Elephant Point (Alaska) facts for kids

Elephant Point (Iñupiaq: Siŋik) is a special piece of land in Alaska, United States. It's like a finger of land that sticks out into the water. This land is part of the Kotzebue Sound area, which is connected to the big Chukchi Sea.

Elephant Point reaches out towards Eschscholtz Bay. It is about 44 miles (71 km) southeast of a town called Selawik.

How Elephant Point Got Its Name

This interesting headland got its name a long time ago, in 1826. A captain from the Royal Navy (the British navy), named Frederick William Beechey, was exploring the area.

Captain Beechey wrote in his ship's logbook: "I gave the name Elephant to this point." He did this because he found old bones nearby. These bones were fossils, which are the remains of ancient animals.

The bones he found were probably from mammoths. Mammoths were huge, furry animals that looked a lot like elephants. They lived a very long time ago!

A Nearby Community

There is also a small community or "populated place" called Elephant Point located close by.

In the past, Elephant Point was a small village. It was even listed in the 1950 U.S. Census as an unincorporated village. For a short time, some people from the nearby village of Buckland moved to Elephant Point. However, they later returned to Buckland.