Metompkin Island Explained

Metompkin Island (sometimes pluralized, Metompkin Islands)^[1] is a barrier island off the east coast of Virginia in the United States. It is located in Accomack County. Metompkin Island is highly-migratory, meaning that it is moving over time due to erosion and deposition effects. Because of this movement, the island has at times been one landmass^[2] and at others two larger islands with numerous small islets surrounding them.^[3]

A proposed United States Navy seaplane tender, USS Metomkin (AVP-47), was to have been named for Metomkin Island, but the ship was cancelled in 1943 before construction could begin.^[4] However, a U.S. Navy cargo ship, USS Metomkin (AG-136), in commission from 1947 to 1951, did carry the island's name.

References

• (See ship namesake paragraph.)

37.7522°N -75.5447°W

Notes and References

1. Niebuhr . David H. . 1993 . The Metompkin Islands: A Case Study in Ownership and Management of a Dynamic Barrier System . Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects . Paper 1539617654 . College of William & Mary.
2. Byrnes . Mark R. . Gingerich . Kathryn J. . 1987 . Cross-island profile response to Hurricane Gloria . Coastal Sediments . 2 . 1486-1502.
3. Theberge . N.B. . 1992 . An inventory of state owned lands along the Atlantic coast of Accomack and Northampton Counties in the Commonwealth of Virginia, A public record prepared for state and local use . Department of Ocean and Coastal Law . 7-8 . Virginia Institute of Marine Science.
4. Web site: Metomkin. history.navy.mil . Naval History and Heritage Command. 24 March 2016. 10 August 2015.