The Aleutian Islands: North America's Volcanic Chain to Asia

The Aleutian Islands are part of the continent of North America.

Geography

• Chain: ~1,200 miles (1,900 km) of volcanic islands extending west from the Alaska Peninsula.
• Political: Most are in the U.S. state of Alaska; the westernmost (Commander Islands) belong to Russia (Kamchatka Krai).
• Boundary: They mark the northern edge of the Pacific Plate and the southern edge of the Bering Sea.
• Geology: Volcanic arc—57 volcanoes, many active (e.g., Shishaldin, Cleveland).

Why North America?

The islands sit on the North American tectonic plate (except the far western ones on the Pacific plate). The plate boundary runs through the chain. Politically, the U.S. portion is unequivocally American; the Russian portion is Asian by convention but geologically transitional.

Significance

• WWII battlefields (Attu, Kiska—the only U.S. soil invaded in WWII).
• Aleut (Unangan) homeland for 9,000+ years.
• Critical for fisheries, shipping (Great Circle route), and strategic defense.

So: North America—specifically, the Alaskan extension of it.