Cape Lisburne

{{Coord|68|52|52|N|166|12|36|W|region:US-AK_scale:500000|display=title}}

Cape Lisburne (Iñupiaq: Uivvaq) is a cape located at the northwest point of the Lisburne Peninsula on the Chukchi Sea coast in Alaska. It is {{convert|40|mi|km}} northeast of the village of Point Hope, part of the Arctic Slope. It is a part of the Chukchi Sea unit of Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. It is the northwesternmost point of land in Alaska, North America, and based on the International Date Line{{efn|The 180th meridian bisects Russia's Wrangel Island, making its north shore at that longitude both the northwesternmost point and northeasternmost point of land in the world on that metric.}} the world.

History

The first European to sight this cape was James Cook. It is unclear who named it. On August 21, 1778, he wrote: "The southern extreme seemed to form a point which was named Cape", followed by a blank for the name. Someone added the word Lisburne, but it is not in Cook's handwriting.{{Cite journal |last=Stern |first=Harry L. |title=Polar maps: Captain Cook and the earliest historical charts of the ice edge in the Chukchi Sea |journal=Polar Geography |publication-date=2016 |volume=39 |issue=4 |pages=220-227}}

An early Inupiaq name for the cape was "Uivvaq", generally spelled "Wevok" or "Wevuk". Cape Lisburne was often referred to as "Uivvaq Uŋasiktuq" meaning "distant cape" as opposed to "Uivvaq Qanittuq" (Cape Thompson) meaning "near cape".

File:Wildflowers on Cape Lisburne by Dave Kuehn USFWS.jpg

The native Inupiaq who lived there were struck by a deadly epidemic and many died along with an Episcopal missionary named John Driggs.Lowenstein, T. (2010). Ultimate Americans: Point Hope, Alaska, 1826-1909. Fairbanks, AK: University of Alaska Press.

From 1951 to 1983, the United States Air Force maintained a long-range radar and communication facility at Cape Lisburne Air Force Station that was part of the DEW Line network of radar sites along the Alaska North Slope. The Pacific Air Forces Regional Support Center maintains the radar installation today.{{Cite web |title=Project Manager Reflects on Austere Conditions at Cape Lisburne, Mission Success for Seawall Construction |url=https://www.army.mil/article/243722/project_manager_reflects_on_austere_conditions_at_cape_lisburne_mission_success_for_seawall_construction |access-date=2022-11-22 |website=www.army.mil |language=en}}

{{Weather box

|location = Cape Lisburne, Alaska, 1954–1984 normals and extremes

|single line = Yes

|Jan record high F = 41

|Feb record high F = 45

|Mar record high F = 44

|Apr record high F = 46

|May record high F = 54

|Jun record high F = 65

|Jul record high F = 73

|Aug record high F = 74

|Sep record high F = 64

|Oct record high F = 57

|Nov record high F = 42

|Dec record high F = 47

|Jan avg record high F = 33.0

|Feb avg record high F = 23.0

|Mar avg record high F = 26.6

|Apr avg record high F = 33.2

|May avg record high F = 45.5

|Jun avg record high F = 57.7

|Jul avg record high F = 65.6

|Aug avg record high F = 61.3

|Sep avg record high F = 51.7

|Oct avg record high F = 40.1

|Nov avg record high F = 31.9

|Dec avg record high F = 28.5

|year avg record high F = 66.4

|Jan high F = 4.6

|Feb high F = -4.2

|Mar high F = -0.7

|Apr high F = 11.2

|May high F = 30.1

|Jun high F = 42.5

|Jul high F = 49.8

|Aug high F = 48.5

|Sep high F = 40.1

|Oct high F = 26.1

|Nov high F = 12.7

|Dec high F = 2.6

|year high F =

|Jan mean F = -1.1

|Feb mean F = -9.3

|Mar mean F = -5.9

|Apr mean F = 5.8

|May mean F = 25.8

|Jun mean F = 38.0

|Jul mean F = 45.2

|Aug mean F = 44.9

|Sep mean F = 37.3

|Oct mean F = 23.0

|Nov mean F = 8.8

|Dec mean F = -0.9

|year mean F =

|Jan low F = -6.8

|Feb low F = -14.3

|Mar low F = -11.1

|Apr low F = 0.4

|May low F = 21.5

|Jun low F = 33.5

|Jul low F = 40.5

|Aug low F = 41.3

|Sep low F = 34.4

|Oct low F = 19.8

|Nov low F = 4.8

|Dec low F = -6.4

|year low F =

|Jan avg record low F = -29.3

|Feb avg record low F = -30.3

|Mar avg record low F = -28.3

|Apr avg record low F = -15.6

|May avg record low F = 7.8

|Jun avg record low F = 26.4

|Jul avg record low F = 32.2

|Aug avg record low F = 33.9

|Sep avg record low F = 24.5

|Oct avg record low F = 3.8

|Nov avg record low F = -12.5

|Dec avg record low F = -23.7

|year avg record low F = -34.3

|Jan record low F = -42

|Feb record low F = -47

|Mar record low F = -39

|Apr record low F = -26

|May record low F = -11

|Jun record low F = 20

|Jul record low F = 29

|Aug record low F = 29

|Sep record low F = 15

|Oct record low F = -14

|Nov record low F = -23

|Dec record low F = -40

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation inch = 0.51

|Feb precipitation inch = 0.28

|Mar precipitation inch = 0.26

|Apr precipitation inch = 0.39

|May precipitation inch = 0.35

|Jun precipitation inch = 0.63

|Jul precipitation inch = 1.96

|Aug precipitation inch = 2.74

|Sep precipitation inch = 2.01

|Oct precipitation inch = 1.11

|Nov precipitation inch = 0.77

|Dec precipitation inch = 0.33

|year precipitation inch =

|Jan snow inch = 5.0

|Feb snow inch = 2.9

|Mar snow inch = 2.9

|Apr snow inch = 3.7

|May snow inch = 1.9

|Jun snow inch = 0.6

|Jul snow inch = 0.5

|Aug snow inch = 0.4

|Sep snow inch = 3.4

|Oct snow inch = 9.2

|Nov snow inch = 7.3

|Dec snow inch = 3.5

|year snow inch =

|source 1 = WRCC

{{cite web

|url = https://wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?ak1312

|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

|title = Period of Record Monthly Climate Summary

|access-date = March 8, 2023

}}

Notes

References

External links

{{cite gnis|id=1399894|name=Cape Lisburne|accessdate=2009-07-10}}

Lisburne

Category:Landforms of North Slope Borough, Alaska

Category:Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge

Category:Protected areas of North Slope Borough, Alaska