West Saint Peak

West Saint Peak
West Saint Peak (left) and East Saint Peak (right) reflected in Three Saints Bay. View from southeast.
Highest point
Elevation	3,337 ft (1,017 m)[1]
Prominence	1,787 ft (545 m)[1]
Isolation	3.83 mi (6.16 km)[1]
Coordinates	57°08′10″N 153°33′10″W[2]
Geography
West Saint Peak Location in Alaska
Country	United States
State	Alaska
Borough	Kodiak Island Borough
Protected area	Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge
Parent range	Kodiak Archipelago
Topo map	USGS Kodiak A-5

West Saint Peak is a 3,337-foot-elevation (1,017-meter) summit in Alaska.

Description

West Saint Peak is located 60 miles (97 km) southwest of Kodiak at Three Saints Bay on the southeastern coast of Kodiak Island. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains into Three Saints Bay and topographic relief is significant as the summit rises 3,337 feet (1,017 meters) above the bay in approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km). East Saint Peak (3,307 ft) is approximately one mile northeast of West Saint Peak.[3] The two peaks were described and named in 1931 by the United States Geological Survey but the toponyms have not been officially adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names.[2] The peaks are named in association with Three Saints Bay, which was named by Grigory Shelikhov who established the first permanent Russian settlement in North America along the shore below the west peak in 1784.[4] "Three Saints" was the name of Shelikhov's ship.[5][6]

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, West Saint Peak is located in a subpolar oceanic climate zone with cold, snowy winters, and cool summers.[7] Weather systems coming off the North Pacific are forced upwards by the mountains (orographic lift), causing heavy precipitation in the form of rainfall and snowfall. Winter temperatures can drop to 0 °F with wind chill factors below −10 °F.

See also

• List of mountain peaks of Alaska
• Geography of Alaska

References

1. "West Saint Peak - 3,337' AK". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved 2023-12-19.
2. National Geodetic Survey Data Sheet, West Saint Peak, PID=UW2359, noaa.gov, Retrieved 2023-12-19.
3. National Geodetic Survey Data Sheet, East Saint Peak, PID=UW2363, noaa.gov, Retrieved 2023-12-19.
4. Walter R. Borneman, Alaska: Saga of a Bold Land, Zondervan, 2009, ISBN 9780061865275, p. 61.
5. "Three Saints Bay". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2023-12-19.
6. "Three Saints Harbor". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2023-12-19.
7. Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L.; McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11. ISSN 1027-5606.