Amak is a volcanic island in the Bering Sea, measuring about 2 miles (3.2 km) wide and nearly 3 miles (4.8 km) long, approximately 172 miles (277 km) northeast of Dutch Harbor and 22 miles (35 km) northwest of Cold Bay, Alaska. The island’s name was first published by Mikhail Tebenkov of the Imperial Russian Navy as “Ostrov Amak” or “Amak Island.” According to Richard H. Geoghegan, the name derives from the Alutiiq word “amaq,” meaning “blood.” Access to Amak Island is restricted to boats and requires a special permit from the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, which manages the Aleutian Islands Wilderness. Amak Island is a basaltic-andesite stratovolcano characterized by lava flows from its summit. Three historical eruptions have been documented: the first around 2550, the second between 1700 and 1710, and the most recent in 1796. Each eruption produced lava flows; the latter two also involved crater eruptions. A dry maar, formed by an explosion caused when groundwater contacted hot lava or magma, is located at the edge of an eroding bluff on the island’s southwest plain.

The largest known maars are on the Seward Peninsula in northwest Alaska, about 770 miles (1,239 km) north of Amak Island. These maars range from 13,000 to 26,000 feet (4,000 to 8,000 m) in diameter and can be up to 980 feet (300 m) deep. They formed during eruptions over approximately 100,000 years, with the youngest, the Devil Mountain Maar, forming about 17,500 years ago. Their large size results from an explosive reaction when magma contacts permafrost. Hydromagmatic eruptions are violently explosive because permafrost melts slowly, providing a steady water source to the eruption while maintaining a low water-to-magma ratio. Examples of maars on the Seward Peninsula include North Killeak Maar, South Killeak Maar, Devil Mountain Maar, and Whitefish Maar. Unlike these, which have formed lakes, the maar on Amak Island remains dry. This is likely due to the porous underlying rock, preventing a lake from forming.

Steller sea lions use the reefs surrounding Amak Island for haulouts. In the 1950s, the worldwide population of Steller sea lions was estimated at 240,000 to 300,000 animals. Their range stretched across the Pacific Rim from southern California, through Canada and Alaska, to Russia and northern Japan. By 1990, the U.S. population had declined by about 80%, prompting the listing of the Steller sea lion as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. In 1997, new genetic information led to the designation of two distinct populations. An isolated rock islet about 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the island serves as a sea lion rookery. A western population extends from Japan around the Pacific Rim to Cape Suckling in Alaska, near Kayak Island. An eastern population stretches from Cape Suckling eastward to British Columbia and south to California. The western population has continued to decline, resulting in its status being changed to endangered. In contrast, the eastern population has been increasing, with the most significant growth observed in southeast Alaska and British Columbia. However, the generally poor recovery in California has kept the population listed as threatened. Read more here and here. Explore more of Amak Island and the Bering Sea here: