Rat Islands: Difference between revisions
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{{otheruses|Rat Island (disambiguation)}} |
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[[File:Rat Islands II.jpg|thumb|350px|Map of Rat Islands showing major islands (line between Semisopochnoi Island and Amchitka Pass is the [[180th meridian]]).]] |
[[File:Rat Islands II.jpg|thumb|350px|Map of Rat Islands showing major islands (line between Semisopochnoi Island and Amchitka Pass is the [[180th meridian]]).]] |
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[[File:Western Aleutians.png|thumb|350px|Map of the western [[Aleutian Islands]], showing the ''Rat Islands'' on the right: [[Kiska Island]] (7), [[Little Kiska Island]] (8), [[Segula Island]] (9), [[Khvostof Island]] (10), [[Davidof Island]] (11), [[Little Sitkin Island]] (12), [[Rat Island (Alaska)|Rat Island]] (13), [[Amchitka Island]] (14), and [[Semisopochnoi Island]] (15).]] |
[[File:Western Aleutians.png|thumb|350px|Map of the western [[Aleutian Islands]], showing the ''Rat Islands'' on the right: [[Kiska Island]] (7), [[Little Kiska Island]] (8), [[Segula Island]] (9), [[Khvostof Island]] (10), [[Davidof Island]] (11), [[Little Sitkin Island]] (12), [[Rat Island (Alaska)|Rat Island]] (13), [[Amchitka Island]] (14), and [[Semisopochnoi Island]] (15).]] |
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Revision as of 06:29, 14 October 2019
The Rat Islands (Aleut: Qax̂um tanangis[1], Russian: Крысьи острова) are a volcanic group of islands in the Aleutian Islands in southwest Alaska, between Buldir Island and the Near Islands group to its west, and Amchitka Pass and the Andreanof Islands group to its east, at about 51°47′17″N 178°18′10″E / 51.78806°N 178.30278°E.
The largest islands in the group are, from west to east, Kiska, Little Kiska, Segula, Hawadax or Kryssei, Khvostof, Davidof, Little Sitkin, Amchitka, and Semisopochnoi. The total land area of the Rat Islands is 360.849 sq mi (934.594 km2). None of the islands are uninhabited.
The name Rat Islands is the English translation of the name given to the islands by Captain Fyodor Petrovich Litke in 1827 when he visited the Aleutian Islands on a voyage around the world. The islands are named so because rats were accidentally introduced to Rat Island in about 1780.[2] As of 2009[update], after a government-funded eradication program, Rat Island is believed to be rat-free;[3] it was renamed Hawadax Island in 2012. However, a post-operation assessment found that many of the local bird populations that the operation was designed to aid were negatively impacted—there was a far higher-than-expected nontarget mortality.[4] An internal U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement investigation revealed that several laws may have been violated.[5]
The Rat Islands are very earthquake-prone as they are located on the boundary of the Pacific and North American tectonic plates.[citation needed] In 1965, there was a major earthquake with a magnitude of 8.7 in the Rat Islands.[citation needed]
References
- ^ Bergsland, K. (1994). Aleut Dictionary. Fairbanks: Alaska Native Language Center.
- ^ http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.htm?programID=09-P13-00029&segmentID=5
- ^ "Alaska's Rat Island rat-free after 229 years". Reuters. 12 June 2009.
- ^ The Ornithological Council, "The Rat Island Rat Eradication Project: A Critical Evaluation of Nontarget Mortality", 2010.
- ^ U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, "Report of Investigation: Rat Island Mortality", 2010.
Further reading
- Stolzenburg, William (2012). Rat Island: Predators in Paradise and the World’s Greatest Wildlife Rescue. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781408825174.
External links
- Rat Islands: Blocks 1138 thru 1145, Census Tract 1, Aleutians West Census Area, Alaska United States Census Bureau