Isanotski Strait is a

strait A strait is a water body connecting two seas or water basins. The surface water is, for the most part, at the same elevation on both sides and flows through the strait in both directions, even though the topography generally constricts the ...

connecting the northern

Gulf of Alaska The Gulf of Alaska ( Tlingit: ''Yéil T'ooch’'') is an arm of the Pacific Ocean defined by the curve of the southern coast of Alaska, stretching from the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island in the west to the Alexander Archipelago in the ...

with the

Bering Sea The Bering Sea ( , ; rus, Бе́рингово мо́ре, r=Béringovo móre, p=ˈbʲerʲɪnɡəvə ˈmorʲe) is a marginal sea of the Northern Pacific Ocean. It forms, along with the Bering Strait, the divide between the two largest landmasse ...

, 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 ...

. Isanax̂ (variously spelled Issannakh, Isanak etc.) is the Aleut name for present day Isanotski Strait, and means gap, hole, rent, or tear in the Aleut language which was rendered as Isanotski (or Issanakskie, Isanotskoi, Isanakh etc.) in transliterated Russian. The strait appears as ''Исанакъ'' in 1802 and ''Исаноцкый'' in 1844 on Russian maps.Baker, Marcus: ''Geographic Dictionary of Alaska'', United States Geological Survey, Bulletin No. 299, Series F, Geography 52, Second Edition, USGPO, Washington, 1906 The strait is used by most vessels that are less than in length, when traveling between northern Alaska and points in southwestern and southeastern Alaska and the "lower 48" states. The city of

False Pass, Alaska False Pass () is a city on Unimak Island, in the Aleutians East Borough, Alaska, Aleutians East Borough of southwestern Alaska, United States. Although the population was marked 397 including seasonal fish processing plant workers at the 2020 U ...

is situated on Isanotski Strait. Falsepass ak entrance IsanotskiStrait

Geography

Isanotski Strait and Ikatan Bay separate the

Alaska Peninsula The Alaska Peninsula (also called Aleut Peninsula or Aleutian Peninsula, ; Sugpiaq language, Sugpiaq: ''Aluuwiq'', ''Al'uwiq'') is a peninsula extending about to the southwest from the mainland of Alaska and ending in the Aleutian Islands. T ...

from

Unimak Island Unimak Island (, ) is the largest island in the Aleutian Islands chain of the U.S. state of Alaska. Geography It is the easternmost island in the Aleutians and, with an area of , the 9th largest island in the United States and the 134th larges ...

, the easternmost of the

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands ( ; ; , "land of the Aleuts"; possibly from the Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', or "island")—also called the Aleut Islands, Aleutic Islands, or, before Alaska Purchase, 1867, the Catherine Archipelago—are a chain ...

. Isanotski Strait has its southerly entrance at the northwest end of Ikatan Bay. Traders Cove, on the eastern side of Isanotski Strait about 7 miles above its entrance from Ikatan Bay, is a good anchorage. Morzhovoi, a mission and native village, is on the south side. The northern entrance has strong tidal currents, which are affected by strong northerly or southerly winds. There is an extensive shoal, or flat, in the northern and widest portion of the strait, lying to the east of the channel way and south of the outlet to the Bering Sea. Just outside this outlet, at a distance of between , is a line of shoals, with breakers, that extend from the northeast point of

in a northeasterly direction for parallel with the coast. The mean rise and fall of tides in Ikatan Bay is 4.5 feet. In the narrow southern part of Isanotski Strait, the tidal currents have a velocity of 7 to 9 miles or more, and it is said that there is practically no slack and the current turns about three hours after high or low water in Ikatan Bay.

History

This strait was used for safe passage for millennia by Aleuts and later by the Russians during their colonization of the area in

Russian America Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

. In the 1900s it was used by light-draft craft built in

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...

ports for service on the

Yukon River The Yukon River is a major watercourse of northwestern North America. From its source in British Columbia, it flows through Canada's territory of Yukon (itself named after the river). The lower half of the river continues westward through the U.S ...

, in making the passage from Puget Sound ports to

St. Michael Michael, also called Saint Michael the Archangel, Archangel Michael and Saint Michael the Taxiarch is an archangel and the warrior of God in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The earliest surviving mentions of his name are in third- and second- ...

. It was the practice for these vessels to go through the inland passages of

Southeast Alaska 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 ...

, out through

Cross Sound Cross Sound is a passage in the Alexander Archipelago in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of Alaska, located between Chichagof Island to its south and the mainland to its north. It is long and extends from the Gulf of Alaska to Icy Str ...

, and coast around, watching the weather, going behind the islands off the

and through Isanotski Strait or Unimak Pass. Isanotski Strait was preferable to Unimak Pass for light-draft river vessels because it was nearer and had many sheltered anchorages and places where fresh water could be obtained.

References

* *

External links

* {{Authority control Straits of Alaska Straits of the Pacific Ocean Bodies of water of Aleutians East Borough, Alaska Unimak Island