The Wrangell Narrows is a winding, 35-km-long (22 mi) channel between

Mitkof Island Mitkof Island is an island in the Alexander Archipelago in southeast Alaska between Kupreanof Island to the west and the Alaskan mainland to the east. It is approximately wide and long with a land area of , making it the 30th largest island i ...

and

Kupreanof Island Kupreanof Island (russian: Остров Купреянова) is an island in the Alexander Archipelago in southeastern Alaska. The island is long and wide with a total land area is , making it the 13th largest island in the United States and t ...

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 ...

Southeast Alaska 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 ...

. The Wrangell Narrows is one of the six Listed narrows in Southeast Alaska. There are about 60 lights and buoys to mark it because of its winding nature and navigation hazards. It was named "Proliv Vrangelya" (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: ''Wrangell Strait'') in 1838 by G. Lindenberg after Admiral Baron Ferdinand Petrovich von Wrangell. The translation ''Wrangell Strait'' remained in use while Wrangell Narrows referred to the narrowest central portion. By 1919 Department of Commerce nautical chart 8170 was changed from ''Wrangell Strait'' to Wrangell Narrow

http://historicalcharts.noaa.gov/historicals/preview/image/8170-7-1919] The town of Petersburg, Alaska, Petersburg is at the north end of the Narrows. The Narrows are created by Mitkof Island to the east and southeast, and the islands of Kuprenof and Woewodski to the north and west. The Narrows opens up to

Frederick Sound Frederick Sound (also called Prince Frederick Sound or Prince Frederick's Sound) is a passage of water in the Alexander Archipelago in Southeast Alaska that separates Kupreanof Island to the south from Admiralty Island in the north. Frederick So ...

to the north and Sumner Strait to the south. The channel is used by fishing boats and

Alaska Marine Highway The Alaska Marine Highway (AMH) or the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) is a ferry service operated by the U.S. state of Alaska. It has its headquarters in Ketchikan, Alaska. The Alaska Marine Highway System operates along the south-central ...

ferries. Very large ships (such as the largest cruise ships) do not use it because it is too shallow and narrow for them to pass safely. Because this is the only safe "Inside Passage" at this latitude, these larger ships must navigate in "outside" waters.

Dry Strait Dry Strait is an ocean strait separating Mitkof Island and Dry Island in Southeast Alaska, United States near the mouth of the Stikine River. At the time of Russian exploration in the region, the strait was known as Sukhoy Strait. The strait i ...

to the east of Mitkof Island is not commonly used by marine traffic despite being a wider channel since it is dangerously shallow and part of the greater Stikine River estuary.

References

Bodies of water of Petersburg Borough, Alaska Straits of Alaska Alexander Archipelago {{WrangellPetersburgAK-geo-stub