Information About

Russell Fiord

Quick Facts

Open in The Map Russell Fiord on The Map

Location

59 ° 48' 4" N,
139 ° 19' 27.001" W

Region

Yakutat

Nearest City

Yakutat

Russell Fiord in Detail.

About

Extends north to Disenchantment Bay, at the head of Yakutat Bay, in the Saint Elias Mountains.

History

Named in 1906 by Marcus Baker, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), for Israel Cook Russell (1852-1906), explorer of the Yakutat region in 1890 and 1891 and discoverer of this estuary in 1891. Russell was born in New York and received B.S. and C.E. degrees in 1872 from the University of the City of New York. In 1880, he became a member of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). He represented the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in 1889 in an expedition sent to Alaska by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (USC&GS) to establish a portion of Alaska's eastern boundary. During the next two years, he explored, under the joint auspices of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Geographic Society, the slopes of Mount St. Elias and the Yakutat Bay area. In 1892 he became professor of geology at the University of Michigan. At the time of his death, he was President of the Geological Society of America.