Editing Alexander Archipelago

{{Short description|Islands in southeastern Alaska, USA}}
{{Infobox islands
| name                            = Alexander Archipelago
| image_name                      = Alexander archipelago.jpg
| image_caption                   = A [[MODIS]] photograph of the Alexander Archipelago
| pushpin_map                     = USA Alaska
| pushpin_map_width               = 220
| coordinates                     = {{coord|57|N|134|W|region:US-AK_type:isle_scale:4000000|display=title,inline}}
| location                        = [[Pacific Ocean]]
| country                         = United States
| country_admin_divisions_title     = State
| country_admin_divisions           = [[Alaska]]
}}

The '''Alexander Archipelago''' ({{langx|ru|Архипелаг Александра}}) is a {{convert|300|mi|km|-long|adj=mid}} [[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 mountains that rise steeply from the [[Pacific Ocean]]. Deep channels and [[fjord]]s separate the islands and cut them off from the mainland. The islands shelter the northern part of the [[Inside Passage]] as it winds its way among them.

The islands have [[Steep coast|steep]], [[Fjord|irregular]] coasts and dense [[evergreen]] and [[temperate rain forest]]s; most are accessible only by boat or by airplane. The vast majority of the islands are part of the [[Tongass National Forest]].

In order of land area, the [[List of islands of the United States by area|largest islands]] are [[Prince of Wales Island (Alaska)|Prince of Wales Island]], [[Chichagof Island]], [[Admiralty Island]], [[Baranof Island]], [[Revillagigedo Island]], [[Kupreanof Island]], [[Kuiu Island]], [[Etolin Island]], [[Dall Island]], [[Wrangell Island]], [[Mitkof Island]], [[Zarembo Island]], [[Kosciusko Island]], [[Kruzof Island]], [[Annette Island]], [[Gravina Island]], and [[Yakobi Island]]. All the islands are rugged, densely forested, and have an abundance of wildlife.

The [[Tlingit people|Tlingit]] and [[Haida people|Kaigani Haida]] people are native to the area. The [[Tsimshian]] people found on [[Annette Island]] are not originally from the area, having immigrated to the region from [[British Columbia]] in the late 19th century.

[[Ketchikan, Alaska|Ketchikan]] on Revillagigedo Island and [[Sitka, Alaska|Sitka]] on Baranof Island are the largest towns on the islands. The most populous neighborhoods of the largest town in the region, [[Juneau, Alaska|Juneau]], stand on the mainland, though portions of the city also lie on [[Douglas Island]], which is a part of the archipelago.

Tourism, fishing, and logging are the main industries of the islands.

