Bucareli Bay is a
bay
A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...
in the
Alexander Archipelago
The Alexander Archipelago () is a 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 ...
, in the
southeastern part of the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
of
Alaska
Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
. It is located off the western coast of
Prince of Wales Island, between
Baker Island
Baker Island, once known as New Nantucket in the early 19th century, is a small, uninhabited atoll located just north of the Equator in the central Pacific Ocean, approximately southwest of Honolulu. Positioned almost halfway between Hawaii a ...
and
Suemez Island
Suemez Island is located in the Alexander Archipelago of southeastern Alaska, United States. It resides in the west-central coast of Prince of Wales Island. The northern tip of Dall Island lies to its southeast, while Baker Island lies to its nor ...
. To the east it connects to various waterways, such as San Alberto Bay. To the west it opens directly upon the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
. Bucareli Bay is about long.
According to the
United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...
, the name "Bucareli" was given in 1775 by
Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra
Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra (22 May 1743 – 26 March 1794) was a Hispano-Peruvian naval officer operating in the Americas. Assigned to the Pacific coast Spanish Naval Department base at San Blas, in Viceroyalty of New Spain (present ...
, who called the bay "Puerto y Entrada de Bucareli," in honor of
Antonio María de Bucareli y Ursúa
Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language–speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular ...
, then
viceroy
A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory.
The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...
of
New Spain
New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...
.
In the 1790s,
George Vancouver
Captain (Royal Navy), Captain George Vancouver (; 22 June 1757 – 10 May 1798) was a Royal Navy officer and explorer best known for leading the Vancouver Expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern West Coast of the Uni ...
, who had access to a variety of Spanish maps, called the bay "Puerto del Baylio Bucareli."
[ ]Francisco Antonio Mourelle
Francisco Antonio Mourelle de la Rúa (July 17, 1750 – May 24, 1820) was a Spanish Galician naval officer and explorer serving the Spanish crown. He was born in 1750 at San Adrián de Corme (Corme Aldea, Ponteceso), near A Coruña, Gali ...
was present with Quadra at Bucareli Bay and wrote about seeing the light of erupting volcanoes, although he was likely seeing something else, perhaps forest fires.[About Alaska's Volcanoes]
Alaska Volcano Observatory The Spanish repeatedly visited Bucareli Bay in the late-18th century. Ignacio de Arteaga, along with Quadra and Mourelle, visited in 1779.
Two American naval ships built during World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
were each named the USS ''Bucareli Bay''; however, they were both renamed shortly after.
References
Bays of Alaska
Bays of Prince of Wales–Hyder Census Area, Alaska
{{PrinceofWalesHyderAK-geo-stub
External links
Spanish map from 1779