Nelson Island
Facts
- Official Name: Nelson Island
- Seismically Monitored: No
- Color Code: UNASSIGNED
- Alert Level: UNASSIGNED
- Elevation: 450m (1476ft)
- Latitude: 60.45
- Longitude: -164.66
- Smithsonian VNum:
- Pronunciation:
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Nearby Towns:
- Nightmute 3 mi (5 km) NW
- Toksook Bay 16 mi (26 km) NW
- Umkumiute 19 mi (30 km) NW
- Tununak 22 mi (36 km) NW
- Chefornak 24 mi (39 km) SE
Distance from Anchorage: 499 mi (803 km)
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Subfeatures:
- Ingariak Hills
- Tern Mtn
- Cheching Mtn
- Kinia, benchmark
Description
From Wood and Kienle (1990) [1] : "Reconnaissance geologic mapping of Nelson Island revealed basaltic lava flows ~30 m thick dipping gently eastward. The topography of the island suggests it is highly dissected and probably late Tertiary rather than Quaternary in age. Younger looking isolated cones are evident to the south at Ingariak Hills, Tern Mountain, Cheching Mountain, and benchmark Kinia."Name Origin
Nelson Island was named in 1880 by Henry Gannet, for Edward William Nelson, who spent about five years in this area as an observer for the U.S. Signal Service and a collector for the Smithsonian Institution (Orth, 1971).