Koniuji Island

Koniuji Island
Kaniuji Island, July 2008
Highest point
Elevation896 ft (273 m)
Coordinates51°59′16″N 176°35′30″W / 51.98778°N 176.59167°W / 51.98778; -176.59167
Geography
Koniuji Island is located in Alaska
Koniuji Island
Koniuji Island
Geology
Mountain typeStratovolcano
Volcanic arc/beltAleutian Arc
Last eruption1150 BC
Nautical Chart of Kaniuji Island
Not to be confused with Big Koniuji Island and Little Koniuji Island in the Shumagin Islands subgroup of the Aleutian Islands.

Koniuji Island is one of the Andreanof Islands subgroup of the Aleutian Islands of southwestern Alaska, United States. It lies northwest of Atka Island and east of Kasatochi Island. Koniuji Island has a land area of 0.37 sq mi (237 acres) and is uninhabited. The name "Koniuji" is derived from Russian: конюга, romanized: konyuga "auklet", bestowed by Russian sailors in reference to the endemic seabirds.[1] The Aleut name is Tanax̂silĝux̂ "the big made island", in reference to putative recent volcanic activity.[2]

Koniuji Island is the emergent top of a mostly submarine stratovolcano. Little is known of the geologic history of this volcano. Reports of recent eruptive activity may be erroneous and are considered to refer to eruptions of Kasatochi volcano to the west.[3] The last eruption of Koniuji Island was around 3,000 years ago, in approximately 1150 BC.[4]

On all sides of Koniuji Island except the south and southeast, the shoreline is sheer and precipitous, rising to two sharp summits of 896 feet (273 m) and 790 feet (240 m). The south side of the island, above lower bluffs at the shore, slopes gradually to a ridge about 0.2 miles (0.3 km) north, and drops off again into a ravine that passes through the island at some elevation. The slope up from the south side is grass covered. The northwest end of the island is a low, flat, rocky point about 200 yards (180 m) long. An extensive kelp patch extends from the south of the island. Also, in the summer, heavy kelp is found along and well off the western shore.

Compass reading differences of as much as 10° from the normal variation have been observed on Koniuji Island and as much as 7° at a distance of 2 miles (3 km) in all directions around the island.[5]

Koniuji Island provides nesting habitat for close to 300,000 seabirds. Around 70% are Fork-tailed Storm-petrels and 17% are Leach's Storm-petrel. There are also large numbers of the Ancient Murrelet and the Whiskered Auklet that nest on Koniuji. These four species breed on Koniuji Island in numbers that exceed 1% of their total global populations.[6]

A 1998 survey found these birds on Koniuji during the breeding season:

Glaucous-winged Gull 300
Black-legged Kittiwake 2,246
Red-legged Kittiwake 28
Common Murre 449
Thick-billed Murre 1,299
Pigeon Guillemot 62
Ancient Murrelet 10,000
Parakeet Auklet 300
Crested Auklet 300
Whiskered Auklet 200
Least Auklet 2,000
Horned Puffin 200
Tufted Puffin 20,000
Leach's Storm-Petrel 50,000
Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel 200,000

References

  1. ^ Orth, Donald J. (1967). Dictionary of Alaska Place Names. U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 539–540.
  2. ^ Bergsland, K. (1994). Aleut Dictionary. Fairbanks: Alaska Native Language Center. pp. 390, 589. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  3. ^ Alaska Volcano Observatory - Koniuji
  4. ^ "Koniuji". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2021-06-28.
  5. ^ U.S. Coast Pilot 9, Chapter 7, Aleutian Islands
  6. ^ Audubon Important Bird Areas - Koniuji Island, Alaska Archived 2011-07-19 at the Wayback Machine