Fairway Rock (65° 37.5' N 168° 45' W) is a small, uninhabited Alaskan islet in the Bering Strait, situated 12 mi (19 km) SSE of Little Diomede Island and 20 mi (32 km) W of Cape Prince of Wales. State nickname: The Last Frontier, The Land of the Midnight Sun Official languages English Capital Juneau Largest city Anchorage Governor Frank Murkowski (R) Senators Ted Stevens (R) Lisa Murkowski (R) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 1st 663,267 mi² / 1,717,854 km² 13. ... Mōkōlea Rock in Kailua Bay, O‘ahu, Hawai‘i, 2. ... Satellite photo of the Bering Strait Nautical chart of the Bering Strait The Bering Strait is a sea strait between Cape Dezhnev, the eastmost point of the Asian continent and Cape Prince of Wales, the westernmost point of the American continent, approximately 85 km (58 mi) in width, with a... Satellite photo of the Bering Strait, with the Diomede Islands at center. ... Cape Prince of Wales (65°3547N, 168°0505W) is the westernmost point in the Americas. ...

Satellite photo of the Bering Strait, showing Fairway Rock's proximity to Little Diomede Island (left), and Cape Prince of Wales (right).

The island's bold cliffs are a haven for many migratory birds. The indigenous peoples who have lived nearby for thousands of years come to the island to gather bird eggs in the Spring. Long-distance land bird migration Many species of land birds migrate very long distances, the most common pattern being for birds to breed in the temperate or arctic northern hemisphere and winter in warmer regions, often in the tropics or the southern hemisphere. ...

Fairway Rock was named by the English naval officer and geographer Frederick William Beechey who noted it as being "an excellent guide to the eastern channel." Other explorers like Amundsen also mentioned it. Frederick William Beechey (February 17, 1796-November 29, 1856) was an English naval officer and geographer. ... Roald Amundsen Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (July 16, 1872–June 18?, 1928) was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. ...

What is considered the last offensive action of the American Civil War happened in this area: the CSS Shenandoah fell upon a fleet of whalers working the waters near Alaska's Little Diomede Island and sank more than two dozen ships on June 22, 1865. This is chronicled in the book The Last Shot. The American Civil War (1861–1865) was fought in North America within the United States of America, between twenty-four mostly northern states of the Union and the Confederate States of America, a coalition of eleven southern states that declared their independence and claimed the right of secession from the... The CSS Shenandoah, formerly Sea King, was an iron-framed, teak-planked, full-rigged vessel with auxiliary steam power, under Captain James Waddell, CSN, a North Carolinian with twenty years service in the Federal navy. ... Whales are the largest species of exclusively aquatic placental mammals, members of the order Cetacea, which also includes dolphins and porpoises. ... June 22 is the 173rd day of the year (174th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 192 days remaining. ... 1865 is a common year starting on Sunday. ...

In 1966, the US Navy placed a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) atop Fairway Rock for "powering environmental instruments". In 1981 two additional RTGs were added. They were all removed from the island in 1995. 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link goes to calendar) // Events January January 1 - In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa ousts president David Dacko and takes over the Central African Republic. ... The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ... A radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) is a simple electrical generator which obtains its power from radioactive decay. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Next to this island, maximum several hundreds of fathoms westward, passes the meridian opposite to the proposed hexadecimal "Florencetime main meridian" defined in the year 1989 (cf. Hexadecimal Time). A fathom is a non-SI unit of length. ... The hexadecimal time format divides the day either into sixteen or into twice sixteen equal hexadecimal hours. ...

References

• Approximate center of the island by http://tiger.census.gov showing that Fairway Rock island is situated at about 65° 37.5' North, 168° 45' West of Greenwich.
• Geographic Information System Maps and Data Server used by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Commercial Fisheries confirms a very similar value.
• Operational Navigation Chart, Sheet C-8 published by the Defense Mapping Agency Aerospace Center, St. Louis, Missouri 63118, revised June 1987, Edition 5.
• The Columbia Gazetteer of North America, edited by Saul B. Cohen. New York: Columbia University Press, 2000. www.bartleby.com/69/8/F00208.html. Retrieved Nov. 14, 2005.
• Narrative of a voyage to the Pacific and Beering's Strait, to co- operate with the polar expeditions: performed in His Majesty's ship Blossom, under the command of Captain F.W. Beechey, R.N., F.R.S. &c. in the years 1825, 26, 27, 28., Beechey, F. W. (Frederick William), 1796-1856. (London : H. Colburn and R. Bentley, 1831.) Page 337

• US Navy. Arctic Submarine Laboratory Historical Timeline. www.csp.navy.mil/asl/Timeline.htm. Retrieved November 14, 2005.

Frederick William Beechey (February 17, 1796-November 29, 1856) was an English naval officer and geographer. ...

External links

• US Navy Arctic Submarine Laboratory:

Summer 1986 Photo

Spring 1989 Photo

1995 RTG Removal Photo