Kayak Island (59° 56′ 03″ N 144° 22′ 06″ W (http://kvaleberg.com/extensions/mapsources/index.php?params=59_56_03_N_144_22_06_W_)) is located in the Gulf of Alaska, 100 km (62 mi) SE of Cordova, Alaska Malaspina Coastal Plain. The Gulf of Alaska is an arm of the Pacific Ocean defined by the curve of the southern coast of Alaska, stretching from the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island in the west to the Alexander Archipelago in the east, where Glacier Bay and the Inside Passage are to be found. ... Cordova is a small town located near the mouth of the Copper River in Alaska, at the head of Orca Inlet on the east side of Prince William Sound. ...

It was named "Kayak" in 1826 by Lt. Sarichef of the Russian Navy, because of the fancied resemblance of its outline to the Eskimo skin canoe. This island, it is believed, was the one Vitus Bering saw and named "Saint Elias" in 1741. Captain James Cook visited it on May 12, 1778, and buried a bottle with a paper and two small pieces of silver given to him by Dr. Kaye, the chaplain of King George III, for this purpose. Because of this, Capt. Cook gave the name "Kaye's Island" to this feature. It was called "Nuestra Senora del Carmen" or "Isla del Carmen," meaning "Our Lady Carmen" or "Island of (Our Lady) Carmen" by Don I. Arteaga about July 16, 1779, for the saint to whom this day was dedicated. A kayak is a type of small human-powered boat. ... Eskimo is a term used for a group of people who inhabit the circumpolar region (excluding circumpolar Scandinavia and all but the easternmost portions of Russia) There are two main groups of Eskimo: the Inuit of northern Alaska, Canada and Greenland and the Yupik of western Alaska and the Russian... Vitus Jonassen Bering (also, less correctly, Behring) (August, 1681 - December 19, 1741) was a Danish-born navigator in the service of Russian navy, captain-komandor of the Russian Navy known among the Russian sailors as Ivan Ivanovich. ... Events April 10 – Austrian army attack troops of Frederick the Great at Mollwitz December 19 – Vitus Bering dies in his expedition east of Siberia December 25 – Anders Celsius develops his own thermometer scale Celsius William Browning invents mineral water Elizabeth of Russia became czarina. ... British explorer James Cook, portrait by Nathaniel Dance, c. ... May 12 is the 132nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (133rd in leap years). ... 1785 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... George III (George William Frederick) (4 June 1738 – 29 January 1820) was King of Great Britain, and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until 1 January 1801, and thereafter King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death. ... July 16 is the 197th day (198th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 168 days remaining. ... 1779 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

Cape Saint Elias is located on the southwest end of the island. Mount Saint Elias, the second highest mountain in the United States and Canada, was likely named after this cape. Mount Saint Elias is the second highest mountain in both the United States and Canada, being situated on the Alaska and Yukon border. ...