Forrester Island (

Haida Haida may refer to: Haida people Many uses of the word derive from the name of an indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. * Haida people, an Indigenous ethnic group of North America (Canada) ** Council of the Haida Nati ...

: ''Gasḵúu'') is an island in 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 ...

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 coast of the

Alaska Panhandle Southeast Alaska, often abbreviated to southeast or southeastern, and sometimes called the Alaska(n) panhandle, is the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Alaska, bordered to the east and north by the northern half of the Canadian provi ...

, near its southernmost portion, west of

Dall Island Dall Island is an island in the Alexander Archipelago off the southeast coast of Alaska, just west of Prince of Wales Island and north of Canadian waters. Its peak elevation is above sea level. Its land area is , making it the 28th largest isl ...

, in the Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area. The island is long and covers an area of . It is wooded and mountainous, rising in elevation. In 1970, the area was designated the Forrester Island Wilderness, with in the

National Wilderness Preservation System The National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) of the United States protects federal government of the United States, federally managed Wilderness, wilderness areas designated for preservation in their natural condition. Activity on formally ...

. It is part of the Gulf of Alaska unit of the

Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge The Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge (often shortened to Alaska Maritime or AMNWR) is a United States National Wildlife Refuge comprising 2,400 islands, headlands, rocks, islets, spires and reefs in Alaska, with a total area of , of wh ...

Forrester Island was originally named "Santa Cristina" by Juan Pérez in 1774. In 1775, Francisco Antonio Maurelle labeled the island "San Carlos", and in 1778 William Douglas named it "Douglas Island". Royal Navy officer George Dixon named the island "Forrester Island" in 1787, which was the name adopted by

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 ...

on the

Vancouver Expedition The Vancouver Expedition (1791–1795) was a four-and-a-half-year voyage of exploration and diplomacy, commanded by Captain George Vancouver of the Royal Navy. The British expedition circumnavigated the globe and made contact with five continen ...

in 1793. In 1912, U.S. President

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) served as the 27th president of the United States from 1909 to 1913 and the tenth chief justice of the United States from 1921 to 1930. He is the only person to have held both offices. ...

signed a law creating the Forrester Island Refuge, which included Forrester Island, Lowrie Island and Wolf Rock. The island hosts rookeries of

Steller sea lion The Steller sea lion (''Eumetopias jubatus''), also known as Steller's sea lion or the northern sea lion, is a large, near-threatened species of sea lion, predominantly found in the coastal marine habitats of the northeast Pacific Ocean and th ...

s. The longest recorded migration of a Steller sea lion was between Forrester Island and Cape Newenham in

Bristol Bay Bristol Bay (, ) is the easternmost arm of the Bering Sea, at 57° to 59° North 157° to 162° West in Southwest Alaska. Bristol Bay is 400 km (250 mi) long and 290 km (180 mi) wide at its mouth. A number of rivers flow in ...

References

{{authority control Islands of Alaska Islands of Prince of Wales–Hyder Census Area, Alaska Islands of Unorganized Borough, Alaska

See also

References