The Semichi Islands (Samiyan in

Aleut Aleuts ( ; (west) or (east) ) are the Indigenous people of the Aleutian Islands, which are located between the North Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea. Both the Aleuts and the islands are politically divided between the US state of Alaska ...

; ) are a cluster of small islands in the

Near Islands The Near Islands or the Sasignan Islands (, ) are a group of volcanic islands in the Aleutian Islands in southwestern Alaska, between the Russian Commander Islands to the west and Buldir Island and the Rat Islands to the east. Geography Th ...

group of the

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands ( ; ; , "land of the Aleuts"; possibly from the Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', or "island")—also called the Aleut Islands, Aleutic Islands, or, before Alaska Purchase, 1867, the Catherine Archipelago—are a chain ...

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 ...

. They are located southeast of

Attu Island Attu (, ) is an island in the Near Islands (part of the Aleutian Islands chain). It is one of the westernmost points of the U.S. state of Alaska. The island became uninhabited in 2010, making it the largest uninhabited island that is part of th ...

and northeast of Agattu Island, near . Named islands in the group include Alaid Island, Hammerhead Island, Lotus Island, Nizki Island, and

Shemya Shemya or Simiya () is a small island in the Semichi Islands group of the Near Islands chain in the Aleutian Islands archipelago southwest of Alaska, at . It has a land area of , and is about southwest of Anchorage, Alaska. It is wide and long ...

. The Semichi Islands are an important nesting area for red-faced cormorants and glaucous-winged gulls. They also provides important habitat for waterfowl: The Aleutian subspecies of

cackling goose The cackling goose (''Branta hutchinsii'') is a species of goose found in North America and East Asia. Systematics The genus name ''Branta'' is a Latinised form of Old Norse ''Brandgás'', "burnt (black) goose", and the specific epithet ''hutchi ...

nests on the islands in significant numbers, and

common eider The common eider (pronounced ) (''Somateria mollissima''), also called St. Cuthbert's duck or Cuddy's duck, is a large ( in body length) sea-duck that is distributed over the northern coasts of Europe, North America and eastern Siberia. It breed ...

and

emperor goose The emperor goose (''Anser canagicus''), also known as the beach goose or the painted goose, is a waterfowl species in the family Anatidae, which contains the ducks, geese, and swans. In summer, the emperor goose is found in remote coastal areas ...

winter in the area. Black oystercatchers are also found in significant numbers.National Audubon Society, Semichi Islands

References

Near Islands Islands of Alaska Islands of Unorganized Borough, Alaska {{AleutiansWestAK-geo-stub