Admiralty Island

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the Admiralty Island in Alaska. For information on the Admiralty Islands of Papua New Guinea, see Admiralty Islands.

Admiralty Island is an island in the Alexander Archipelago in Southeast Alaska, at 57°44′N 134°20′W. It is 4,264.1 km² (1,646.4 sq. miles) in land area. It is 145 km (90 miles) long and 56 km (25 miles) wide. It is one of the ABC islands of Alaska.

Known to the Tlingit as "Kootznoowoo", or Fortress of the Bear, Admiralty Island is home to the highest density of brown bears in North America. An estimated 1,600 brown bears inhabit the million-acre island, outnumbering Admiralty's human residents nearly three to one. Angoon, a traditional Tlingit community home to 572 people, is the only settlement on the island, although an unpopulated section of the city of Juneau comprises 264.68 km² (6.2 percent) of the island's land area near its northern end. The island's total population at the 2000 census was 650.

Most of Admiralty Island — more than 955,000 acres — is a federally protected Wilderness Area. The Kootznoowoo Wilderness is unique in Southeast Alaska because it encompasses vast stands of old growth temperate rainforest. These forests provide some of the best habitat available to species such as brown bears, bald eagles, and Sitka black-tailed deer.

Admiralty Island also offers unrivaled opportunities for primitive recreation in Southeast Alaska. The U.S. Forest Service maintains several public-use cabins on the island, as well as the Cross Admiralty Canoe Route, which links the island's lakes through a series of portages.

The Pack Creek Brown Bear Viewing Area offers visitors the opportunity to observe brown bears in their natural habitat as they fish for salmon and interact with one another during the summer months. Permits are required for all visitors to Pack Creek which can be attained through the Forest Service.

The Point Retreat Light is located on the northern tip of Admiralty and was an important aid-to-navigation.