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23-513: The largest islands of these skerries are: Sosnovtsy, Bolshoy Varbostrov, Malyy Varbostrov, Berezovets, Raydostrov, Ugmorin and Kondostrov. This island group belongs to the Republic of Karelia administrative division of the Russian Federation . 64°24′N 35°30′E  /  64.400°N 35.500°E  / 64.400; 35.500 This Republic of Karelia location article

46-465: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Skerry A skerry ( / ˈ s k ɛr i / SKEHRR -ee ) is a small rocky island , or islet , usually too small for human habitation. It may simply be a rocky reef . A skerry can also be called a low sea stack . A skerry may have vegetative life such as moss and small, hardy grasses. They are often used as resting places by animals such as seals and birds . The term skerry

69-685: Is a coastal route for ships and boats along a network of passages which weave through the islands on the Pacific Northwest coast of the North American Fjordland . The route extends from southeastern Alaska in the United States , through western British Columbia in Canada , to northwestern Washington state in the United States. Ships using the route can avoid some of the bad weather in

92-418: Is a popular tourism destination. The coastal mountain ranges and islands offer wildlife viewing and opportunities for boating, fishing, kayaking, camping and hiking. Wildlife viewing in the region ranges from birding to whale watching and bear viewing. Designated bear viewing is available at Anan Creek near Wrangell and at Pack Creek Bear Sanctuary on Admiralty Island near Juneau. The most popular way to explore

115-538: Is also often used to refer to the ocean and islands around the passage itself. It is generally accepted that the southernmost point of the Inside Passage is Olympia , Washington, which is also the southernmost point of Puget Sound . Moving north, the passage continues into the waters of the greater Salish Sea . It then passes through the Strait of Georgia and Johnstone Strait , between northeastern Vancouver Island and

138-1339: Is derived from the Old Norse sker , which means a small rocky island in the sea (which in turn derives from the Proto-Indo-European root * sker -, "cut", in the sense of a rock cut off from the land). The Old Norse term sker was brought into the English language via the Scots language word spelled skerrie or skerry . It is a cognate of the Scandinavian languages ' words for skerry – Icelandic , Faroese : sker , Danish : skær , Swedish : skär , Norwegian : skjær / skjer , found also in German : Schäre , Finnish : kari , Estonian : skäär , Latvian : šēra , Lithuanian : šcheras and Russian : шхеры ( shkhery ). In Scottish Gaelic , it appears as sgeir , e.g. Sula Sgeir , in Irish as sceir , in Welsh as sgeri , and in Manx as skeyr . Skerries are most commonly formed at

161-412: Is such a group of glacially formed skerries, called a skjærgård (sometimes translated into English as archipelago, but specifically one near the coast of the mainland). Many of the cross fjords are so arranged that they parallel the coast and provide a protected channel behind an almost unbroken succession of rocky islands and skerries. By this channel one can travel through a protected passage almost

184-617: The Tacoma Narrows , northward toward the San Juan Islands just southeast of the border with Canada . British Columbia's portion of the route includes the narrow, protected Strait of Georgia between Vancouver Island and the B.C. mainland, the Johnstone Strait and Discovery Passage between Vancouver Island and the mainland, as well as a short stretch along the wider and more exposed Hecate Strait near Haida Gwaii (formerly

207-851: The White Sea . The United Kingdom has a large number of skerries including Staple Island (an outer Farne Island ) in England; a small rocky outcrop near the Fowlsheugh in northeast Scotland; numerous reefs in the Hebrides such as Dubh Artach and Skerryvore ; and The Skerries , located off the Antrim coast of Northern Ireland. Skerries is the name of a coastal area of Dublin , Ireland, with many skerries offshore, including Rockabill , Shenick Island , Colt Island and St Patrick's Island . Inside Passage The Inside Passage ( French : Passage Intérieur )

230-532: The salmon treaty negotiations in early 1994, Canada concluded that the United States was not responsive to Canada's concerns. Accordingly, on June 15, 1994, Canada imposed a transit fee on all US commercial fishing boats using the Canadian Inside Passage. This fee was eventually lifted through bilateral negotiations. The crisis remained peaceful and there were no violent incidents between US fishing boats and Canadian enforcement officials. In response to

253-599: The Alaska portion of the Passage. The Underwater Archeological Society of British Columbia conducts periodic Regional Shipwreck Surveys. Washington's portion of the route is made up almost entirely of the waterways of Puget Sound . Starting from the southernmost point of Budd Inlet , the waterway turns toward the northeast and broadens as it becomes the Nisqually Reach of Puget Sound. The waterway then continues northeast, through

