Editing Inside Passage (section)

{{Short description|Shipping route along the northwest coast of North America}}
{{More citations needed|date=November 2019}}
[[File:Inside Passage map.png|thumb|right|300px|Major waterways and cities of the Inside Passage.]]
The '''Inside Passage''' ({{langx|fr|Passage Intérieur}}) is a coastal route for ships and boats along a network of [[Strait|passage]]s which weave through the islands on the [[Pacific Northwest]] coast of the [[North American Pacific Fjordland|North American Fjordland]]. The route extends from southeastern [[Alaska]] in the [[United States]], through western [[British Columbia]] in [[Canada]], to northwestern [[Washington (state)|Washington state]] in the United States. Ships using the route can avoid some of the bad weather in the open ocean and may visit some of the many isolated communities along the route. The Inside Passage is heavily travelled by [[cruise ships]], [[cargo ship|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" is also often used to refer to the ocean and islands around the passage itself.