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PRIBILOF ISLANDS (often called the Fu...

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Originally appearing in Volume V22, Page 313 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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PRIBILOF ISLANDS (often called the See also:

Fur See also:Seal Islands, See also:Russian See also:equivalent, " Kotovi ") , a See also:group of four islands, See also:part of See also:Alaska, lying in See also:Bering See also:Sea in about 56° 50' N. and 17o° W., about goo m. N. of Unalaska and 200 M. S. of Cape Newenham, the nearest point on the mainland. The See also:principal islands are St See also:Paul (about 35 sq. m.; 13 M. See also:long, from N.E. to S.W.; maximum width about 6 m.; named from St See also:Peter and St Paul's See also:Day, on which it was discovered) and St See also:George (about 27 sq.m.; ro m. long, maximum width, 4 In.; probably named after Pribilof's See also:ship) about 30 M. S.E.; See also:Otter and See also:Walrus islets, the former covering about 4 sq. m., and the latter merely a See also:reef covering about 64 acres, are near St Paul. In 1907 the native See also:population was 263—170 on St Paul and 93 on St George. Only agents of the See also:United States or employes of the lessees are permitted as residents on the islands. The islands are hilly and volcanic—Bogoslof, a See also:crater on St Paul, is 600 ft. high—without harbours, and have a mean See also:annual temperature of about 35.7° F., and a rainfall of about 35 M. There are only two seasons—See also:rainy summers lasting from May to See also:October, and dry winters from See also:November to See also:April. ' The See also:flora is restricted to ferns, mosses and See also:grasses, though there are some creeping willows and small shrubs. The largest seal rookery, containing about 8o % of the See also:seals in the Pribilofs, is on St Paul. The seals found here are a distinct variety (Callorhinus alascanus) with much better fur than that of any other variety.

Besides the fur seal there are See also:

blue and See also:grey foxes (more on St George than on St Paul), and on St George See also:Island and on the Walrus reef there are See also:great See also:bird rookeries—the breeding places of immense See also:numbers of gulls, sea-parrots, auks, cormorants and arries (Lomvia arra). The islands were first sighted in 1767 by See also:Joan Synd, and were visited in 1786 by Gerasim Pribiloff, who discovered the fur seal rookeries for which they became famous. From See also:Russia the islands passed with Alaska to the United States in 1867. From 1870 to 1890 the United States See also:government leased the islands to the Alaska Commercial See also:Company. In 1890–1910 the See also:North See also:American Commercial Company held the See also:monopoly. But the See also:industry shrank considerably owing to pelagic sealing. The See also:season during which See also:land See also:hunting is allowed on the islands includes See also:June, See also:July, See also:September and October.

End of Article: PRIBILOF ISLANDS (often called the Fur Seal Islands, Russian equivalent, " Kotovi ")

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