Islands / 6 - Buldir Island
Map of the West Aleutian Islands / 6 - Buldir Island

Buldir Island (also Buldyr Island ) is a small island in the western Aleutian Islands in the US state of Alaska . It lies in the middle between the Near Islands in the west and the Rat Islands in the east.

geography

The now uninhabited island (as of 2000) has an area of ​​19.291 km² with a maximum length of 7 km and a maximum width of 4 km. The two volcanoes on the island are the 656 m high Buldir volcano , which occupies most of the island, and the East Cape volcano in the northeast of the island. The coastline often consists of steep cliffs.

history

Excavations show that the island was inhabited several times in earlier times, interrupted by longer uninhabited periods. Well-preserved bones have been found from Steller's manatee , which became extinct in 1768 . Prior to this discovery, there have been no archaeological finds of this manatee outside of the Commander Islands. In addition, a unique house construction made of whale bones was found, one of the few Unangan houses that have been excavated .

Bird colony

The island is home to 21 species of breeding seabirds, making it the most diverse seabird colony in the northern hemisphere , each made up of crested lalk , pygmy lalk , bearded lark , puffin , petrel and other species. The formerly endangered Aleutian pygmy Canada goose (Branta hutchinsii leucopareia) only breeds on the fox-free Buldir and on Chagulak Island . In 1962 there were still 56 animals on Buldir. In 2001 the population recovered to 37,000 animals.

Web links

Commons : Buldir Island  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files