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276-725: The Canadian action, on October 24, 1995, the US Congress passed an amendment to the Fishermen's Protective Act, adding provisions permitting the U.S. government to directly reimburse US fishers for fines and other costs associated with seizures by foreign governments. British author Jonathan Raban described his journey by boat through the Inside Passage from Seattle to Juneau in his 1999 travelogue Passage to Juneau: A Sea and Its Meanings . In The Curve of Time (1961), Canadian travel writer M. Wylie Blanchet chronicled her travels by boat in

299-465: The Inside Passage during summer is by cruise ship. Over 2 million people take cruises each year in this region, impacting the local economy significantly. Because there are few restrictions on ship size, all of the large main line cruise ships offer Inside Passage itineraries. Some of the major players include Norwegian, Disney, Princess, Celebrity Cunard, etc. Most of these cruises offer round-trips from either Vancouver or Seattle. Cruise ship travel in 2020

322-552: The Inside Passage extends 500 miles (800 km) from north to south and 100 miles (160 km) from east to west. The area encompasses 1,000 islands and thousands of coves and bays. While the Alexander Archipelago in Alaska provides some protection from the Pacific Ocean weather, much of the area experiences strong semi- diurnal tides . Lynn Canal is the northernmost waterway of the Inside Passage. The Inside Passage

345-659: The Queen Charlotte Islands). From Fitz Hugh Sound northwards, the route is sheltered from Pacific winds and waves by the various large islands in the area such as Princess Royal Island and Pitt Island . This section includes a series of channels and straits, from south to north: Fisher Channel , Lama Passage , Seaforth Channel , Milbanke Sound , Finlayson Channel , Sarah Passage , Tolmie Channel , Princess Royal Channel (includes Graham Reach and Fraser Reach), McKay Reach , Wright Sound , Grenville Channel , Arthur Passage , and Chatham Sound . Alaska's portion of

368-585: The coast of mainland British Columbia. From there it continues further northwest into the Alaska Panhandle . The northernmost points of the Passage are Haines and Skagway at the head of the Lynn Canal. As a result of often uncertain weather, large tidal range, fast or unpredictable currents, and infrequent safe anchorages, navigating the Inside Passage can be difficult. During the Klondike Gold Rush

391-505: The entire 1,600 km (1,000 mi) route from Stavanger to North Cape , Norway. The Blindleia is a skerry-protected waterway that starts near Kristiansand in southern Norway and continues past Lillesand . The Inside Passage provides a similar route from Seattle , Washington , to Skagway , Alaska , United States. Another such skerry-protected passage extends from the Straits of Magellan north for 800 km (500 mi) along

414-483: The open ocean and may visit some of the many isolated communities along the route. The Inside Passage is heavily travelled by cruise ships , freighters , tugs with tows, fishing craft, pleasure craft, and ships of the Alaska Marine Highway , BC Ferries , and Washington State Ferries systems. Coast Guard vessels of both Canada and the United States patrol and transit in the Passage. The term "Inside Passage"

437-471: The outlet of fjords where submerged glacially formed valleys at right angles to the coast join with other cross valleys in a complex array. In some places near the seaward margins of fjorded areas, the ice-scoured channels are so numerous and varied in direction that the rocky coast is divided into thousands of island blocks, some large and mountainous, while others are merely rocky points or rock reefs that menace navigation. The island fringe of Norway

460-503: The passage was one of the sea routes from Seattle and California, carrying American prospectors northward. Today, approximately 36,000 recreational cruising boats utilize portions of the Inside Passage route. The nonprofit Marine Exchange of Alaska plots and follows vessel traffic in the Alaskan section of the Inside Passage. Captain Warren Good has catalogued some 3,641 shipwrecks along

483-647: The rising islands as they break sea level, revealing till deposits and eventually clay bottoms. The skerries exist as small rocky islands before uplift of adjacent terrain changes the classification of this landform into a tombolo . In the Russian Federation , the best examples are the Minina Skerries , located in the Kara Sea , in the western shores of the Taymyr Peninsula , and the Sumsky Skerries , located in

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506-542: The west coast of the South American continent. The Swedish coast along Bohuslän is likewise guarded by skerries. Even the east coast of Sweden, in the Baltic Sea , has many big skärgårdar (archipelagos), notably Stockholm Archipelago . The southwestern coast of Finland also has a great many skerries; so many, in fact, that they form an archipelago . This area is experiencing post-glacial rebound that connects

529-473: Was cancelled due to the Coronavirus Pandemic and uncertainty continued through February 2022 when Canada had kept cruise ships banned. Although a smaller industry, there are also a handful of expedition cruises that explore the Inside Passage. These ships tend to be smaller than main line cruises and focus more on wildlife watching. National Geographic operate several expedition boats here. During

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