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Semisopochnoi Island


Semisopochnoi Island or Unyak Island (Russian: Семисопочный – "having seven hills"; Aleut: Unyax) is part of the Rat Islands group in the western Aleutian Islands of Alaska. The island is uninhabited and provides an important nesting area for maritime birds. The island is of volcanic origin, containing several volcanoes including Mount Cerberus. It has a land area of 85.558 square miles (221.59 km2), measuring 18 kilometres (11 mi) in length and 20 kilometres (12 mi) in width.

At 179°46' East (in the Eastern Hemisphere), the easternmost tip of Semisopochnoi is, by longitude, the easternmost land location in the United States and North America. Semisopochnoi sits only 14 minutes west of the 180th meridian.

Semisopochnoi has no native land mammals. Arctic foxes were introduced to the island during the 19th century for fur farming and removed in 1997. Most ground-nesting bird species (Aleutian cackling goose, rock ptarmigan) and most burrow-nesting seabirds (storm-petrels, ancient murrelets, Cassin's auklets, tufted puffins) were extirpated by foxes; Semisopochnoi Island is currently in the early stages of recovery. The island has remained free of Norway rats.

The large least and crested auklet colony near Sugarloaf Head is one of the largest among the nine auklet colonies in the Aleutian Islands. Crested auklets and least auklets breed in one colony, located on the south facing slopes of Sugarloaf Peak volcano and its associated cinder cones near Sugarloaf Head. Semisopochnoi Island also supports a significant population of red-faced cormorants.


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