Behm Canal is a natural
channel in the
Alexander Archipelago
The Alexander Archipelago (russian: Архипелаг Александра) is a long archipelago (group of islands) in North America lying off the southeastern coast of Alaska. It contains about 1,100 islands, the tops of submerged coastal m ...
, in the
southeastern part of the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...
.
About long, Behm Canal separates
Revillagigedo Island
Revillagigedo Island ( es, Isla Revillagigedo, , , locally Revilla, ) is an island in the Alexander Archipelago in Ketchikan Gateway Borough of the southeastern region of the U.S. state of Alaska. Running about 89 km (50 mi) north-s ...
from the mainland. From the
, Behm Canal extends north and northeast, through the Behm Narrows and by the mouth of the
Unuk River
The Unuk River is a river in the U.S. state of Alaska and the Canadian province of British Columbia. It flows from the Coast Mountains southwest to Behm Canal, northeast of Ketchikan, Alaska.
From its headwaters in a heavily glaciated area in ...
, then south to
Revillagigedo Channel
Revillagigedo Channel (, , locally Revilla, ) is an ocean channel in the Alexander Archipelago of the U.S. state of Alaska. Extending 56 km (35 mi) northwest from the Dixon Entrance, it lies between the mainland to the east, Revillagige ...
.
The Behm Canal was charted and named by
George Vancouver in 1793, in honor of
Magnus von Behm, who was the governor of
Kamchatka
The Kamchatka Peninsula (russian: полуостров Камчатка, Poluostrov Kamchatka, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and west ...
in 1779 when
Captain James Cook's ships, with Vancouver among the crew, arrived at
Petropavlovsk shortly after Cook was killed in
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...
. It was Behm who carried the news of Cook's death to
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
.
The canal is used by the Southeast Alaska Acoustic Measurement Facility (SEAFAC) as an acoustic testing site for United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
submarines.
New Eddystone Rock is a craggy, much-photographed basalt island in Behm Canal.
References
Straits of Alaska
Bodies of water of Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska
{{KetchikanGatewayAK-geo-stub