Island part of the Aleutian Islands chain is the westernmost point of Alaska, the site of the only World War II land battle fought in the United States and an important location in the world of competitive birding
General Information
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Overview
Attu is an island in the Near Islands (part of the Aleutian Islands chain). It is the westernmost point of Alaska. The island became uninhabited in 2010, making it the largest uninhabited island in the United States.
The Battle of Attu was the site of the only World War II land battle fought in the United States. The battlefield area is a U.S. National Historic Landmark.
Attu was an important location in the world of competitive birding, whose goal is to see or hear the largest possible number of bird species within a specific geographic area during a specific time period. Because it is so physically remote from other parts of North America, there are a number of bird species likely to be found on Attu that are not seen anywhere else on the continent. John Fitchen called the island "the Holy Grail of North American birding".
Birding tours can still reach Attu but only by boat, following a multi-day trip from Adak Island.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Attu Island", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0
