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Geographer's dictionary is the final word on Alaska place names

Donald Orth has a thing for names.

Not of people, but of places-specifically those in Alaska. His fascination with the names of the state's geographic landmarks spanned a career, expanded into a hobby and led to the creation of one of the most useful resources on the bookshelves of Alaska aficionados and researchers.

"If I could have only five books about Alaska, this book would be on the list," said Bruce Merrell, Alaska bibliographer at the Z.J. Loussac Public Library in Anchorage. The Dictionary of Alaska Place Names, now 36 years old and more than 1,000 pages long, holds a position of rare honor among reference books about the state.

"Instead of Webster," Merrell said, "we have Orth."

17. Augustine Island (Mt. St Augustine) Island. Elevation 4,025 feet; 7.5 miles across. In Kamishak Bay, 70 miles south west of Homer, Aleutian Range.

Position: 59 degrees 22 minutes North, 153 degrees 26 minutes West.

Variations: Blackbrown Island, Chernoburii Island, Mount Saint Augustine, Saint Augustin, Mount Saint Augustin, Ostrov Chernoburoy, Saint Augustine Island, Saint Augustin Island.

Formed by Augustine Volcano, it was discovered and named by Cook in 1778. Captain Bebenkov, IRN (on 1852 map) called it O[strov] Chernoburoy, which was derived from the Russian words chernyy (meaning black) and buryy (meaning brown). Reported in 1867 as Blackbrown Island by United States Coast and Geodetic Survey.