Aleutian Islands - a picturesque archipelago of volcanic origin, which is located near the coast of Alaska. This article provides basic information and describes some interesting features of this amazing place.
Geographical Information
The archipelago consists of one hundred and ten islands, which are divided into five groups: the Near, the Rat, the Andreyanovsky, the Four-horned, the Fox. The largest Aleutian island is Unimak.
The archipelago is part of Alaska. There are twenty-five active volcanoes here, for example, Tanaga, Big Sitkin, Gareloi, Kanaga. The height of the highest of them - Shishaldin volcano - is 2861 meters.
We can say a little about the climate of the archipelago: its type is the marine subarctic, average temperatures are 14 ° C in February, 12 ° C in August; also in summer there are often fogs.
Flora and fauna
Flora: in the lowlands of the islands, cereals and grasses predominate, higher are the heaths, and even higher are the mountain tundra.
Fauna: the archipelago was originally rich in fur and marine animals, but now almost all of these animal species are endangered, and most of the islands are part of the Alaskan Marine National Reserve.
Population
The indigenous people of the archipelago are the Aleuts. On the islands there are only four settlements: Unalyaska, Adak, Atka, Nikolsky, in total a little more than eight thousand people live there. This indicates an extremely low population density in this territory.
The local religion is Christianity, represented by Methodists, Catholics and Orthodox.
The population is mainly engaged in fishing, as well as serving the US military base located on the island of Adak.
History
In 1741, the Aleutian Islands were first discovered by the second Kamchatka expedition, but no landings took place. In 1745, a group of sailors, led by Nevodchikov, came into contact with the Aleuts in the Near Islands. They decided to winter in the bay of Attu, while destroying two villages. Subsequently, industrialists said that they took the local population for the Chukchi.
In 1758, trade relations began with the inhabitants of the islands of Unalashk and Umnak. In 1772, the first Russian settlement was founded on Unalashka.
In 1867, the Aleutian Islands replenished the islands of America, since they, along with Alaska, were transferred to the United States under a treaty.
sights
If you decide to visit the Aleutian Islands, then, first of all, you will be amazed at the many picturesque views of nature, and most importantly - volcanoes that are especially beautiful at night. Pillars of fire burst from huge craters, illuminating the majestic icebergs floating in the dark water. Such a fascinating sight can be observed every night - eruptions of numerous volcanoes occur quite often.
And if you want to enjoy the island views, then you will find magnificent flowering valleys. There are few animals deep in the island, but on the coast you can see seals, fur seals, walruses and many birds.
The Aleutian Islands are also known for the fact that they contain the ancient burial places of the Unangan tribe - the ancestors of the Aleuts. It is amazing that funeral rituals are almost a complete copy of the ancient Egyptian ones!
