Information About

Iliamna Lake

Quick Facts

Open in The Map

Location

59 ° 33' 10.296" N,
155 ° 5' 17.848" W

Region

Lake and Peninsula

Nearest City

Newhalen

Length

75 mi (120.7 km)

Elevation

46 ft (14.02 m)

Iliamna Lake in Detail.

About

and at N end of Alaska Peninsula, between Kvichak Bay and Cook Inlet, 100 mi. W of Seldovia, Bristol Bay Low. 75 miles long and 20 miles wide.

History

Native name reported as "Oz(ero) Bol (shoy) Ilyamna," meaning "Big Ilyamna Lake," on 1852 Russian Hydrographic Dept. Chart 1455. This feature was earlier called "Oz(ero) Shelekhovo," meaning "Lake Shelekov," on an 1802 Russian map. According to G. C. Martin, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Iliamna is said to be "the name of a mythical great blackfish supposed to inhabit this lake, which bites holes in the bidarkas of bad natives."