Metompkin Island

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. ^[1] 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

•  This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships .The entry can be found here. (See ship namesake paragraph.)

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 – via 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 – via Virginia Institute of Marine Science.
4. "Metomkin". history.navy.mil. Naval History and Heritage Command. 10 August 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2016.

37°45′08″N75°32′41″W / 37.75222°N 75.54472°W / 37.75222; -75.54472