Tongass Narrows is a Y-shaped channel , part of Southeast Alaska 's Inside Passage . The waterway forms part of the Alaska Marine Highway and as such, is used by charter, commercial fishing, and recreational vessels, as well as commercial freight barges and tanks, kayaks and passenger ferries. A proposal to build the Gravina Island Bridge across the Tongass Narrows was shelved due to a national-level controversy over the " bridge to nowhere ".
15-601: Tongass Narrows is defined as the water body that extends from the Revillagigedo Channel to the Gravina Island in Clarence Strait . It is shaped as a "Y", split into two channels by Pennock Island . At its northern end is Clarence Strait . In the southeast it extends from Nichols Passage to Guard Island . The eastern side is bounded by Revillagigedo Island and the west by Gravina Island . The eastern side of
30-739: A stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Duke Island (Alaska) Duke Island ( Tlingit : G̠ilʼi Shakʼ ) is an island in the Gravina Islands of the Alexander Archipelago in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Alaska and within Tongass National Forest . The island is just north of the Canada–United States border , about 30 miles (48 kilometres) south of Ketchikan and about 60 miles (97 kilometres) northwest of Prince Rupert, British Columbia . It
45-485: Is about 12 mi (19 km) long east–west and 10 mi (16 km) north-south. The original name for the island in the Tlingit language is: Yeixhi (building), referring to it looking like something under construction when viewed from the waters around it. The island was named by William Healey Dall in 1879. He probably took the name from the island's southern cape, which George Vancouver had named in 1793 after
60-578: Is an important aid to navigation in Revillagigedo Channel. 55°3′40″N 131°6′54″W / 55.06111°N 131.11500°W / 55.06111; -131.11500 This article about a location in the Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a location in the Prince of Wales–Hyder Census Area, Alaska is
75-596: Is an ocean channel in the Alexander Archipelago of the U.S. state of Alaska . Extending 56 km (35 mi) northwest from the Dixon Entrance , it lies between the mainland to the east, Revillagigedo Island to the north, and Duke Island and Annette Island to the southwest. It is part of the Inside Passage to Ketchikan . The channel was named for Juan Vicente de Güemes, 2nd Count of Revillagigedo , viceroy of New Spain , in 1793. The Tree Point Light
90-636: Is noted on the narrows near Ketchikan on its eastern side and also on the Gravina Island. Some of the marine fauna noted in the Tongass are whales, sea lions, and herring in large numbers apart from salmon fishing near Ketchikan. Occasionally black bears have been seen foraging in garbage bins in the town. The Gravina Island Bridge proposal, was a plan to build a highway bridge across the Tongass Narrows from Revillagigedo Island to Gravina Island. It became
105-772: The Duke of Northumberland . Duke Island is a roadless area of Tongass National Forest under the Alaska Roadless Rule . The Duke Island Roadless Area consists of Duke Island, Mary Island, and the Percy Islands. Duke Island hosts an Alaskan-type ultramafic complex which as of 2010 was being explored for magmatic sulfide Cu-Ni-PGE deposits. Duke Island is an important and ancient indigenous location, with numerous archaeological sites dating back at least several thousand years. The Taantakwaan ( Taantʼa Ḵwáan ) Tlingit (" Tongass people "), Sanyakwaan ( Saanyaa Ḵwáan ) Tlingit, and
120-608: The Pennock Island Swim also known as The Pennock Island Challenge are two other notable events. A fireworks display is held in a defined safety zone at the site of the barge. 55°19′24″N 131°36′58″W / 55.32333°N 131.61611°W / 55.32333; -131.61611 Revillagigedo Channel Revillagigedo Channel ( Spanish: [reˈβiʝa xiˈxeðo] , English: / r ɛ ˌ v i j ə h i ˈ h eɪ ð oʊ / rheh-vee-yə-hee- HAY -dhoh , locally Revilla , / r ə ˈ v ɪ l ə / )
135-589: The Tsimshian people of Metlakatla all consider Duke Island to be a very sacred place and an integral part of their history and contemporary life. Additionally, Duke Island is where the Taantakwaan had their first contacts with Westerners who came as maritime fur traders . After extensive mineral exploration for anomalous copper, nickel, platinum, and palladium began in 2005 the Taantakwaan Tlingit, along with
150-713: The Duke Island Area is eligible under all criteria. In 2020 the Trump administration announced a new Roadless Rule that exempted Tongass National Forest, including Duke Island, from the Alaska Roadless Rule. In 2023, after study and review that began in 2021, the Biden administration repealed the 2020 Trump administration's Roadless Rule, returning to the 2001 Clinton-era Roadless Rule. This resulted in Duke Island once again being
165-721: The Native Site Guardianship Council and the Ketchikan Indian Community (KIC) objected and began the process of designating the island, along with others nearby, a traditional cultural property (TCP). A determination of eligibility for TCP began in 2009. The study concluded that the Duke Island Area is eligible to the National Register of Historic Places as a TCP. On 9 June 2011 the State Historic Preservation Office concurred that
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#1732852684787180-648: The channel, such as charter, commercial fishing, and recreational vessels, as well as commercial freight barges and tanks, kayaks and passenger ferries. There is also extensive floatplane traffic on the Narrows, as Ketchikan is the regional center for air transportation to isolated communities. Maritime restrictions are most prevalent around Clam Cove (West Channel), Idaho Rock to the Coast Guard Base (East Channel), and Danger Island to Bar Harbor (North Channel). The geological formation of "green stone schist , Paleozoic "
195-547: The high-water mark. In mid-channel, the depth is from 15 to 26 fathoms (27–48 metres (89–157 ft)). The north shore of Tongass Narrows is steep and heavily wooded. The south shores are low, flat, and wooded, with occasional open ground for 1–2 miles (1.6–3.2 km) back, where the land rises to the California Ridge. The Tongass Narrows is part of the Alaska Marine Highway system. Many types of vessels operate on
210-407: The narrows includes the cities of Saxman and Ketchikan . Ketchikan International Airport is located on Gravina Island. The channel extends in a generally northwest direction for about 14 miles (23 km). About 0.625 miles (1.0 km) westward of East Clump islet, the width of Tongass Narrows is 0.125 miles (200 m), the shoal water on the north side extending out 900 feet (270 m) from
225-508: The subject of national controversy as critics called the plan a "bridge to nowhere" while attacking its proposed cost of $ 320 million. The bridge, which would have replaced a ferry that connects Ketchikan to its major airport , has not been built. One of the marine events held here by the Ketchikan Yacht Club in summer season every Wednesday night and on occasions during weekends is the sailboat regatta . The Christmas Boat Parade and
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