Description
Gagarin Island is located in Sitka Sound, 6.5 mi. NW of Sitka, Alex. Arch. 0.6 mile long.
History
Named in 1809 by the Russian navigator Ivan Vasiliev the first Imperial Russian Navy (IRN) published by Lieutenant Sarichev (1826, map 19), Imperial Russian Navy (IRN), "O[strov] Gagarin" or "Gagarin Island." Gagarin is a well-known Russian family name. The name "Ostrov Gagary," meaning "loon island," was published for this feature in 1848 on Russian Hydrographic Dept. Chart 1397.