Unalaska Island, like the other islands of the Aleutian Chain was formed by the volcanic activity resulting from the collision of continental plates that form the "Pacific Rim of Fire". Unalaska Island is part of the Aleutian Islands, about 800 miles southwest of Anchorage, Alaska. Unalaska Island boasts one of the largest concentrations of bald eagles in the world. Unalaska Island] situated in the Fox Islands whch are part of the Aleutian Islands off the west coast of Alaska. Unalaska Island and nearby Amaknak Island have been inhabited for over 8,000 years by Aleut (Unangan) people. One of the key peripheral issues involved possible oiling of the commercial sea food harvest that is caught around and processed on Unalaska Island. Bering Sea is the northward continuation of the Pacific Ocean, from which it is demarcated by the long chain of the Aleutian Islands.
Unalaska
Unalaska became a Russian trading port for the fur seal industry in 1768. Unalaska on Unalaska Island and its sister town Dutch Harbor on Amaknak Island, are at the confluence of the North Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea, one of the richest fisheries in the world. Unalaska and Amaknak Islands contained 24 settlements with more than 1,000 Aleut inhabitants in 1759. The mean annual temperature for Unalaska, the most important island of the group, is about 38° F. There is granite at the core of the Shaler range of mountains in southern Unalaska. The name Dutch Harbor is often applied to the portion of the City on Amaknak Island, which is connected to Unalaska Island by bridge. There are no trees or power lines to obscure your views, and you can leave the bear bells behind; Unalaska Island's largest mammals are red foxes and wild horses.
For this reason, the Aleutians were known to the Aleut people as the "Birthplace of the Winds". The island chain is really a western continuation of the Aleutian Range on the mainland. From the position of the Aleutian islands, stretching like a broken bridge from Asia to America, some ethnologists have supposed that by means of them America was first peopled. The Aleutian Islands consequently belonged to Russia, until that country in 1867 transferred to the United States all its possessions in America. During his third and last voyage, in 1778, Captain James Cook surveyed the eastern portion of the Aleutian archipelago, accurately determined the position of some of the more important islands and corrected many errors of former navigators. Several recent incidents involving freight vessels in transit near the Aleutian Islands have focused attention on the oil spill risk posed by vessels operating within the productive fishing grounds and sensitive wildlife habitats of Alaska’s Aleutian chain.
The owners and operators of a freighter that sank in the Aleutian Islands five years ago have agreed to pay the state of Alaska nearly $850,000 to settle oil spill, wreck removal and lost fish tax claims, state officials said. In December 2004, the M/V Selendang Ayu lost power, drifted aground, and broke apart near Unalaska Island, spilling an estimated 335,000 gallons of intermediate fuel oil and marine diesel oil. The highest risks for environmental damage from oil spills are from vessels carrying persistent fuel. Tar balls are heavy oil globs mixed with rock, dirt or sediment. Steiner said that while the soybeans are not as toxic to the environment as the fuel oil, the fact that soybeans are heavy in oil themselves needs to be considered.
In 1741 the Russian government sent out Vitus Bering, a Dane, and Alexei Chirikov, a Russian, in the ships "Saint Peter" and "Saint Paul" on a voyage of discovery in the Northern Pacific. This is where the Bering Sea got it's name.
