Point Elrington is a tied-island connected by a gravel isthmus to the south-western tip of Elrington Island in the Gulf of Alaska, about 96 miles (155 km) south-west of Cordova and 43 miles (69 km) east-south-east of Seward, Alaska. The point was named by sailing master Joseph Whidbey of the Royal Navy on May 27th 1794, presumably for Hannah Elrington, who later married Lieutenant Peter Puget. Puget commanded HMS Chatham, the survey ship that accompanied HMS Discovery on the Vancouver Expedition from 1791 to 1795. Elrington Island was named for the point and was first reported in 1905 by Ulysses S. Grant of the US Geological Survey. Today the point is a US Coast Guard lighthouse reserve, and although a lighthouse was never built, an important lighted aid to navigation flashes every six seconds from an elevation of 30 feet (9 m).
Elrington Island sits at the south-western margin of Prince William Sound, between Latouche Island to the east and Evans Island to the west, and trends north-east-south-west for about 11 miles (18 km). The south-western end of the island is formed by rocks of the Orca Group, which consists of basalt and sedimentary rocks of turbidite origin. Point Elrington is formed by volcanic rocks of the Orca Group and Ghost Rocks Formation. Volcanic rocks of the Orca Group are pillow and columnar basalts and intruded dikes of gabbro and diorite. The Ghost Rocks Formation consists of basalts typically altered by low-grade metamorphism.
Point Elrington is an important sea lion haulout, mostly for Steller sea lions, but the first documented sighting of a California sea lion in Alaska was in 1973, when an adult male was photographed at Point Elrington. California sea lions in Alaska are most often seen alone and only occasionally in small groups, although hundreds haul out together along the Washington coast and in southern British Columbia. The relatively few California sea lions found in Alaska are usually associated with Steller sea lions at their haul-outs and rookeries. Read more here and here. Explore more of Point Elrington and Elrington Island here: