Chichagof Island

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Islands and major straits of the northern Pacific Northwest Coast

Chichagof Island is an island in the Alexander Archipelago of the Alaska Panhandle. At 120 km (75 miles) long and 80 km (50 miles) wide, it has a land area of 5,305.88 km² (2,048.61 square miles), making it the fifth largest island in the United States and the 109th largest island in the world. There was a 2000 census population of 1,342 persons. It is one of the ABC islands of Alaska.

Chichagof Island is north of Baranof Island. It is bounded by Chatham Strait to the east, Icy Strait to the northeast, Cross Sound to the northwest, the Gulf of Alaska to the west and Peril Strait to the south.

The communities of Hoonah, Pelican, Tenakee Springs, and Elfin Cove are all located on the northern half of Chichagof Island, in the Skagway-Hoonah-Angoon Census Area. The southern half of the island comprises the northern part of the City and Borough of Sitka. Only eight persons were counted in this portion of Sitka at the 2000 census. The primary economic sources for all these communities come from either Chichagof Island or the waters and fjords surrounding it. Guided hunting trips, fishing, and logging are all vital economic facets of the local economies.

This island is named after Admiral Vasili Chichagov, a Russian Arctic explorer.