Cape Etolin is a point of land extending approximately 4.6 miles (7.4 km) north into the Bering Sea on the northern coast of Nunivak Island, about 50 miles (80 km) west of Nightmute on the mainland and 4 miles (6 km) north-northeast of Mekoryuk, Alaska. The cape was named “Mys Etolina” on early Russian charts after Captain Adolph K. Etolin, who explored the area in 1822 and served as governor of the Russian American colonies from 1841 to 1845. The point is formed by volcanic rocks, and most of Nunivak Island is covered by thin pāhoehoe lava flows. These flows form a carapace over Cretaceous sedimentary rocks, creating a plateau that rises to an elevation of 500 feet (160 m). The island features four maars and about 60 cinder cones. Widespread lava flows originate from small shield volcanoes that cover much of the island, with the highest being Roberts Mountain, at an elevation of 1,675 feet (510 m). Two of the maars rise about 656 feet (200 m) above sea level. Volcanic eruptions occurred during five broad periods, beginning 6.1 million years ago and continuing until about 150,000 years ago. The bulk of the volcanic field formed during two Pleistocene eruptive periods that ended approximately 300,000 years ago. The most recent eruptions produced alkalic basalt lava flows and ash deposits from cinder cones and maars along an east-west zone in the southern part of the island.

Nunivak Island is 60 miles (97 km) wide and 49 miles (79 km) long. It is separated from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta by the 18-mile (29 km) Etolin Strait. The island was discovered on July 21, 1821, by Captain Mikhail N. Vasilyev of the Imperial Russian Navy and was named after his ship, *Otkritie*, meaning “Discovery.” This was recorded on early Russian maps. Around the same time, Adolf K. Etolin and Vasiliy S. Khromchenko of the Russian-American Company also found the island. Etolin, a Swedish-speaking Finn born in Helsinki, served as a naval officer, explorer, and administrator in the Russian Empire. Etolin traveled from Russia to America with Vasily Golovnin on the Kamchatka in 1817 for the Russian-American Company. He served as a shipmaster from 1818 to 1825 and participated in a survey of the Bering Sea between 1822 and 1824. In 1834, he became the adjutant to the Chief Manager, or Governor, of Russian America. Etolin himself served as Chief Manager from 1840 to 1845. From 1847 to 1859, he was a member of the board of the Russian-American Company in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Wild caribou inhabited Nunivak Island from prehistoric times until the late 1800s. The population was once estimated at 25,000 but was extirpated by 1904 due to starvation during severe winters and overhunting. In the early 20th century, Nunivak Island was considered open range. In 1920, the Lomen Company, founded by brothers Alfred and Carl J. Lomen in 1914, introduced reindeer to the island. From 1920 to 1929, the Lomen brothers invested in purchasing more reindeer herds and crossbreeding them with caribou. They also built several slaughterhouses and processing facilities in Alaska, including one at Cape Etolin. The company dominated the U.S. export market for reindeer meat and skins. In 1929, with the stock market crash and the onset of the Great Depression, the market for reindeer meat began to decline. Cattle producers also started lobbying Congress to impose barriers on the promotion and sale of reindeer meat. That same year, the Nunivak Island Reservation was established by executive order to conduct experiments on hybridizing reindeer and caribou, as well as propagating musk oxen for introduction elsewhere in Alaska. In 1940, Congress renamed it the Nunivak Island National Wildlife Refuge. In 1980, it was incorporated into the newly created Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge. Read more here and here. Explore more of Cape Etolin and Nunivak Island here: