Akutan Island (Akutanax̂[1] in Aleut) is an island in the Fox Islands group of the eastern Aleutian Islands in the U.S. state of Alaska. The island is approximately 30 km (18 mi) in length. It contains the Mount Akutan volcano, which had a major lava eruption in 1979. The land area is 334.13 km² (129.01 sq mi), and the island's population was 713 (2000 census), all in the city of Akutan, near the island's eastern end.
Akutan is an Aleut name reported by Capt. P. K. Krenitzin and M. Levashev in 1768 and spelled Acootan by James Cook in 1785. This name may be from the Aleut word "hakuta" which, according to R. H. Geoghegan, means "I made a mistake."
The Akutan Zero, a Japanese Zero aircraft, was named after the island after it crashed there during World War II and was recovered by the United States military.
References
- Akutan Island: Blocks 1052 and 1053, Census Tract 1, Aleutians East Borough, Alaska United States Census Bureau
- ^ Bergsland, K. (1994). Aleut Dictionary. Fairbanks: Alaska Native Language Center.
Coordinates: 54°07′41″N 165°55′05″W / 54.12806°N 165.91806°W
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
