UNITED STArnS DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR REC'D. - JUNEAU GEOLOGICAL SURVEY MAR 2 7 1967 MINERAL APPRAISAL OF THE BERING SEA, BOGOSLOF, SIMEONOF, "L T SENIDI, 'IIJXEDNI, ST. IAZARIA, HAZY ISLANDS, AND FORRESTER ISWNATIONAL WILDLIFE mFUGES, ALASKA Edward H. Cobb, Alexander A. Wanek, Arthur Grantz, and Claire Carter @en-File Rcpor-t March 1967 This report is preliminary and has not been edited or reviewed for conformity with U.S. Geological standards and nomenclature. STUDIES RELATED TO WlLDERNESS The Wilderness Act (Public Law 88-57'1, Sept. 3, 1964) directs the Scrrctary of the Interior to review roadless areas of fivc thousand contiguous acres or more, and rvcry roadless island, within the national wildlife refuges and game ranges under his jurisdictian, and to report on the suitability or nonsuitability of each such area or island for preservation as wilderness. As one aspect of the suitability studies, thc Secretary has directed the U. S. Geological Survey and the U. S. Bureau of Mines to make mineral surveys of the wilderness candidate areas. The surveys are concerned principally with the minerals subject to leasing under the mineral leasing laws and are based largely on analysis of existing published or unpub- lished data. This report on eight of the wildlife refuges in Alaska is one of a scricx of similar reports on wildlife refuges of the United States. CONTENTS Page I 1 Introduction.. ............................................... 4 j .. Bering Sea National Wildlife Refuge, by Edward H. Cobb ........ 5 , Summary ................................................... 5 Introduction...................,,....,................. 5 Geo1nr;y ................................................... 9 Minera.1 resources..,.....,,...............,.~~.....,... 10 Bogoslof National Wildlife Refuge, by Claire Carter and Edward H. Cohb.... ................................................. 10 Sway................................................... 10 Introduction,.... ......................................... 10 Geology. .................................................. 14 Mineral resources.,,..................,,,............. 15 i Simeonof and Semidi National Wildlife Refuges, by Arthur Grantz and Edward H. Cobb........ ........................... 15 I Introduction... ........................................... 15 I , . , Geolom ................................................... 22 I I finer& resources.. ....................................... 24 Page j Tuxedni National Wildlife Refuge, by Alexander A. Wanek. ...... 25 Introduction .............................................. 26 Geolow.................................................. 28 I Mineral resources......,.... ............................ 33 St. Lazaria National Wildlife Refuge, by Edward H. Cobb ....... 36 3 , summary.. .. ,. .. .. 36 i Introduction ......................................... 37 I. Geoloa......................*~*.*.,.................. 39 Mineral resomces..... .................................... 39 !I Hazy Islands National Wildlife Refuge, by Edward H. Cobb ...... 40 , *. Introduction. , . , . 41 Geology.. , . , . , . , , . 43 Mineral resources.. , . , . , . 45 Forrester Island National Wildlife Refuge, by Edward H. Cobb.. 46 ! <-, summary.. , . .. , . 46 j.i ! Introduction.. .... ... ... .,. , . 46 Geology.. .. , . 49 Mineral resources,..................................,... 50 .'I . 8 ! References cited..,............,......,............. 51 Page Figure 1.--Index map of Alaska showing location of eight National Wildlife Refuges ........................ 3 Figure 2.--Map of Bering Sea National Wildlife Refuge ......... 7 Figure 3.--Geologic map of Bogoslof Island in 1947............ 13 Figure 4. --Map of Shumagin Islands. ........................... 17 Figure ?.--Map of Sheonof National Wildlife Refuge ........... 19 Figure 6.--Map of Semidi National Wildlife Refuge ............. 21 Figure 7.--Geologic map of Chisik Island, Tuxedni National Wildlife Refuge..,. .............................. 30 Figure 8.--Map of St. Lazaria National Wildlife Refuge and adjacent parts of Kruzof Island. ................. 38 Figure 9.--Map of Hazy Islands National Wildlife Refuge ....... 42 Figure 10.--Map of part of Forrester Island National Wildlife Refuge.. ......................................... 47 t , 7, t,,', 3 I<\) :\I I'h\ I I\(, <,t! 1s 8 , , iii :. 1 The Bering Sea, Bogoslof, Forrester Island, Hazy Islands, 3 / St. Lararia, Semidi, Simeonof, and Tuxedni National Wildlife Refuges, off the coast of Alaska, have been studied to determine whether, from 5- a mineral resources viewpoint, they are suitable for inclusion into 6 the National Wilderness Preservation System (FQ. 1). Minerals I Figure l. --Near here !3- i subject to leasing under the mineral leasing laws have received " ) principal attention. These minerals are oil and gas, oil shale, ! 1 ' ' asphalt and bituminous sands, coal, phosphate, and sodium and ( potassium compounds. 14 Islands that comprise the Bering Sea, Bogoslof, Forres6er , ,>.. Island, St. Lazaria, Semidi, and Simeonof refuges are made up mainly Ib of igneous rocks. Hazy Islands are made up of sedimentary and I metamorphic rocks. Sedimentary rocks of Jurassic age underlie the '" Tuxedni refuge. I 1.3 1 None of the refuges contain known deposits of either leasable minerds or of minerals subject to location under United States mining laws. Oil and gas seeps occur in sedimentary rocks at Oil Bay about 40 miles southwest of Chisik Island. Eight test wells drilled at Oil Bay had numerous oil and gas shows in rocks of the Tuxedni Group, but there has been no commercial production. No test wells for oil and gas have been drilled on Chisik Island, but the absence of favorable geologic structures and the fact that reservoir rocks are at the surface preclude favorable possibilities. No mineral production is known from any of the refuges, and the mineral resource potential of them is considered to be poor. Introduction Information presented in this report is based on investigations of the U. S. Geological Survey. The various chapters have been prepared mainly by utilizing data contained in the published sources listed under "References cited." In some instances these sources have been supplemented by the study of vertical aerial photographs. In addition, data collected during other Geological Survey investigations by Arthur Grantz in the Sheonof Refuge and by L. J. P. Muffler in the Hazy Islands Refuge have been utilized, Areas of islands, excepting Chisik Island (site of Tuxedni National Wildlife ~efu~e),were calculated by Susan R. Bartsch from measurements made with a polar planimeter on published Geological Survey quadrangle maps at scales of 1:63,360 (1 inch equals l mile) and 1:250,000 (1 inch equals approximately 4 miles). In the absence of mineral production or known deposits, the U. S. Bureau of Mines has not had occasion to examine the refuges, but the Bureau is informed of the findings of the Geological Survey and concurs in them. .? .? - - - - - -.. - . - -- -. -- I BERING SEA NATIONAL WILDLIFE mFLJGE 1 By Edward H. Cobb - lsummary The islands and offshore rocks that comprise the Bering Sea 5 ~ationalWildlife Refuge are made up of volcanic rocks and surficial l fi Ideposits. No deposits of minerals subject to leasing under the 'mineral leasing laws or to Location are known in the refuge. I introduction The uninhabited islands that constitute the Bering Sea Natianal - 'Wildlife Refuge are near lat 60'30'~.and Long l73'W. in the middle of the Bering Sea, more than 200 miles from the Alaska mainland and I 'about 375 miles southwest of Nome, the closest city. Cape Chukotskiy, the nearest point on the Siberian mainland, .is about 250 miles to the north (~i~.1). The Bering Sea Refuge is made up of St. Matthew, Hall, and ., 'Pinnacle Islands and offshore rocks (~i~.2). St. Matthew, the , i I 1 Figure 2. --Near here ! '1largest island, was discovered and named by Sind in 1766 and was visited I2 years later by Cook (~aker,1906, p. 543). It is about :30 miles long, from less than 2 to about 6 miles wide, and has an area of approximately 125 square miles, Several mountains exceed 1,000 - feet in altitude; the highest, 1,505 feet, is at Cape Upright at the southeast end of the island. From a distance St Matthew appears to consist of ten or twelve separate masses, but actually these are ;connected by low spits of sand and gravel. The highest points are I the lowlands mainly tundra, and the intervening slopes covered '.' ibare, i.. ' with swampy moss and grass lint, 1958, p. 131). Hall Island, 3 miles from the north end of St. Matthew, is triangular in shape and I about 68 square miles in area. Its summit, a 1,665-foot peak, is the /highest point in the refuge. The third island in the group, Pinnacle, I I- i lies 9 miles southwest of Sugarloaf Mountain on St. Matthew and is 1 joined to the larger island by a submerged ridge about 300 yards wide I' between the 10-f athom curves (u. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, 1964, 2 / p. 260-261). Pinnacle Island is about 14 miles long, less than mile Ti across at its widest point, and reaches a height of 1,223 feet. From USC&GS Nautical Chart 8851. Figure ?.--Bering Sea National WildLil'e Refuge. The islands are surrounded by pack ice for much of the year and I ,I are fog-shrouded during most oP the short navigation season (Flint, 3 1958, p. 131). Although there are no harbors, the U. S. Coast and 4 Geodetic Survey (1964, p, 260) describes several places where ships I 5- can anchor, but states that landing is difficult with any