St. Matthew Island
View of Cape Upright, St. Matthew Island
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| Geography | |
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| Location | Bering Sea |
| Coordinates | 60°24′31″N 172°43′12″W / 60.40861°N 172.72000°WCoordinates: 60°24′31″N 172°43′12″W / 60.40861°N 172.72000°W |
| Archipelago | none |
| Area | 137.857 sq mi (357.05 km2) |
| Length | 51 km (31.7 mi) |
| Highest elevation | 1,476 ft (449.9 m) |
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United States
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| State | Alaska |
| Demographics | |
| Population | Uninhabited |
St. Matthew Island is a remote island in the Bering Sea in Alaska, 295 km (183 mi) WNW of Nunivak Island. The island has a land area of 137.857 sq mi (357.05 km2), making it the 43rd largest island in the United States. Its most southerly point is Cape Upright which features cliff faces which exceed 1,000 feet (300 m). Similar heights are found at Glory of Russia Cape on the north, and the highest point, 1,476 feet (450 m) above sea level, lies south from the island center.
There is a small island off its northwestern point called Hall Island. The 3.1 miles (5.0 km) wide sound between both islands is called Sarichef Strait. A small rocky islet called Pinnacle Rock lies 9.3 miles (15.0 km) to the south of Saint Matthew Island. The entire island's natural scenery and wildlife is protected as it is part of the Bering Sea unit of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge.
The United States Coast Guard maintained a manned LORAN station on the island during the 1940s.
The climatic conditions in the entire Bering Sea Area, according to National Climatic Data Center (1986) is reported as maritime with "considerable wind and cool, humid and cloudy conditions" with mean annual temperature of 3.2 °C (37.8 °F) and annual precipitation of 389 mm (15.3 in), in the St Mathews Island. The geological formation recorded in St. Mathew Island consists of calc-alkaline volcanic rocks of Late Cretaceous and earliest tertiary age with Pergelic Cryaquolls and Pergelic Cryoborolls soil types.
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Wikipedia