Map of Kiska

Kiska is an island in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska located at 52.1° N, 177.6° E. It is also a common nickname for girls with round heads and names begining with a "D" (for example, Diana). It is about 22 miles (35 km) long and varies in width from 1.5 to 6 miles (2.4–9.7 km) Download high resolution version (1000x900, 247 KB)from <http://www. ... Download high resolution version (1000x900, 247 KB)from <http://www. ... The Rat Islands is a group of islands in the Aleutian Islands in southwest Alaska, between the Near Islands, to its west, and the Andreanof Islands group, to its east, at about 52° 6 North, 177° 36 West. ... Looking down the Aleutians from an airplane. ... Official language(s) English Capital Juneau Largest city Anchorage Area  Ranked 1st  - Total 663,267 sq mi (1,717,855 km²)  - Width 808 miles (1,300 km)  - Length 1,479 miles (2,380 km)  - % water 13. ...

Discovery

While returning from his second voyage, explorer Vitus Bering discovered most of the Aleutian Islands including Kiska. Georg Wilhelm Steller, a naturalist-physician onboard, wrote: Vitus Bering Vitus Jonassen Bering (also, less correctly, Behring) (August 1681–December 19, 1741) was a Danish-born navigator in the service of the Russian Navy, a captain-komandor known among the Russian sailors as Ivan Ivanovich. ... Looking down the Aleutians from an airplane. ... Georg Wilhelm Steller (March 10, 1709 - November 14, 1746) was a German botanist, zoologist, physician and explorer, who worked in Russia. ...

"On October 25, 1741 we had very clear weather and sunshine, but even so it hailed at various times in the afternoon. We were surprised in the morning to discover a large tall island at 51° to the north of us."

Map of the western Aleutians. Kiska is island number 7; Attu is number 1

Kiska, the Aleutians, and Alaska would later become fur outposts for the Russian-American Company managed by Grigory Shelikhov starting in 1775. October 25 is the 298th day of the year (299th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... // Events April 10 - Austrian army attack troops of Frederick the Great at Mollwitz August 10 - Raja of Travancore defeats Dutch East India Company naval expedition at Battle of Colachel December 19 - Vitus Bering dies in his expedition east of Siberia December 25 - Anders Celsius develops his own thermometer scale Celsius... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (826x478, 6 KB) Map of the Western Aleutian Islands. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (826x478, 6 KB) Map of the Western Aleutian Islands. ... Attu Island Attu is the westernmost and largest island in the Near Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, making it the westernmost point of land relative to Alaska and the United States. ... Official language(s) English Capital Juneau Largest city Anchorage Area  Ranked 1st  - Total 663,267 sq mi (1,717,855 km²)  - Width 808 miles (1,300 km)  - Length 1,479 miles (2,380 km)  - % water 13. ... The Russian-American Company was a semi-official colonial trading company started by Grigory Shelikhov and Nikolai Rezanov and chartered by tsar Paul I in 1799. ... Grigory Ivanovich Shelikhov (Shelekhov) (&#1064;&#1077;&#1083;&#1080;&#1093;&#1086;&#1074; (&#1064;&#1077;&#1083;&#1077;&#1093;&#1086;&#1074;), &#1043;&#1088;&#1080;&#1075;&#1086;&#1088;&#1080;&#1081; &#1048;&#1074;&#1072;&#1085;&#1086;&#1074;&#1080;&#1095; in Russian; English spelling varies from Shelekov to Shelikof)(1747 &#8212; 7. ... 1775 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

In 1867, U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward negotiated the purchase of Alaska, and with it Kiska, from Russia for the United States. 1867 (MDCCCLXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. ... William Henry Seward, Sr. ...

World War II

See also: Battle of the Aleutian Islands

The Japanese No. 3 Special Landing Party and 500 marines went ashore at Kiska on June 6, 1942 as a diversionary part of the Japanese plan for the Battle of Midway. The Japanese captured the sole inhabitants of the island: a small U.S. Navy Weather Detachment consisting of ten men, including a lieutenant, along with their dog. One member of the detachment escaped for 50 days. Starving, thin, and extremely cold, he eventually surrendered to the Japanese. The next day the Japanese captured Attu Island. Combatants United States, Canada Japan Commanders Thomas C. Kinkaid (navy) Francis W. Rockwell (landings) Albert E. Brown (army) Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr. ... June 6 is the 157th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (158th in leap years), with 208 days remaining // 1508 - Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, is defeated in Friulia by Venetian forces; he is forced to sign a three-year truce and cede several territories to Venice 1513... 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... Combatants United States Empire of Japan Commanders Chester W. Nimitz, Frank J. Fletcher, Raymond A. Spruance Isoroku Yamamoto, Chuichi Nagumo, Tamon Yamaguchi † Strength 3 carriers, ~50 support ships, 233 carrier aircraft, 127 land-based aircraft 4 carriers, 7 battleships, ~150 support ships, 248 carrier aircraft, 16 floatplanes Casualties 1 carrier... The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ... Attu Island Attu is the westernmost and largest island in the Near Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, making it the westernmost point of land relative to Alaska and the United States. ...

