Editing Lynn Canal (section)

==Transportation==
[[File:LynnCanal EldredRock.jpg|left|thumb|300px|[[Eldred Rock Light]] and avalanche chutes in Lynn Canal]]Lynn Canal's location as a penetrating waterway into the interior connects [[Skagway, Alaska|Skagway]] and [[Haines, Alaska]], to [[Juneau, Alaska|Juneau]] and  the rest of the [[Inside Passage]] thus making it a major route for shipping, [[cruise ship]]s, and [[ferry|ferries]].

During the [[Klondike Gold Rush]] it was a major route to the boom towns of Skagway and [[Dyea, Alaska|Dyea]] and thence to the Klondike gold fields. The worst maritime disaster in the history of the Pacific Northwest occurred in Lynn Canal during October 1918, when [[Princess Sophia (steamer)|SS ''Princess Sophia'']], steaming southbound from Skagway, grounded on the [[Vanderbilt Reef]] and later sank, with the loss of all 343 passengers and crew.

After the gold rush and the creation of the [[White Pass and Yukon Route]] railroad, ore and other freight from the [[Yukon Territory]] was transported on the railroad to Skagway and its deepwater port and then shipped through Lynn Canal. However, in the 1970s and 1980s the freight subsided as mining activity curtailed in the interior and today very little freight is actually shipped in the Lynn Canal.

Currently, transportation in the canal is provided by [[Alaska Marine Highway]] ferries. There are also several other entrepreneurial [[water taxi]]s and ferries available, but the AMHS is far and away the most frequently used.  A project of uncertain future is the [[Lynn Canal Highway]].

Because of Lynn Canal′s high use, the [[United States Coast Guard]] installed several lighthouses in the early 20th century including [[Eldred Rock Light]], [[Sentinel Island Light]], and [[Point Sherman Light]].

Historically, Lynn Canal proved to be a waterway involved in the [[Alaska boundary dispute]], over the strip of land running down the Pacific coast between British Columbia and Alaska. Of particular value was the fact that Lynn Canal provided access to the Yukon, where gold was found in 1896. The dispute was fought between the [[United Kingdom]], which then controlled Canada's foreign relations, and the United States, and finally settled in 1903 by arbitration. The arbitrators ruled that the canal was part of Alaska, not British Columbia.<ref>Paul Kennedy, ''[[The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers]]'' (1987) p 251</ref>