Gastineau Channel
Gastineau Channel is a channel between the mainland of the U.S. state of Alaska and Douglas Island in the Alexander Archipelago of southeastern Alaska. It separates Juneau on the mainland side from Douglas (now part of Juneau), on Douglas Island. The first European to sight the channel was Joseph Whidbey early in August 1794, first from the south and later from the west.[1] It was probably named for John Gastineau, an English Civil Engineer and Surveyor.[2][3]
The channel is navigable by large ships only from the southeast as far as the bridge connecting Douglas Island with the mainland. Between the bridge and the airport in Mendenhall Valley, the channel becomes navigable only to smaller craft and only at high tide.
The channel is becoming increasingly unnavigable as there has been a marked increase in silt build up. It has been argued that this a consequence of Global Warming on the nearby Mendenhall Glacier causing it melt and deposit silts in the channel. If current trends continue, it is possible the channel may be entirely blocked and filled with dry land.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ Vancouver, George, and John Vancouver (1801; vols. I-VI). A voyage of discovery to the North Pacific ocean, and round the world. London: J. Stockdale. http://books.google.com/books?id=qwol8bPaYxsC&printsec=frontcover&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false.
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Gastineau Channel
- ^ http://www.ggsalaska.org Gastineau Genealogical Society
- ^ Dean, Cornelia (18 May 2009). "As Alaska Glaciers Melt, It's Land That's Rising". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/18/science/earth/18juneau.html.
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Coordinates: 58°17′42″N 134°24′26″W / 58.295°N 134.40722°W
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