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The National Geographic Magazine 



are also some scattered low rocks close 

 under the cape all along its seaward face. 

 The middle cape is clear of rocks, ex- 

 cept a high pinnacle, so close under its 

 southeast face as to seem a part of the 

 rocky cliff, except from certain direc- 

 tions. The west cape, or Lazaref 

 proper, has a reef projecting one and 

 one-tenth miles southeastward from its 

 extreme point, consisting of two high 

 rocks, one about 150 feet above the sea 

 and one about 70 feet midway between 

 them, all showing as pinnacles from the 

 southeastward, but broad from all other 

 directions, and a multitude of low rocks 

 quite close together. This reef forms a 

 fairly good protection in westerly winds 

 for an anchorage to the eastward be- 

 tween the outer high rock and a small 

 bunch of rocks lying one and three- 

 tenths miles from the eastern face of the 

 cape. 



The sandy shore is continued to the 

 westward of Cape Lazaref , with some- 

 what higher dunes upon it immediately 

 back from the beach. Six-tenths of a 

 mile from this beach and 1 x /> miles west- 

 ward from the cape lies a small rocky 

 island about 130 feet above the sea and 

 having a smooth, grassy top. At 3% 

 miles westward from Cape Lazaref the 

 low shore, forming the sea frontage of 

 the broad valley or flat back of the 

 rocky masses which constitute the cape, 

 ceases, and a high spur from Isanotski 

 Mountain reaches almost to the sea, 

 there being but a narrow fringe of sand 

 beach in front of this 2 ^-miles-wide sea 

 face of the mountainous projection. 

 This sand beach is of comparatively re- 

 cent formation. The cliffs of the face 

 of this spur show evidences of wave 

 action, and are in shape and color simi- 

 lar to the cliffs of Cape Lazaref. From 

 aloft on the ship it could be seen that 

 this is true also for many miles of the 

 east side of this spur bordering on the 

 low land. 



At a point eight miles westward from 

 Cape Lazaref the sandy beach is broken 



by the toe of a lava flow, probably from 

 Shishaldin volcano, about one mile wide 

 on its sea face, about 20 to 30 feet in 

 height, and consisting of black, very 

 jagged, and forbidding- looking rocks. 

 Immediately back from the sea face the 

 lava is covered with sand and thin veg- 

 etation. The sand beach is again 

 broken through at 6^4 miles from this 

 lava flow by a low ridge, about 2% 

 miles long and in a southwest and north- 

 east direction, and rising into three con- 

 ical hills, of which the northeasternmost 

 is the highest, the middle the lowest, 

 and the southwesternmost the only one 

 whose base is washed by the sea and 

 formed into several columnar rocks, of 

 which only the outermost is entireh* 

 surrounded by water at low tide. 



RUKAVITSIE CAPE 



From Rukavitsie Cape there is an 

 unbroken sweep of low sand beach, 

 backed by low sandy bluffs and dunes 

 for 13 miles, first south west ward, then 

 curving gradually until its final direc- 

 tion, for two miles before it ends, is 

 south. This forms the northwestern 

 shore of Unimak Bay. Back from this 

 beach from iyi to 3 miles, in the most 

 receding part of this bight, are hills ris- 

 ing from several hundred to 1,400 feet, 

 and farther back seemingly still higher 

 ones, all comparatively solitary, from a 

 plain 100 to 200 feet above the sea and 

 sloping gradually upward to the ridge 

 projecting westward from Shishaldin 

 Mountain. To the westward of these 

 hills, between them and the mountain 

 mass forming the southwestern end of 

 Unimak Island, is a broad valle}', 

 drained by a river which empties into 

 Unimak Bay at a point of the sand 

 beach distant 1 Vn miles from its south- 

 western end. Looking into this valley, 

 at an estimated distance of three or four 

 miles from the beach is seen a lava flow, 

 apparently from the southwest toward 

 the northeast, reaching more than half 



