GEOGRAPHY

Shemya, "The Black Pearl of the Aleutians," is the largest of the
                                         Semichi Island, measuring
       a whopping 4½ miles long by
       2¼ miles across at its
       widest point. In cross-
       section the island is
       wedge-shaped, rising
       gently and evenly from the
       beach along the south shore
       to a height of 275 feet on
       the north side of the island,
       then dropping off steeply in
       green-carpeted bluffs to the
                                         north beach. The islands'
                                         water is supplied by wells,
and there are over a dozen small lakes or ponds, several of them
over 1200 feet long.

Geologically the island is a volcanic formation, and most of its rocks
are volcanic in origin, though there are fine sandy beaches and a great deal of peat moss in which plants thrive during the brief growing
season. Aside from the lava, there are a number of igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks. Agates and famous Shemya jade are to be found
on the beaches, along with a basaltic glass which takes a good polish.
The island has a rock quarry and a borrow pit which yields good aggregate
for concrete.

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