Editing Lynn Canal

{{Short description|Natural inlet in Alaska Panhandle, US}}
[[Image:Lynn Canal-Haines Alaska.jpg|thumb|right|Lynn Canal, [[Haines, Alaska|Haines]] area of southeast Alaska]]
'''Lynn Canal''' is an [[inlet]] (not an artificial [[canal]]) into the mainland of southeast [[Alaska]].

Lynn Canal runs about {{convert|90|mi}} from the inlets of the [[Chilkat River]] south to [[Chatham Strait]] and [[Stephens Passage]]. At over {{convert|2,000|ft}} in depth, Lynn Canal is the deepest [[fjord]] in [[North America]] (outside [[Greenland]]) and one of the deepest and longest in the world.

The northern portion of the canal braids into the respective [[Chilkat Inlet|Chilkat]], [[Chilkoot Inlet|Chilkoot]], and [[Taiya Inlet]]s.

The [[Tlingit]] are the indigenous people of the Lynn Canal's shores and waterways. The inlet was explored for the Royal Navy by [[Joseph Whidbey]] in 1794 and named by [[George Vancouver]] for his birthplace, [[King's Lynn]], [[Norfolk]], [[England]].<ref>{{gnis|1423488|Lynn Canal}}</ref>

Lynn Canal was frequently visited by [[maritime fur trade]]rs from at least 1800. The ''[[Atahualpa (ship)|Atahualpa]]'' visited in 1801 and its log mentions an earlier trading visit by an unidentified ship.<ref>Malloy (1998), pp. 176–177</ref>

In April 1811 the [[Americans|American]] maritime fur trader [[Samuel Hill (sea captain)|Samuel Hill]], captain of ''[[Otter (brig)|Otter]]'', battled the Chilkat Tlingit in the Chilkat Inlet of Lynn Canal. Two of Hill's crew were killed, including his second mate and journal keeper Richard Kemp, his [[boatswain]]. Six more were wounded. According to Captain Hill, the Tlingit suffered 40 killed, including 13 chiefs. Hill blamed both his first mate and the Tlingit, but he was notoriously violent and frequently attacked indigenous people unprovoked.<ref name=Malloy1998>{{cite book |last= Malloy |first= Mary |title= "Boston Men" on the Northwest Coast: The American Maritime Fur Trade 1788-1844 |date= 1998 |publisher= [[The Limestone Press]] |isbn= 978-1-895901-18-4 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=MxgSAQAAIAAJ |pages= 140–141}}</ref>
<ref name=Malloy2006>{{cite book |last= Malloy |first= Mary |title= Devil on the deep blue sea: The notorious career of Captain Samuel Hill of Boston |date= 2006 |publisher= Bullbrier Press |isbn= 978-0-9722854-1-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=https://journals.lib.washington.edu/index.php/WHQ/article/view/7794/6830 |title= The Attempt to Capture the Brig Otter |last=Howay |first=Frederic William |author-link=Frederic William Howay |journal= Washington Historical Quarterly |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=179–188 |date= 1930 |jstor= 40475341}}</ref>

For several years after the 1811 battle fewer trade ships visited. By 1821 it was again a regular trading site, with visits by ships such as the ''Mentor'' in 1821.<ref name=Malloy1998/>

==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>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

Alaska Fjordlines, Inc. is a wildlife day trip through the Lynn Canal. https://web.archive.org/web/20110203103152/http://www.alaskafjordlines.com/index.php

Cranny, Michael, and Garvin Moles. Counter Points: Exploring Canadian Issues. 2001. Toronto : Pearson Education Canada Inc, 2001. Print.

==External links==
*{{HALS |survey=AK-5 |id=ak0551 |title=Lynn Canal, Skagway, Skagway, AK |color=1 |cap=1}}

{{Authority control}}

{{Coord|58|41|31|N|135|05|51|W|display=title|source:dewiki_scale:2000000}}

[[Category:Fjords of Alaska]]
[[Category:Historic American Landscapes Survey in Alaska]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of Haines Borough, Alaska]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of Juneau, Alaska]]
[[Category:Tlingit]]