Cape Saint Elias
{{Short description|Headland in Alaska, United States}}
Cape Saint Elias is a cape in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located at the southwest end of Kayak Island, 104 km (65 mi) southeast of Cordova, at {{coord|59|48|27|N|144|35|12|W|}}. It is commonly believed that Mount Saint Elias, the second highest mountain in the United States and Canada, is named for this landform.
The cape was named by Danish-born Russian explorer Vitus Bering on July 20, 1741, for Arab-born Elias I of Jerusalem, whose saint's day, (Eastern Orthodox liturgics), is July 20. This feature was also called "Santa Rosa" in 1779 by Don Ignacio Artega, "Español" in 1791 by Alessandro Malaspina, and "Punta de Canas," meaning "point of reeds," in 1796, by T.M. Lopez. George Vancouver named it "Hamond Point" in 1794 for Sir Andrew Snape Hamond.
In October 1913, Congress allocated $115,000 to construct a lighthouse on the cape. Construction occurred from 1915 through 1916 and a third order Fresnel Lens was put in place. At the time, this was the second such facility in Alaska.
The cape is also the site of Alaska's first confirmed tornado, which caused minor damage to the area on November 4, 1959.{{cite web |title=Alaska F0 |url=http://www.tornadohistoryproject.com/tornado/19591104.2.1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130217083645/http://www.tornadohistoryproject.com/tornado/19591104.2.1 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=February 17, 2013 |website=Tornado History Projects |publisher=Storm Predicition Center |accessdate=7 July 2020}} It was the 50th and last state to confirm their first tornado since 1950.{{cite web |title=All Alaska Tornadoes |url=http://www.tornadohistoryproject.com/tornado/Alaska |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110128062249/http://www.tornadohistoryproject.com/tornado/Alaska |url-status=usurped |archive-date=January 28, 2011 |website=Tornado History Projects |publisher=Storm Predicition Center |accessdate=7 July 2020}}
Climate
Cape Saint Elias has a subpolar oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfc).
{{Weather box
| collapsed =
| location = Cape St. Elias Light
| single line = Y
| Jan record high F = 49
| Feb record high F = 51
| Mar record high F = 62
| Apr record high F = 65
| May record high F = 74
| Jun record high F = 71
| Jul record high F = 78
| Aug record high F = 76
| Sep record high F = 75
| Oct record high F = 65
| Nov record high F = 55
| Dec record high F = 51
| year record high F = 78
| Jan avg record high F = 42.8
| Feb avg record high F = 43.1
| Mar avg record high F = 46.7
| Apr avg record high F = 51.3
| May avg record high F = 58.8
| Jun avg record high F = 63.3
| Jul avg record high F = 67.9
| Aug avg record high F = 66.5
| Sep avg record high F = 63.1
| Oct avg record high F = 55.3
| Nov avg record high F = 48.1
| Dec avg record high F = 44.1
| year avg record high F = 69.3
| Jan high F = 34.6
| Feb high F = 36.6
| Mar high F = 37.2
| Apr high F = 42.6
| May high F = 48.0
| Jun high F = 53.6
| Jul high F = 57.7
| Aug high F = 58.3
| Sep high F = 55.2
| Oct high F = 47.6
| Nov high F = 40.8
| Dec high F = 36.7
| year high F = 45.7
| Jan mean F = 31.0
| Feb mean F = 33.2
| Mar mean F = 33.4
| Apr mean F = 38.3
| May mean F = 43.8
| Jun mean F = 49.6
| Jul mean F = 53.7
| Aug mean F = 54.5
| Sep mean F = 51.0
| Oct mean F = 43.4
| Nov mean F = 37.2
| Dec mean F = 33.2
| year mean F = 41.9
| Jan low F = 27.4
| Feb low F = 29.8
| Mar low F = 29.5
| Apr low F = 33.9
| May low F = 39.7
| Jun low F = 45.5
| Jul low F = 49.7
| Aug low F = 50.7
| Sep low F = 46.9
| Oct low F = 39.2
| Nov low F = 33.7
| Dec low F = 29.8
| year low F = 38.0
| Jan avg record low F = 16.7
| Feb avg record low F = 18.8
| Mar avg record low F = 19.4
| Apr avg record low F = 28.3
| May avg record low F = 34.5
| Jun avg record low F = 41.1
| Jul avg record low F = 45.3
| Aug avg record low F = 46.3
| Sep avg record low F = 40.3
| Oct avg record low F = 32.0
| Nov avg record low F = 23.9
| Dec avg record low F = 19.4
| year avg record low F = 12.5
| Jan record low F = 4
| Feb record low F = 1
| Mar record low F = 8
| Apr record low F = 17
| May record low F = 25
| Jun record low F = 36
| Jul record low F = 30
| Aug record low F = 33
| Sep record low F = 23
| Oct record low F = 13
| Nov record low F = 12
| Dec record low F = 0
|year record low F = 0
|precipitation colour = green
| Jan precipitation inch = 7.43
| Feb precipitation inch = 7.12
| Mar precipitation inch = 6.68
| Apr precipitation inch = 6.15
| May precipitation inch = 6.00
| Jun precipitation inch = 4.08
| Jul precipitation inch = 7.09
| Aug precipitation inch = 9.66
| Sep precipitation inch = 12.00
| Oct precipitation inch = 12.41
| Nov precipitation inch = 9.58
| Dec precipitation inch = 9.70
| year precipitation inch = 97.90
| Jan snow inch = 22.1
| Feb snow inch = 18.6
| Mar snow inch = 13.2
| Apr snow inch = 4.3
| May snow inch = 0.2
| Jun snow inch = 0.0
| Jul snow inch = 0.0
| Aug snow inch = 0.0
| Sep snow inch = 0.0
| Oct snow inch = 1.6
| Nov snow inch = 7.1
| Dec snow inch = 19.7
| year snow inch = 86.8
| source 1 = WRCC{{cite web
| url = https://wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?ak1321
| title = CAPE ST ELIAS, ALASKA (501321)
| publisher = Western Regional Climate Center
| access-date = May 18, 2023
| archive-url = https://archive.today/20230518050226/https://wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?ak1321
| archive-date = 2023-05-18}}}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Cape Saint Elias}}
- {{gnis|id=1399915}}
- [https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/r10/learning/history-culture/?cid=FSEPRD504401 United States Department of Agriculture: Forest Service: Cape Saint Elias Lighthouse]
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Category:Landforms of Chugach Census Area, Alaska
{{ChugachAK-geo-stub}}