The Shishmaref Inlet ( Inupiaq: ''Qigiqtam Imaġzrua'') is a coastal lagoon on the

Chukchi Sea Chukchi Sea ( rus, Чуко́тское мо́ре, r=Chukotskoye more, p=tɕʊˈkotskəjə ˈmorʲɪ), sometimes referred to as the Chuuk Sea, Chukotsk Sea or the Sea of Chukotsk, is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is bounded on the west ...

-facing shores of

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S ...

. It is 5 miles in length. The location of the Shishmaref Inlet is SW 17 mi. to the SW from Sarichef Island, at the mouth of the Serpentine River, Kotzebue-Kobuk Low. This lagoon was named Shishmaref Bay in 1816 by explorer Lt.

Otto von Kotzebue Otto von Kotzebue (russian: О́тто Евста́фьевич Коцебу́, tr. ; – ) was a Russian officer and navigator in the Imperial Russian Navy. He was born in Reval. He was known for his explorations of Oceania. Early life ...

, of the

Imperial Russian Navy The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution of 1917. It developed from ...

, after Capt. Lt.

Gleb Shishmaryov Gleb Semyonovich Shishmaryov (russian: Глеб Семёнович Шишмарёв; 1781 - November 3, 1835, Saint Petersburg) was a rear admiral of the Imperial Russian Navy. He is reputed for having surveyed the then little-known coast of Alaska ...

who accompanied him on his exploration.

References

Description and location - USGS
Lagoons of Alaska Bodies of water of Nome Census Area, Alaska {{NomeAK-geo-stub