Nizki Island

Nizki Island
Native name: Avayax̂
Nautical Chart of Nizki Island
4 - Nizki
Geography
Archipelago Semichi Islands
Administration
United States
State Alaska
Demographics
Population 0

Nizki Island (Avayax̂[1] in Aleut) is an uninhabited island in the Aleutian Islands in the U.S. state of Alaska. Located at 52°44′28″N 173°59′08″E / 52.74111°N 173.98556°E / 52.74111; 173.98556, it is the middle island of the Semichi Islands group of the Near Islands. Flanked by Shemya to the east and Alaid to the west, three-mile-long (5 km) Nizki is periodically joined to Alaid by a sand spit. The name is said to derive from the Russian nizkiy, meaning "low," a term descriptive of the island's topography, with a maximum elevation of 165 feet. Nizki's shoreline is very irregular and is fringed by numerous rocks, reefs, and kelp-marked shoals.[2]

Foxes were introduced to Nizki Island by Russian fur traders in the 19th century. This decimated the population of many bird species on the island. The last fox was removed from Nizki Island in 1976, and now Aleutian Canada Geese (once believed to be extinct), Puffins, and Aleutian Terns are common on the island.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Bergsland, K. (1994). Aleut Dictionary. Fairbanks: Alaska Native Language Center.
  2. ↑ U.S. Coast Pilot 9, Chapter 7, Aleutian Islands
  3. ↑ Alaska Science Forum: Arctic foxes made Aleutians less green


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