KADIAK ISLAND 177 



KENAI PENINSULA 



My observation of the Kenai Peninsula was restricted 

 to the northwest side of its more southerly arm. It is 

 there constituted by a lofty upland partially dissected by 

 large trenches, some of which now contain glaciers. Its 

 upper parts have a comparatively mature topography, 

 and seem to constitute remnants of an ancient pene- 

 plain, which has been bodily uplifted, with some disturb- 

 ance of original horizontality. The plateau resulting 

 from this uplift was deeply trenched along the main lines 

 of drainage, and the valleys thus opened were modified in 

 characteristic manner by Pleistocene glaciers. They are 

 now U-troughs, and some are partly submerged, so as to 

 constitute fiords. On the side facing Kachemak Bay and 

 Cook Inlet, it was evident that the old glaciers extended 

 beyond the position of the modern coast line, but nothing 

 was seen to indicate their outer limits. 



KADIAK ISLAND 



Kadiak Island is 100 miles long and 50 miles broad. Its 

 longer axis, trending northeast, is parallel to the neigh- 

 boring coast of the Alaska Peninsula, from which the is- 

 land is separated by Shelikof Strait, 30 miles wide. Afog- 

 nak Island, a close companion of Kadiak, continues its 

 northeasterly trend; and the Barren Islands serve as 

 physiographic stepping stones to connect the group with 

 the axis of uplift following the oceanic side of Kenai 

 Peninsula. 



The island is mountainous throughout, but contains no 

 lofty range. As on the Kenai Peninsula, the summits 

 tend toward uniformity and an even sky-line, and there 

 are remnants of an ancient uplifted peneplain. Such 

 lowlands as we saw are of moderate extent and uneven 

 surface. The coast line is sinuous, and some of the nar- 



