Point Pogibshi is a prominent flat-topped grassy headland about 50 feet (15 m) high with rocky sides, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) northeast of Dangerous Cape, and 6 miles (10 km) west-southwest of Seldovia, Alaska. The name is from the Russian for “Point Peril” and was first published by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1943. The USCGS ship Carlile P. Patterson charted some of Kachemak Bay in the late 1890s, and one report noted that more than thirty varieties of wildflowers were found within an area of about 4 acres (1.6 ha) at Pogibshi Point, including sweet peas, violets, columbines, flags, water lilies, and others known to warmer climates and more southern latitudes. The eroding headland extends underwater for about 0.5 miles (0.8 km) and this shallow reef is marked by a bull kelp canopy. The point has an aid to navigation light mounted on a skeleton tower at an elevation of 94 feet (28.5 m), with a diamond-shaped red and white daymark.
A strong current flows into Kachemak Bay along the southern coastline and this current is accelerated by flooding tides. Winds and currents are locally accelerated by headlands and at Point Pogibshi this causes severe turbulence and large waves that are hazardous for small boats. On January 30, 1999, the fishing vessel Kavkaz capsized near Point Pogibshi. No sign was found of the crew by U.S. Coast Guard responders. The fishing vessel Arizona was able to tow the overturned vessel to a beach near Port Graham where rescuers heard a knocking from inside the wreck. A hole was cut through the hull and two crewmembers were extracted, but only one survived the 24 hours wedged in a tiny air pocket next to the boat engine.
Kachemak Bay is a State of Alaska Critical Habitat Area established in 1974 to protect habitat areas crucial to fish and wildlife and to restrict all other uses not compatible with that primary purpose. This area includes the tidal and submerged lands of Kachemak Bay east of a line drawn from Anchor Point to Point Pogibshi and is approximately 222,000 acres (89,840 ha) in size. The Critical Habitat Area is part of the Kachemak Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve that was established in 1999. The reserve consists of more than 370,000 acres (149,733 ha) of diverse coastal ecosystems protecting marsh plants, marine algae, and animals, coastal communities, and fish habitat. Read more here and here. Explore more of Point Pogibshi here:
