Leffingwell Camp Site | |
 Sod house at the Leffingwell Camp Site (1949) | |
  | |
| Location | On Flaxman Island, about 58 miles (93 km) west ofKaktovik |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 70°11′07″N146°03′10″W / 70.1852°N 146.05287°W /70.1852; -146.05287 |
| Area | 10 acres (4.0 ha) |
| Built | 1906 |
| Built by | Anglo-American Polar Expedition |
| NRHP reference No. | 71001093[1] |
| AHRS No. | XFI-002 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | June 21, 1971 |
| Designated NHL | June 2, 1978[2] |
| Designated AHRS | January 15, 1971 |
TheLeffingwell Camp Site, on Flaxman Island, 58 miles (93 km) west of Barter Island on the Arctic Coast of Alaska, was used by polar explorer and geologistErnest de Koven Leffingwell on his pioneering Anglo-American Polar Expedition of 1906–1908, which aimed to explore theBeaufort Sea. The expedition's ship, theDuchess of Bedford, was allowed to become locked in ice which eventually destroyed it.[3]
The camp site was chosen before the ship was locked in ice, and was not merely the nearest landfall. The site was used by Leffingwell over several years, beyond the end of that expedition.
Leffingwell created the first accurate map of a section of Alaskan coastline. He was the first to scientifically describepermafrost and to pose theories about permafrost which have largely proven true. He accurately identified the oil potential of the area, including assessing that it was not, in his day, technologically or economically feasible to develop it.[3]
Following the destruction of theDuchess of Bedford, Leffingwell "returned to civilization in the fall of 1908, as the guest of Capt.George B. Leavitt."[4] Leffingwell subsequently named Narwhal Island for the name of Capt. Leavitt's vessel, the steamNew Bedford, Massachusetts-based whalerNarwhal, and bestowed the name of theMaine-born Captain,[5] who married anInuk woman and settled at Barrow, on Leavitt Island off theAlaska North Slope.[6]
The historic integrity of the camp was diminished in the 1930s when some structure was removed by a salvager.
The camp was added to theNational Register of Historic Places in 1971[3] and was declared aNational Historic Landmark in 1978.[2]
{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help) andAccompanying 12 photos from 1909, 1971, 1975. (3.47 MB)
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