North Pacific High Sea

South of the Shumagin Islands, the North Pacific opens beyond the last sheltered bays of the Alaska Peninsula. The islands were part of the Unangan homeland, linked by boats and by hunting journeys over the sea. Farther offshore, the Aleutian Trench follows the edge of the island arc, where the Pacific seafloor descends beneath North America. Its deep waters form part of the great volcanic and earthquake belt of the northern ocean.