Etolin Island is an island 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 ...

of southeastern

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., ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

at . It is between Prince of Wales Island, to its west, and the Alaska mainland, to its east. It is southwest of

Wrangell Island Wrangell Island (russian: Остров Врангеля) is an island in the Alexander Archipelago in the Alaska Panhandle of southeastern Alaska. It is long and wide. It has a land area of , making it the 29th largest island in the United ...

. It was first charted in 1793 by James Johnstone, one of George Vancouver's officers during his 1791-95 expedition. He only charted its southwest and east coasts, not realizing it was an island. It was originally named Duke of York Island but was renamed by the United States after the

Alaska Purchase The Alaska Purchase (russian: Продажа Аляски, Prodazha Alyaski, Sale of Alaska) was the United States' acquisition of Alaska from the Russian Empire. Alaska was formally transferred to the United States on October 18, 1867, through a ...

.''Statement of facts regarding the Alaska boundary question'', p.1383
, Alexander Begg, Report to the

Attorney-General of British Columbia The attorney general of British Columbia (AG) oversees the Ministry of Attorney General, a provincial government department responsible for the oversight of the justice system, within the province of British Columbia, Canada. The attorney general ...

, 1902. It is named after

Adolf Etolin Adolf (also spelt Adolph or Adolphe, Adolfo and when Latinised Adolphus) is a given name used in German-speaking countries, Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Flanders, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Latin America and to a lesser extent in vari ...

, governor of the

Russian American Russian Americans ( rus, русские американцы, r=russkiye amerikantsy, p= ˈruskʲɪje ɐmʲɪrʲɪˈkant͡sɨ) are Americans of full or partial Russian ancestry. The term can apply to recent Russian immigrants to the United Stat ...

colonies from 1840 to 1845. The island is long and 10–22 miles (16–35 km) wide, with a land area of , making it the 24th largest island in the United States. As of the 2000 census, Etolin had a population of 15 persons. It contains a population of introduced elk. The entire island lies within the boundaries of

Tongass National Forest The Tongass National Forest () in Southeast Alaska is the largest U.S. National Forest at . Most of its area is temperate rain forest and is remote enough to be home to many species of endangered and rare flora and fauna. The Tongass, which i ...

. The southern part of the island has been officially designated the South Etolin Wilderness. The Etolin Canoe is a historic dugout canoe, found unfinished on the island, which is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

References

Etolin Island: Blocks 1019 and 1020, Census Tract 3, Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area, Alaska
United States Census Bureau Islands of the Alexander Archipelago Islands of Wrangell, Alaska Islands of Alaska {{WrangellAK-geo-stub