== History ==
The first [[Europe]]an to visit the archipelago was the Russian navigator [[Aleksei Chirikov]] in 1741, who sighted the coasts of [[Noyes Island|Noyes]] and [[Baker Island (Alaska)|Baker Islands]] (both off the west coast of Prince of Wales Island), as well as Baranof, Chichagof, [[Kruzof Island|Kruzof]], and [[Yakobi Island]]s.<ref name="Golder1922">{{cite book |last=Golder |first=Frank Alfred and Leonhard Stejneger |title=Bering's voyages: an account of the efforts of the Russians to determine the relation of Asia and America |publisher=American Geographical Society |year=1922 |location=New York |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_7P0HAQAAIAAJ |page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_7P0HAQAAIAAJ/page/n57 36] |quote=bering 1741 voyage.}}</ref> In 1774, [[Juan José Pérez Hernández]] sighted the south coast of Dall Island,<ref name="Hayes2001">{{cite book |last=Hayes |first=Derek |title=Historical atlas of the North Pacific Ocean: maps of discovery and scientific exploration, 1500–2000 |publisher=Douglas & McIntyre |year=2001 |location=Vancouver}}</ref> while [[Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra]] entered [[Bucareli Bay]] off Prince of Wales Island the following year.<ref name="Hayes1999">{{cite book |last=Hayes |first=Derek |title=Historical altas of the Pacific Northwest: Maps of exploration and discovery; British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Yukon |publisher=Sasquatch Books |year=1999 |location=Seattle}}</ref> In 1792, [[Jacinto Caamaño]] sighted Revillagigedo Island and the [[Gravina Islands]], discovering [[Clarence Strait]].<ref name="Hayes">{{cite book |last=Hayes |first=Derek |title=America Discovered: A Historical Atlas of North American Exploration |publisher=Douglas & McIntyre |year=2004 |location=Vancouver}}</ref> [[George Vancouver]] and [[Vancouver Expedition|his men]] made an extensive survey of the archipelago in 1793 and 1794, circumnavigating both Revillagigedo and Admiralty Islands, charting the entirety of [[Kuiu Island]], the east sides of Baranof and Chichagof Islands, and [[Etolin Island|Etolin]], Wrangell, [[Zarembo Island|Zarembo]], [[Mitkof Island|Mitkof]], and Kupreanof Islands.<ref name="Vancouver1801">{{cite book |last=Vancouver |first=George, and John Vancouver |title=A voyage of discovery to the North Pacific ocean, and round the world |publisher=J. Stockdale |year=1801 |location=London |url=https://archive.org/details/avoyagediscover00vancgoog}}</ref> Within a decade, the [[Russia]]ns had traversed [[Peril Strait]] separating Chichagof and Baranof Islands, and in the following decades found the straits and passages separating several of the other major islands. An 1844 Russian chart shows Kupreanof separated from Mitkof Island and Etolin, Wrangell, [[Woronkofski Island|Woronkofski]], and Zarembo Islands separated from each other.<ref name="RussianMap1844">{{Cite map|title=KAPTA ЛЕДОВИТАГО МОРЯ И ВОСТОЧНАГО OKEAHA. Составлена съ новѣйшихъ описей ВЪ ГИДРОГРАФИЧЕСКОМЪ ДЕПАРТАМЕНТЬ МОРСКАГО МИНИСТЕРСТВА.|publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office|(U.S.) Government Printing Office]]|publication-place=[[Washington, D.C.]]|collaboration=[[Alaskan Boundary Tribunal]]|trans-title=Facsimile: Part of Map of the Frozen Ocean and the Eastern Ocean. Compiled from the latest documents in the Hydrographic Department of the Ministry of Marine.|language=Russian|year=1904|orig-date=1844|via=[[David Rumsey Historical Map Collection]]|publication-date=1904|scale=9800000|type=Atlas map|page=15|url=https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~204782~3002152|access-date=2025-03-02}}</ref>

The archipelago was a locus of the [[Maritime Fur Trade]] during the early 19th century. Control of the islands passed from Russia to the United States with the [[Alaska Purchase]] in 1867.

According to Donald Orth's ''Dictionary of Alaska Place Names'' (p.&nbsp;64), the Alexander Archipelago received its name from the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1867. The island chain is named for Tsar [[Alexander II of Russia]].<ref name="gnis">{{cite gnis |id=1420060 |name=Alexander Archipelago |access-date=2018-05-22}}</ref>

On an 1860 map of Russian America (Alaska), the island group is called the King [[George III of the United Kingdom|George III]] Archipelago.

== See also ==
* [[Alexander Archipelago wolf]]
* [[Bell Island (Alaska)|Bell Island]]
* [[British Columbia Coast]]
* [[Boundary Ranges]]
* [[Catherine Island (Alaska)|Catherine Island]]
* [[Hunter Bay]]
* [[Kadin Island]]
* [[William Henry Bay]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
* {{cite gnis|1420060|Alexander Archipelago}}

{{Commons category|Alexander Archipelago}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Alexander Archipelago| ]]
[[Category:Archipelagoes of Alaska]]
[[Category:Archipelagoes of the Pacific Ocean]]
[[Category:Haida]]
[[Category:Tlingit]]
[[Category:Tongass National Forest]]