Cape Ugat is a rocky point on the northwestern side of

Kodiak Island Kodiak Island (, ) is a large island on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska, separated from the Alaska mainland by the Shelikof Strait. The largest island in the Kodiak Archipelago, Kodiak Island is the second largest island in the Un ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

. It is the tip of the

Spiridon Peninsula The Spiridon Peninsula is a mountainous peninsula on the northwest side of Kodiak Island, Alaska on the Shelikof Strait situated between Uganik Bay and Uyak Bay. Major promontories are Miners Point, Cape Ugat and Cape Kuliuk. Cape Ugat is the cl ...

and protrudes into the

Shelikof Strait Shelikof Strait () is a strait on the southwestern coast of the U.S. state of Alaska between the Alaska mainland to the west and Kodiak and Afognak islands to the east. Shelikof Strait separates the mainland coastal strip of the Kodiak Island Bo ...

. It is the closest point on Kodiak Island to mainland Alaska. In World War II Cape Ugat was occupied by US forces as a lookout station, the rationale being that it was the best vantage point to detect potential Japanese naval forces that could head up the Shelikof Strait towards the Cook Inlet and Anchorage, the logistical center of Alaska.Kodiak Brown Bear Hunting Area 22
Alaska Department of Fishing and Game. Cape Ugat waters are one of many excellent locations where Kodiak salmon fisherman repeatedly drop their nets and gear into the water, due to the dependable hard running tide that flows like a river four times a day, and the good bet that thousands of salmon are swimming right through the area heading to the Cook Inlet, or the many bays of Kodiak Island that lead to streams where salmon spawn. Major migratory routes for salmon pass immediately adjacent to the tip of Cape Ugat. The geographical shape of Cape Ugat offers shelter from hard Southwest gales, and many choose to weather off storms there and anchor.

Humpback whale The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the monotypic taxon, only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh u ...

s and

orca The orca (''Orcinus orca''), or killer whale, is a toothed whale and the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. The only extant species in the genus '' Orcinus'', it is recognizable by its black-and-white-patterned body. A cosmopol ...

s are common; an occasional

sperm whale The sperm whale or cachalot (''Physeter macrocephalus'') is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of the Genus (biology), genus ''Physeter'' and one of three extant species in the s ...

or even

blue whale The blue whale (''Balaenoptera musculus'') is a marine mammal and a baleen whale. Reaching a maximum confirmed length of and weighing up to , it is the largest animal known ever to have existed. The blue whale's long and slender body can ...

can be seen in this vicinity.

Dall's porpoise Dall's porpoise (''Phocoenoides dalli'') is a species of porpoise endemic to the North Pacific. It is the largest of porpoises and the only member of the genus ''Phocoenoides''. The species is named after American naturalist William Healey Dall, ...

s and

false killer whale The false killer whale (''Pseudorca crassidens'') is a species of oceanic dolphin that is the only extant representative of the genus ''Pseudorca''. It is found in oceans worldwide but mainly in tropical regions. It was first species descriptio ...

s and the rare

beluga Beluga may refer to: Animals *Beluga (sturgeon) * Beluga whale Vehicles * Airbus Beluga, a large transport airplane * Airbus BelugaXL, a larger transport airplane * Beluga-class submarine, a class of Russian SSA diesel-electric submarine * U ...

have been seen too. The area is home to some of the larger breeding colonies of

Steller sea lion The Steller sea lion (''Eumetopias jubatus''), also known as Steller's sea lion or the northern sea lion, is a large, near-threatened species of sea lion, predominantly found in the coastal marine habitats of the northeast Pacific Ocean and th ...

s on the Alaskan coast.

Kodiak bear The Kodiak bear (''Ursus arctos middendorffi''), also known as the Kodiak brown bear and sometimes the Alaskan brown bear, inhabits the islands of the Kodiak Archipelago in southwest Alaska. It is one of the largest recognized subspecies or p ...

sea otter The sea otter (''Enhydra lutris'') is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between , making them the heaviest members of ...

s, land otters,

red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia, plus ...

es and

bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche ...

s can be seen. Cape Ugat and the Spiridon Peninsula is one of the most rugged parts of Kodiak Island. Winds can blow to 70 knots in the summer, and upwards of 110 in the winter. The winds usually blow either up the Shelikof Strait towards the Cook Inlet (a southwester) or down the straight towards the Aleutians and the Pacific Ocean (a nor'easter). In storms like these, coupled with rapid tides there is substantial danger.

References

Ugat, Cape Landforms of Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska {{KodiakIslandAK-geo-stub