Lower Cook Inlet is located in south-central Alaska between lat 58°45' and 60°30' N. and between long 151° and 154° W. (fig. 1). Geographic features on the perimeter of the area are the Aleutian Range on the northwest, Kalgin Island on the northeast, the Kenai Peninsula on the east, the Barren Islands on the southeast, and the Kamishak Hills-Cape Douglas area on the south. Augustine Island, a prominent active composite volcano, is in the southwestern part of lower Cook Inlet. Lower Cook Inlet is part of a large bay that is nearly surrounded by mountains except where it opens southeastward into the Gulf of Alaska and southward into Shelikof Strait. In anticipation of oil and gas lease sales in lower Cook Inlet, the U.S. Geological Survey acquired geological and geophysical data to study the geologic framework and petroleum geology of this area. These data were included in the lower Cook Inlet environmental impact statements (Alaska Outer Continental Shelf Office, 1976a, b) and are being made available to other government agencies and the public.
