The Historic Exploration of Alaska

This past summer I had the great pleasure of making several trips to Kayak Island, near my hometown of Cordova, Alaska. This island is remarkable as it is the first land ever documented or touched by Russian Explorers; the Vitus Bering expedition of 1741 landed there after spending weeks sailing the relatively short distance from their home to mine.

Once they'd arrived at the island, about a dozen crewmembers went ashore, though only to fill waterbarrels for their return to Kamchatka. A young Georg Wilhelm Steller took this time to explore the island, making the first scientific sketches of many flora and fauna, all of extraordinary detail and quality.

Unfortunately, on their return voyage many of the crew, including Captain Bering, would succumb to scurvy, or perish in their eventual shipwreck on Bering Island. The remainder of the crew would winter on the island before crafting a new ship from the remnants of the old, and sailing home to tell their tale. By the end of the century sea otter populations would be decimated in the region.

In 1780, Captain James Cook would also visit Kayak Island, purportedly leaving objects of value and a note claiming the land for his patrons. The United States Coast Guard would eventually construct a lighthouse on the southern end of the island, at Cape St. Elias, to be manned in 3-person 6-month shifts.