— 
JANUARY 25, 1884.] 
A NEW VOLCANO ISLAND IN ALASKA. 
RECENTLY the newspapers have contained 
references to the rise of a new volcanic island 
near Bogosloff Island in the Aleutian chain. 
Bogosloff itself is believed to be a recent de- 
yelopment. Possessing some unpublished ma- 
terial and some sketches bearing 
on this topic, it has been suggested 
that a résumé of the subject would 
not be without interest for the 
readers of Science. 
The island of Joanna Bogoslova 
(St. John, the theologian), or Aga- 
shagok of the Aleuts, is commonly ~ r\ 
known by the shorter name of 3 
‘Bogosloff’ to the white residents 
of the region. Owing to its iso- 
lated and remote situation, it has been rarely 
visited, and hence is less widely known than 
other modern volcano-islands. It is, how- 
ever, one of the few instances of the sudden 
and violent formation of land in the sea 
which have been witnessed in historic times. 
It is situated in latitude 53° 58’, and longi- 
tude 168° west, approximately some forty- 
two miles west of the northern corner of Una- 
lashka Island of the Aleutian chain. At the 
72) 
N. by E., 10 miles. 
Fie. 1. 
Note. —‘8’ is Ship Rock. 
time when it was observed by us it formed a 
sharp serrated ridge, about eight hundred and 
fifty feet in height, very narrow, the sides 
meeting above in a very acute angle, where 
they are broken into a number of inaccessible 
pinnacles. ‘There is no crater, nor appearance 
of a crater. The shore-line formed a tolerably 
regular oval, pointed at the south-east end, hav- 
ing its longitudinal axis trending N. W.i W. 
and S. E.4E. by compass, and reaching about 
three- Equarters of a nautical mile in length. 
The shores are mostly precipitous ; but at “the 
south-eastern extremity the waves have accu- 
mulated a small spit or pointed bit of beach, of 
talus, on which in perfectly favorable weather 
a landing may be had. With the least swell 
a heavy surf is formed here. Seen through a 
strong glass at a distance of four miles, it 
appeared of a light pinkish-gray color, devoid 
of vegetation or ‘water, and covered with myri- 
_ at the proper season. 
SCIENCE. 89 
ads of birds. Less than half a mile north and 
west from the.island is a perpendicular square- 
topped pillar, about one hundred and fifty feet 
high, called on modern charts ‘ Ship Rock.’ 
Less than half a mile north and east from the 
island is a small rock rising only a few feet 
above the water. North, east, and south, and 
North, 4 ae 
Gos 
especially east-south-east from the point of the 
island, scattered breakers were observed, ex- 
tending less than three-quarters of a mile from 
shore. The crags of the main island afford 
the most secure refuge to thousands of sea- 
parrots, puffins, auks, and divers; and sea- 
lions (Eumetopias Stelleri) often rest on the 
talus point. It is visited in spring, if weather 
permits, by native egg-hunters from Una- 
lashka; but in 1873 several years had passed 
since any one had been able to make a landing 
My own party attempted 
it unsuccessfully in 1872 and 1873. 
Such was the condition and appearance of 
the island in 1873. The outline sketches here 
given are facsimiles of those taken on the spot 
as we approached the island from the south- 
west, and passed south of it eastward toward 
Unalashka. Their proportions were corrected 
by horizontal and vertical angles. The wind 
N. W. i W., 6 miles. 
Fie. 4. 
S N.by W., 6 miles. 
Fie. 3. 
& 4K 
N. W. by W., 63 miles. W.N. W., 7 miles. 
Fie. 5. Fia. 6. 
was light ; but there was a heavy ground-swell, 
which broke on the rocks and the little spit at 
the south-east end, rendering a landing imprac- 
