Description
Iliamna Lake is located and at N end of Alaska Peninsula, between Kvichak Bay and Cook Inlet, 100 mi. W of Seldovia, Bristol Bay Low. 75 miles long and 20 miles wide.
History
Native name reported as "Oz(ero) Bol (shoy) Ilyamna," meaning "Big Ilyamna Lake," on 1852 Russian Hydrographic Dept. Chart 1455. This feature was earlier called "Oz(ero) Shelekhovo," meaning "Lake Shelekov," on an 1802 Russian map. According to G. C. Martin, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Iliamna is said to be "the name of a mythical great blackfish supposed to inhabit this lake, which bites holes in the bidarkas of bad natives."