Tongass Island, historically also spelled Tongas Island, is an

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

in the southern

Alaska Panhandle Southeast Alaska, colloquially referred to as the Alaska(n) Panhandle, is the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Alaska, bordered to the east and north by the northern half of the Canadian province of British Columbia (and a small part ...

, near the marine boundary with Canada at 54–40 N. It was the site of

Fort Tongass Fort Tongass was a United States Army base on Tongass Island, in the southernmost Alaska Panhandle, located adjacent to the village of the group of Tlingit people on the east side of the island.

, which was established shortly 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 ...

as a customs port for travelers bound from

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

n waters to the

Stikine River The Stikine River is a major river in northern British Columbia (BC), Canada and southeastern Alaska in the United States. It drains a large, remote upland area known as the Stikine Country east of the Coast Mountains. Flowing west and south f ...

, which was one of the main routes of access to the

Cassiar Gold Rush The Cassiar Country, also referred to simply as the Cassiar, is a historical geographic region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The Cassiar is located in the northwest portion of British Columbia, just to the northeast of the Stikin ...

of the 1870s. It lies west of

Port Tongass A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

Nakat Bay Nakat Bay is a bay in Southeast Alaska, United States. The bay extends northeast from Cape Fox. It was charted in 1793 by George Vancouver. The bay's name comes from a Tlingit name published in 1853 on a Russian Hydrographic Department chart as ...

, adjacent to the

Dixon Entrance The Dixon Entrance (french: Entrée Dixon) is a strait about long and wide in the Pacific Ocean at the Canada–United States border, between the U.S. state of Alaska and the province of British Columbia in Canada. The Dixon Entrance is part of t ...

and is 0.8 miles in length. Its

Native Alaskan Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entertai ...

name "Kut-tuk-wah" was published in 1869 by the

United States Coast and Geodetic Survey The United States Coast and Geodetic Survey (abbreviated USC&GS), known from 1807 to 1836 as the Survey of the Coast and from 1836 until 1878 as the United States Coast Survey, was the first scientific agency of the United States Government. It ...

; its current name was first published in 1891.

References

Islands of the Alexander Archipelago Islands of Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska Islands of Alaska {{KetchikanGatewayAK-geo-stub

See also

References