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61-592: The core Aleutian Range can be divided into three mountain groups. Listed from southwest to northeast, they are: See Aleutian Islands for the continuation of the range to the west of Unimak Island. Just to the north of the Aleutian Range are the Tordrillo Mountains , the southeasternmost extent of the Alaska Range . Selected mountains: Two volcanoes erupted during the summer of 2008 on

122-600: A Pliocene – Quaternary layer of sedimentary and igneous rock. The islands, known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, include six groups (east to west) All six are located between 51° and 55° N latitude and 172° E and 163° W longitude. The largest islands in the Aleutians are Attu (the farthest from the mainland), and Unalaska , Umnak , and Unimak in the Fox Islands. The largest of those

183-603: A "Subpolar Oceanic Climate" (type "Cfc", as does Reykjavík , Tórshavn , Punta Arenas , Ushuaia and the Auckland Islands ), characterized by the coldest month averaging above 0 °C (32 °F), one to three months averaging above 10 °C (50 °F), and no significant precipitation differences between seasons. To the northeast of that point, the climate becomes "Subarctic With Cool Summers And Year Around Rainfall" (type "Dfc", like Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky , Murmansk , St. Moritz , and Labrador City ), where it

244-671: A change in North American Plate movement circa 7 to 8 Million years ago, rifting began on the Gulf of California . Although many of the ranges do share a common geologic history, the Pacific Coast Ranges province is not defined by geology, but rather by geography. Many of the various ranges are composed of distinct forms of rock from many different periods of geological time from the Precambrian in parts of

305-675: A generation, the day-to-day administration of the Russian-American colonies was largely in the hands of native-born Alaskans. Reversing the usual trend in colonization where indigenous technologies are replaced, the Russians adopted the Aleut kayak, or baidarka , sea otter hunting techniques, and the working of native copper deposits. The Russians instituted public education, preservation of the Aleut language through transliteration of religious and other texts into Aleut via an adaptation of

366-638: A part of the region. The climate of the islands is oceanic, with moderate and fairly uniform temperatures and heavy rainfall. Fogs are almost constant. Summer weather is much cooler than Southeast Alaska (around Sitka ), but the winter temperature of the islands and of the Alaska Panhandle is nearly the same. According to the Köppen climate classification system, the area southwest of 53°30′N 167°00′W  /  53.5°N 167.0°W  / 53.5; -167.0 , on Unalaska Island , has

427-616: A voyage of discovery in the Northern Pacific. After the ships were separated by a storm; Chirikov discovered several eastern islands of the Aleutian group, and Bering discovered several of the western islands. Bering was shipwrecked and died in the Komandorski Islands ( Commander Islands ); one of which now bears his name ( Bering Island ), along with the surrounding Bering Sea. The survivors of Bering's party reached

488-466: Is Unimak Island, with an area of 1,571.41 mi (4,069.9 km ), followed by Unalaska Island, the only other Aleutian Island with an area over 1,000 square miles (2,600 km ). The axis of the archipelago near the mainland of Alaska has a southwest trend, but at Tanaga Island (about 178° W) its direction changes to the northwest. This change of direction corresponds to a curve in the line of volcanic fissures that have contributed their products to

549-477: Is because the islands, much like the Falklands and other islands of similar latitudes , experience such strong winds that taller trees are vulnerable to snapping off. Instead of trees, the islands are covered with a luxuriant, dense growth of herbage and shrubs, including crowberry , bluejoint , grasses , sedges , and many flowering plants. There are areas of peat bog near the coasts. Endemic plants include

610-701: Is often seen dropping steeply into the sea with photogenic views. Along the British Columbia and Alaska coast, the mountains intermix with the sea in a complex maze of fjords , with thousands of islands. Off the Southern California coast the Channel Islands archipelago of the Santa Monica Mountains extends for 160 miles (260 km). There are coastal plains at the mouths of rivers that have punched through

671-637: Is similar albeit colder, with the coldest month averaging below 0 °C (32 °F). During the winter, the islands become the center of a semi-permanent low-pressure area called the Aleutian Low . The mean annual temperature for Unalaska, the most populated island of the group, is about 38 ° F (3 ° C ), being about 30 °F (−1 °C) in January and about 52 °F (11 °C) in August. The highest and lowest temperatures recorded on

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732-596: The Aleut . The Aleut language is one of the two main branches of the Eskimo–Aleut language family. This family is not known to be related to any others. The 2020 U.S. Census recorded a population of 7,152 on the islands, of whom 4,254 were living in the main settlement of Unalaska . On the less mountainous islands, the raising of sheep and reindeer was once believed to be practicable. There are bison on islands near Sand Point. Sheep raising seems to have died off with

793-858: The Aleut Islands , Aleutic Islands , or, before 1867 , the Catherine Archipelago —are a chain of 14 main, larger volcanic islands and 55 smaller ones. Most of the Aleutian Islands belong to the U.S. state of Alaska , with the archipelago encompassing the Aleutians West Census Area and the Aleutians East Borough . The Commander Islands , located further to the west, belong to the Russian federal subject of Kamchatka Krai , of

854-536: The Aleutian Islands Wilderness . Observations have identified sea otters as a keystone species along the coasts of many of the Aleutian Islands. Their presence encourages the growth of kelp forests , as the otters control sea urchin populations (as large populations of sea urchins can create urchin barrens by clearing away kelp stands). The native people refer to themselves as Unangan, and are now generally known by most non-natives as

915-1013: The California-Mexico border , and to those west of Puget Sound , the Willamette Valley , and the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys (the California Central Valley ). That definition excludes the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Ranges , the Mojave (High) , and Sonoran (Low) Deserts, i.e. the Pacific Border province . The same term is used informally in Canada to refer to the Coast Mountains and adjoining inland ranges such as

976-562: The Cannikin , was the largest underground nuclear explosion by the U.S. The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act became law in 1971. In 1977, the Ounalashka Corporation (from Unalaska) declared a dividend . This was the first village corporation to declare and pay a dividend to its shareholders. The Aleutian Islands were designated a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 1976. The Aleutians were one of 17 biosphere reserves in

1037-649: The Hazelton Mountains , and sometimes also the Saint Elias Mountains . The character of the ranges varies considerably, from the record-setting tidewater glaciers in the ranges of Alaska, to the rugged Central and Southern California ranges, the Transverse Ranges and Peninsular Ranges , in the chaparral and woodlands eco-region with Oak Woodland , Chaparral shrub forest or Coastal sage scrub -covering them. The coastline

1098-637: The Japanese naval codes , proceeded as if this was just a diversion, and it did not expend large amounts of effort in defending the islands. More than 90 Americans were taken to Japan as prisoners of war. Most of the civilian population (over 800) of the Aleutians and Pribilovians were detained by the United States in camps in the Alaska Panhandle . During the Aleutian Islands campaign , American forces invaded Japanese-held Attu and defeated

1159-683: The Kamchatka Peninsula in a boat constructed from the wreckage of their ship, and reported the islands were rich in fur-bearing animals. Siberian fur hunters flocked to the Commander Islands and gradually moved eastward across the Aleutian Islands to the mainland. In this manner, Russia gained a foothold on the northwestern coast of North America. The Aleutian Islands consequently belonged to Russia, until that country transferred all its possessions in North America to

1220-773: The Little San Bernardino Mountains to 10,000-year-old rock in the Cascade Range. For one example, the Peninsular Ranges, composed of Mesozoic batholitic rock, are geologically extremely different from the San Bernardino Mountains , composed of a mix of Precambrian metamorphic rock and Cenozoic sedimentary rock. However, both are considered part of the Pacific Coast Ranges due to their proximity and similar economic and social impact on surrounding communities. These are

1281-788: The Russian Far East . The islands form part of the Aleutian Arc of the Northern Pacific Ocean , and occupy a land area of 6,821 sq mi (17,666 km ) that extends westward roughly 1,200 mi (1,900 km) from the Alaskan Peninsula mainland, in the direction of the Kamchatka Peninsula ; the archipelago acts as a border between the Bering Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to

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1342-510: The common rosefinch , Siberian rubythroat , bluethroat , lanceolated warbler , and the first North American record of the intermediate egret . The habitats of the Aleutians are largely unspoiled, but wildlife is affected by competition from introduced species such as cattle, caribou , and foxes . Nearly all of the Aleutians are protected as part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge and

1403-450: The Aleutian archipelago, accurately determined the position of some of the more important islands, and corrected many errors of former navigators. Among the first Christian missionaries to arrive in the Aleutian Islands was a party of ten Russian Orthodox monks and priests, who arrived in 1793. Within two years, a monk named Herman was the only survivor of that party. He settled on Spruce Island , near Kodiak Island , and often defended

1464-481: The Americans suffered significant casualties during their “invasion” – 313 men died as a result of accidents, with many dying due to accidental fire. President Roosevelt visited Adak in 1944, meeting with commanders and eating with soldiers of the garrison. This was his first and only trip to the Aleutian Islands and Alaska as a whole. A rumor spread that FDR had accidentally left his Scottish Terrier "Fala" on one of

1525-575: The Cyrillic alphabet, vaccination of the native population against smallpox , and science-based sea mammal conservation policies that were ahead of their time. By 1760 the Russian merchant Andrian Tolstykh had made a detailed census in the vicinity of Adak and extended Russian citizenship to the Aleuts. During his third and last voyage in 1778, Captain James Cook surveyed the eastern portion of

1586-653: The Islands and had to send a destroyer to retrieve the dog, costing taxpayers several million dollars. The President made fun of these rumors during a talk with the Teamsters Union in Washington DC, now known as the "Fala Speech". At this speech the President joked with the crowd saying, "Well, of course, I don't resent attacks, and my family doesn't resent attacks, but Fala does resent them!" June 3, 2002

1647-518: The Japanese. American and Canadian troops later launched an invasion of Kiska , in which 34,426 men composed of both Americans and Canadian participated; however, Japanese forces had already withdrawn, ending the campaign in the islands. The invasion was an embarrassment for the Allied forces as the entire Japanese force of 5,183 men had left the island on July 28 without the Americans noticing; however,

1708-773: The Kula Plate that was trapped when volcanism and subduction jumped south to its current location at c. 56 Ma. The Aleutian island arc formed in the Early Eocene (55–50  Ma ) when the subduction of the Pacific Plate under the North American Plate began. The arc is made of separate blocks that have been rotated clockwise. The basement underlying the islands is made of three stratigraphic units: an Eocene layer of volcanic rock, an Oligocene – Miocene layer of marine sedimentary rock, and

1769-633: The Pacific plate is subducting underneath the North American plate at around 59 mm/year. Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands ( / ə ˈ l uː ʃ ən / ə- LOO -shən ; Russian : Алеутские острова , romanized :  Aleutskiye ostrova ; Aleut : Unangam Tanangin , "land of the Aleuts "; possibly from the Chukchi aliat , or "island")—also called

1830-724: The Sierra Nevada, and the Guerrero super-terrane of western Mexico. 90–80 million years ago the subducting Farallon plate split and formed the Kula Plate to the North. This formed an area in what is now Northern California, where the plates converged forming a Mélange . North of this was the Columbia Embayment , where the continental margin was east of the surrounding areas. Many of the major batholiths date from

1891-513: The U.S. in 1867. During the consolidation of the Russian-American Company there was sporadic conflict with the native population (frequently disastrous to the poorly armed and vastly outnumbered Russians). The colonies soon entered a relatively stable state based on cooperation, intermarriage, and official policies that provided social status, education, and professional training to children of mixed Aleut-Russian birth. Within

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1952-567: The U.S. islands. Because the islands stretch like a broken bridge from the continent Asia to the continent North America, many anthropologists hypothesize they were a route of the first human occupants of the Americas . However, the earliest known evidence in public recorded history of human occupation in the Americas is found much farther south. The early human sites in the Bering Sea were probably submerged by rising waters and sand during

2013-535: The United States in North America during WWII; the Philippines , Guam and Wake Atoll , Pacific territories of the United States , were also invaded. Motion between the Kula Plate and the North American Plate along the margin of the Bering Shelf (in the Bering Sea north of the Aleutian arc) ended in the early Eocene . The Aleutian Basin, the ocean floor north of the Aleutian arc, is the remainder of

2074-833: The United States withdrawn by request of the U.S. government from the programme in June 2017. Russian Aleutians is organized as Aleutsky District in Kamchatka Krai . It comprises Geography of the United States Pacific Mountain System The Pacific Coast Ranges (officially gazetted as the Pacific Mountain System in the United States ; French : chaînes côtières du Pacifique ; Spanish : cadena costera del Pacífico ) are

2135-432: The Western Cordillera, which comprises the Saint Elias Mountains , Coast Mountains , Insular Mountains , Olympic Mountains , Cascade Range , Oregon Coast Range , California Coast Ranges , Transverse Ranges , Peninsular Ranges , and the Sierra Madre Occidental . The term Coast Range is used by the United States Geological Survey to refer only to the ranges south of the Strait of Juan de Fuca in Washington to

2196-407: The Western Cordillera, or in Canada , as the Pacific Cordillera and/or the Canadian Cordillera), which includes the Rocky Mountains , the Columbia Mountains , the Interior Mountains , the Interior Plateau , the Sierra Nevada , the Great Basin mountain ranges , and other ranges and various plateaus and basins. The Pacific Coast Ranges designation, however, only applies to the Western System of

2257-421: The advent of synthetic fibers, which lowered the value of wool. During the 1980s, there were some llama being raised on Unalaska. The current economy is primarily based on fishing , and the presence of U.S. military. The only crop is potato . Chickens are raised in barns under protection from the cold. In addition to a partial air service and a ferry service, the Alaska Marine Highway passes through many of

2318-425: The approaches are exceedingly dangerous, the land rising immediately from the coasts to steep, bold mountains. These volcanic islands reach heights of 6,200 feet (1,900 m). Makushin Volcano (5,691 feet (1,735 m)) on Unalaska Island, is not quite visible from within the town of Unalaska , though the steam rising from its cone is visible on a (rare) clear day. Residents of Unalaska need only to climb one of

2379-425: The atmosphere. These emissions formed a sulfate aerosol layer that totaled a transfer of 1.6 Tg of SO 2 into the stratosphere and disturbed flights over this area for a short period following the eruptions. The 7.9 Mw Aleutian Islands earthquake occurred in June 2014 at an intermediate depth of 107 km. The quake was caused by oblique normal faulting along the Aleutian Trench , a convergent boundary where

2440-429: The building of the islands. Such curved chains are repeated about the Pacific Ocean in the Kuril Islands , the Japanese chain, and in the Philippines . All these island arcs are at the edge of the Pacific Plate and experience much seismic activity, but are still habitable; the Aleutians lie between the Pacific and North American tectonic plates . The general elevation is greatest in the eastern islands and least in

2501-442: The coastal plain form the margin. Most of the land is made of terranes that have been accreted onto the margin. In the north, the insular belt is an accreted terrane, forming the margin. This belt extends from the Wrangellia Terrane in Alaska to the Chilliwack group of Canada. A rupture in Rodinia 750 million years ago formed a passive margin in the eastern Pacific Northwest. The breakup of Pangea 200 million years ago began

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2562-428: The current interglacial period. People living in or on the Aleutian Islands developed skills in hunting, fishing, and basketry. The baskets were woven with shredded stalks of beach rye. Explorers, traders and missionaries arrived from Russia beginning in 1741. In 1741 the Russian government sent Vitus Bering , a Danish-born Russian, and Aleksei Chirikov , a Russian, in the ships Saint Peter and Saint Paul on

2623-450: The eastern Aleutian Islands. On July 12, 2008, Mount Okmok erupted, and it continued to erupt for a month. A giant, rapidly moving ash and gas cloud shot up to a height of 15,240 m as a result of this eruption. Mount Kasatochi was home to the other eruption, which occurred on August 7 and 8. This eruption also sent up a gas cloud about 15,000 high. Together, these two power volcanic eruptions deposited emissions of trace gases an aerosols into

2684-601: The endangered Aleutian shield fern . There is currently almost no naturally occurring forest in the Aleutian Islands, except with the help of human intervention. For example, the Adak Forest on Adak Island is a man-made tree group consisting of 33 trees. The Aleutians are home to many large colonies of seabirds. Buldir Island has 21 breeding seabird species, including the Bering Sea-endemic red-legged kittiwake . Large seabird colonies are also present at Kiska , Gareloi , Semisopochnoi , Bogoslof , and others. The islands are also frequented by vagrant Asiatic birds, including

2745-469: The exception of some stunted willows , the vast majority of the chain is devoid of native trees. On some of the islands, such as Adak and Amaknak , there are a few coniferous trees growing, remnants of the Russian period . While tall trees grow in many cold climates, Aleutian conifers — some estimated to be two hundred years old — rarely reach a height of even 10 feet (3 m), and many of them are still less than 5 feet (1.5 m) tall. This

2806-448: The indigenous peoples of Alaska) in 1924. A hospital was built in Unalaska in 1933 by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs . During World War II , in what were the only two invasions of the United States during the war, small parts of the Aleutian islands were occupied by Japanese forces, when Attu and Kiska were invaded possibly to divert American forces away from the main Japanese attack at Midway Atoll . The U.S. Navy, having broken

2867-421: The islands were 78 °F (26 °C) and 5 °F (−15 °C), respectively. The average amount of annual rainfall is about 80 inches (2,000 mm); Unalaska, with about 250 rainy days per year, is said to be one of the rainiest places within the U.S. The growing season lasts approximately 135 days, from early in May until late in September, but agriculture is limited to the raising of few vegetables. With

2928-432: The late Cretaceous . As the Laramide Orogeny ended around 48 million years ago, the accretion of the Siletzia terrane began in the Pacific Northwest. This began the volcanic activity in the Cascadia subduction zone , forming the modern Cascade Range, and lasted into the Miocene . Events here may relate to the ignimbrite flare-up of the southern Basin and Range . As extension in the Basin and Range Province slowed by

2989-426: The mountains spreading sediments, most notably at the Copper River in Alaska, the Fraser River in British Columbia, and the Columbia River between Washington and Oregon. In California: the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers' San Francisco Bay , the Santa Clara River 's Oxnard Plain , the Los Angeles, San Gabriel, and Santa Ana Rivers' Los Angeles Basin  – a coastal sediment-filled plain between

3050-413: The mountains' western faces and peaks causing an eastward rainshadow that produces the arid desert regions . Omitted from the list below, but often included is the Sierra Nevada, a major mountain range of eastern California that is separated by the Central Valley over much of its length from the California Coast Ranges and the Transverse Ranges. On the West coast of North America, the coast ranges and

3111-541: The northernmost part of the Pacific Ring of Fire . Physiographically , they are a distinct section of the larger Pacific Border province, which, in turn, is part of the larger Pacific Mountain System physiographic division. The islands are considered to be among the most geographically-isolated areas of the Northern Pacific. Battles and skirmishes took place during the Aleutian Islands campaign of World War II . The Japanese landing and occupations of Kiska and Attu , in June of 1942 , were one of only two invasions of

