Hall Island (Alaska)

Location map
Alaska
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Hall Island is a small island located convert|5.6|km to the northwest of St. Matthew Island in the Bering Sea in Alaska, USA. It serves as a haulout site for Pacific walrus. It is convert|8|km in length and has a land area of 15.995 square kilometres (6.1758 sq mi). The highest point is convert|490|m|ft. Hall Island is uninhabited. It is part of the Bering Sea unit of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge.

History

Early Russian hunters knew this island as "Ostrov Morzhovoy" ('Walrus Island') (Tevenkov, 1852, mpa 20). The Imperial Russian Hydrographic Department Chart 1427 called it "Ostrov Sindsha" probably for Lt. Sind, its alleged discoverer, in 1764.

Commodore Joseph Billings of the Imperial Russian Navy and Lt. Gavril Sarychev anchored between this island and St. Matthew on July 14, 1791 (O.S.). Since 1875, this island has been called "Hall" on American maps, presumably for Lt. Robert Hall, who was with Captain Billings, or also for Cape Hall.

References

* [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DTTable?_bm=y&-context=dt&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U&-CONTEXT=dt&-mt_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U_P001&-tree_id=4001&-transpose=N&-redoLog=true&-all_geo_types=N&-geo_id=100$10000US020500001001047&-search_results=01000US&-format=&-_lang=en&-show_geoid=Y Hall Island: Block 1047, Census Tract 1, Bethel Census Area, Alaska] United States Census Bureau
* [http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=108:3:15845223094965297813::NO::P3_FID:1403125 USGS-GNIS]
* [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-104733279.html Birdlife]