Kayak Island
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Bering Expedition Landing Site
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| Location | Katalla, Alaska |
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| Coordinates | 59°56′03″N 144°22′06″W / 59.93417°N 144.36833°WCoordinates: 59°56′03″N 144°22′06″W / 59.93417°N 144.36833°W |
| Built | 1741 |
| NRHP Reference # | 77001542 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | July 20, 1977 |
| Designated NHL | June 2, 1978 |
Kayak Island (59°56′03″N 144°22′06″W / 59.93417°N 144.36833°W), (Eyak: Qe'yiłteh) which includes the Bering Expedition Landing Site, is located in the Gulf of Alaska, 100 km (62 mi) SE of Cordova, Alaska Malaspina Coastal Plain, on the eastern edge of Chugach National Forest. It has a land area of 73.695 km² (28.454 sq mi) and no population.
It was named "Kayak" in 1826 by Lt. Sarichef of the Russian Navy, because of the fancied resemblance of its outline to the Eskimo skin canoe. This island, it is believed, was the one Vitus Bering saw and named "Saint Elias" in 1741.
According to the National Park Service, "Here naturalist Georg W. Steller, surgeon aboard Vitus Bering's ST. PETER, made the first attempts at contact between Europeans and Alaskan natives. His investigations are among the first contributions to the West's knowledge of the natural and human history of the region."
Captain James Cook visited the island on May 12, 1778, and buried a bottle with a paper and two small pieces of silver given to him by Dr. Richard Kaye, the chaplain of King George III, for this purpose. Because of this, Capt. Cook gave the name "Kaye's Island" to this feature. The 1779 expedition of Spanish explorer Ignacio de Arteaga y Bazán sighted the island about July 16, the feast day of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel (or Carmen), and so named it "Nuestra Senora del Carmen" or "Isla del Carmen."
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Wikipedia