Evans Island is an island in the

Prince William Sound Prince William Sound (Sugpiaq: ''Suungaaciq'') is a sound of the Gulf of Alaska on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located on the east side of the Kenai Peninsula. Its largest port is Valdez, at the southern terminus of the Tr ...

of southern

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., ...

. It lies just east of

Bainbridge Island Bainbridge Island is a city and island in Kitsap County, Washington. It is located in Puget Sound. The population was 23,025 at the 2010 census and an estimated 25,298 in 2019, making Bainbridge Island the second largest city in Kitsap County. ...

across the Prince of Wales Passage. Elrington Island lies to its south,

Latouche Island Latouche Island is an island in the southern part of Alaska, United States. It lies in the Gulf of Alaska between Montague Island to the east and Evans Island Evans Island is an island in the Prince William Sound of southern Alaska. It lies just ...

to its southeast, and Knight Island to its northeast. Although Evans Island had been inhabited up to the time of the Russian exploration of Alaska, the island had no modern-day inhabitants until 1984, when a group of residents and former residents of the original Alutiq village of Chenega, on

Chenega Island Chenega Island is an island in Prince William Sound in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the traditional home to the community of Chenega, though much of its population eventually migrated to Chenega Bay on nearby Evans Island after the 1964 Good Fr ...

, decided to build the village of

Chenega Bay Chenega (; Alutiiq: ) is a census-designated place (CDP) on Evans Island in the Chugach Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. Located in Prince William Sound, the CDP consists of the Chugach Alutiiq village of Chenega Bay, which was established ...

on Crab Bay on Evans Island. Old Chenega had been destroyed and one-third of its residents had been killed by the

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...

from the

1964 Alaska earthquake The 1964 Alaskan earthquake, also known as the Great Alaskan earthquake and Good Friday earthquake, occurred at 5:36 PM AKST on Good Friday, March 27.

. The new community of Chenega is coextensive with Evans Island, which has a land area of 74.605 km² (28.805 sq mi) and a population of 86 persons as of the 2000 census. Evans Island and the ocean around it was polluted by the 1989

Exxon Valdez oil spill The ''Exxon Valdez'' oil spill occurred in Prince William Sound, Alaska, on March 24, 1989. ''Exxon Valdez'', an oil supertanker owned by Exxon Shipping Company bound for Long Beach, California struck Prince William Sound's Bligh Reef, west o ...

. Evans Island was called ''Hoodoo Island'' before 1912. The name frightened some sailors. The United States Coast and Geodetic Survey renamed the island in honor of United States Navy Admiral Robley Evans (1846–1912), who had been a maritime policeman in the area early in his career.

References

Evans Island: Blocks 1054 thru 1056, Census Tract 3, Valdez-Cordova Census Area, Alaska
United States Census Bureau Islands of Alaska Islands of Chugach Census Area, Alaska Islands of Unorganized Borough, Alaska {{ChugachAK-geo-stub