The military importance of this difficult-to-supply frozen island was questionable, but the psychological impact upon the Americans of losing U.S. territory was tangible. During the winter of 1942–43, the Japanese reinforced and fortified the islands—not necessarily to prepare for an island-hopping operation across the Aleutians, but to prevent a U.S. operation across the Kuril Islands. The U.S. Navy began operations to deny Kiska supply which would lead to the Battle of the Komandorski Islands. During October 1942, American forces undertook seven bombing missions over Kiska, though two were aborted due to inclement weather. Following the winter, Attu was liberated and Kiska was bombed once more for over two months, before a larger American force was allocated to defeat the expected Japanese garrison of 5,200 men. In air travel, planes that did not have the range to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a single flight took the island hopping route from the United States of America to Europe via the Caribbean and the Canary Islands or even further south via Brazil, Ascension Island, and Africa. ... Location of Kuril Islands in the Western Pacific. ... Combatants United States Japan Commanders Charles McMorris Boshiro Hosogaya Strength 2 cruisers, 4 destroyers 4 cruisers, 4 destroyers Casualties 1 cruiser damaged, 1 destroyer damaged 1 cruiser damaged The Battle of the Komandorski Islands was one of the most unusual engagements of World War II. It took place on 26...

The Allied invasion of Kiska

On August 17, 1943, an invasion force consisting of 34,426 Allied troops, including 5,300 Canadians, 95 ships (including three battleships and a heavy cruiser), and 168 aircraft landed on Kiska, only to find the island completely abandoned. The Japanese, aware of the loss of Attu and the impending arrival of the larger Allied force, had successfully removed their troops on July 28 under the cover of severe fog, without the Allies noticing. That night, however, the Imperial Japanese Navy warships, thinking they were engaged by Americans, shelled and attempted to torpedo the island of Little Kiska and the Japanese soldiers waiting to embark. from <http://www. ... from <http://www. ... August 17 is the 229th day of the year (230th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... July 28 is the 209th day (210th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 156 days remaining. ... The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) (: 大日本帝國海軍 Shinjitai: 大日本帝国海軍 or 日本海軍 Nippon Kaigun) or sometimes referred to as the Combined Fleet was the Navy of Empire of Japan (Dai Nippon Teikoku) from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japans constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling...

Allied casualties during the August invasion nevertheless numbered close to 200, all from friendly fire, booby traps set out by the Japanese to inflict damage on the invading allied forces, or disease. There were seventeen Americans and four Canadians killed from either friendly fire or booby traps, fifty more were wounded as a result of friendly fire or booby traps, and an additional 130 men came down with trench foot. The destroyer USS Abner Read hit a mine, resulting in 87 casualties. Friendly fire (fratricide or non-hostile fire) is a term originally adopted by the United States military in reference to an attack on friendly forces by other friendly forces,[1] which may be deliberate (e. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Chilblain. ... USS Abner Read (DD-526) was a Fletcher-class destroyer in the service of the United States Navy, named after Lieutenant commander Abner Read. ...

This final removal from the Aleutians spelled the end of any Japanese hopes to invade the United States from the north, and Kiska became of little importance as a base for further Allied attacks.

Kiska Volcano

Kiska Volcano

Kiska Volcano is a stratovolcano, 8.5 by 6.4 km (5.3 by 4.0 mi) in diameter at its base and 1221 m (4006 ft) high, on the northern end of Kiska Island. from <http://www. ... from <http://www. ... Stratovolcano Mount St. ...

An explosive eruption occurred on January 24, 1962 accompanied by lava extrusion and the construction of a cinder cone about 30 m high at Sirius Point on the north flank of Kiska Volcano, 3 km from the summit of the main cone (Anchorage Daily News, January 30, 1962). A second eruption that produced a lava flow was reported to have occurred March 18, 1964 (Bulletin of Volcanic Eruptions, 1964). January 24 is the 24th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ... Look up lava, Aa, pahoehoe in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Anchorage Daily News is a daily newspaper in Anchorage, Alaska. ... January 30 is the 30th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ... March 18 is the 77th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (78th in leap years). ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ...

Since then the volcano has emitted steam and ash plumes as well as smaller lava flows.

Kiska today

The island is considered a National Historic Landmark (the highest level of recognition accorded to historic sites in the U.S.), and is protected. Around the harbor is one of the best preserved historical scenes anywhere. The slow erosion processes on the tundra have had little effect on the bomb craters still visible on the hills surrounding the harbor. USS Constitution. ... I lIke Cheese In physical geography, tundra is an area where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. ...

Numerous equipment dumps, tunnels (some concrete-lined and sound!), Japanese gun emplacements, shipwrecks, and other war relics can be found all untouched since they were last used in 1943. A disused railway tunnel now converted to pedestrian and bicycle use, near Houyet, Belgium A tunnel is an underground passage. ... A shipwreck is the remains of a ship after it has sunk or been beached as a result of a crisis at sea. ...

There is now a memorial plaque on Kiska placed by the 87th Mountain Infantry Regiment in 1983. The plaque's inscription reads:

"To the men of Amphibious Task Force 9 who fell here August 1943 placed here August 1983 by 87th Mountain Infantry Regiment."

The island is part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge and contains the largest colony of Least Auklets (over 1,160,000 birds) and Crested Auklets. The Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge (often shortened to Alaska Maritime or AMNWR) is a United States National Wildlife Refuge comprising 2,400 islands, headlands, rocks, islets, spires and reefs in Alaska, with a total area of 4. ... A seabird colony is a site which seabirds visit to breed. ... Binomial name Aethia pusilla (Pallas, 1811) The Least Auklet, Aethia pusilla, is a seabird and the smallest species of auk. ... Binomial name Aethia cristatella (Pallas, 1769) The Crested Auklet is a small seabird of the family Alcidae which nests in huge colonies (>1 million individuals) in the Bering Sea and Sea of Okhotsk. ...

Sources and Links

• Kiska Volcano
• Shipwrecks around Kiska
• The Kiska Memorial
• The Aleutians Campaign
• Library of Congress link
• Google Maps
• Alaska Volcano Observatory
• Soldiers of the 184th Infantry, 7th ID in the Pacific, 1943-1945