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3172-505: The peninsular and transverse ranges with sediment in the basin up to 6 miles (10 km) deep, and the San Diego River's Mission Bay . From the vicinity of San Francisco Bay north, it is common in winter for cool unstable air masses from the Gulf of Alaska to make landfall in one of the Coast Ranges, resulting in heavy precipitation , both as rain and snow , especially on their western slopes. The same Winter weather occurs with less frequency and precipitation in Southern California, with

3233-451: The rights of the Aleuts against the Russian trading companies. He is now known in the Orthodox Church as Saint Herman of Alaska . Another early Christian missionary of the Russian Orthodox Church was Father Veniaminov who arrived in Unalaska in 1824. He was named Bishop Innokentii in 1840 and moved to Sitka . He is now known in the Orthodox Church as Saint Innocent of Alaska . The principal settlements were on Unalaska Island. The oldest

3294-432: The series of mountain ranges that stretch along the West Coast of North America from Alaska south to Northern and Central Mexico . Although they are commonly thought to be the westernmost mountain range of the continental United States and Canada, the geologically distinct Insular Mountains of Vancouver Island lie farther west. The Pacific Coast Ranges are part of the North American Cordillera (sometimes known as

3355-487: The smaller hills in the area, such as Pyramid Peak or Mt. Newhall, to get a good look at the snow-covered cone. The volcanic Bogoslof and Fire Islands , which rose from the sea in 1796 and 1883 respectively, lie about 30 miles (50 km) west of Unalaska Bay . In 1906, a new volcanic cone rose between the islets of Bogoslof and Grewingk, near Unalaska, followed by another in 1907. These cones were nearly demolished by an explosive eruption on September 1, 1907. In 2017,

3416-424: The south. Crossing longitude 180° , at which point east and west longitude end, the archipelago contains both the westernmost and easternmost parts of the United States, by longitude ( Amatignak Island and Semisopochnoi Island , respectively). The westernmost U.S. island, in real terms, however, is Attu Island , west of which runs the International Date Line . The Aleutian Islands, with their 57 volcanoes, form

3477-514: The volcanic cone erupted sending ash and ice particles 30,000 feet (9000 m) into the air. Alfred Russel Wallace 's 1879 book Australasia , Ian Todd's 1974 book Island Realm: A Pacific Panorama and Dean Kohlhoff's 2002 book Amchitka and the Bomb: Nuclear Testing in Alaska all associate the Aleutian Islands with the Oceania region due to their status as remote islands in the Pacific. The islands, having biogeographical and ethnocultural affinities to North America , are not ordinarily considered

3538-442: The western. The island chain is a western continuation of the Aleutian Range on the mainland. The great majority of the islands bear evident marks of volcanic origin, and there are numerous volcanic cones on the north side of the chain, some of them active; many of the islands, however, are not wholly volcanic, but contain crystalline or sedimentary rocks, and also amber and beds of lignite . The coasts are rocky and surf-worn, and

3599-406: The westward movement of the North American plate, creating an active margin on the western continent. As the continent drifted West, terranes were accreted onto the west coast. The timing of the accretion of the insular belt is uncertain, although the closure did not occur until at least 115 million years ago. Other Mesozoic terranes that accreted onto the continent include the Klamath Mountains ,

3660-573: Was Iliuliuk (also called Unalaska), settled in 1760–1775, with a customs house and an Orthodox church. After the American purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867, further development took place. New buildings included a Methodist mission and orphanage, and the headquarters for a considerable fleet of United States revenue cutters , which patrolled the sealing grounds of the Pribilof Islands . The first public school in Unalaska opened in 1883. The U.S. Congress extended American citizenship to all Native Americans (and this law has been held to include

3721-443: Was celebrated as Dutch Harbor Remembrance Day. The governor of Alaska ordered state flags lowered to half-staff to honor the 43 Americans who died during the two-day Japanese air attack in 1942. The Aleutian World War II National Historic Area Visitors Center opened that month. The U.S. conducted underground tests of nuclear weapons on Amchitka Island from 1965 to 1971 as part of the Vela Uniform program. The final detonation,

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