Evans Island
Encyclopedia
Evans Island is an island in the Prince William Sound
of southern Alaska
. It lies just east of Bainbridge Island across the Prince of Wales Passage. Elrington Island lies to its south, Latouche Island
to its southeast, and Knight Island
to its northeast. Although Evans Island had been inhabited up to the time of the Russian exploration of Alaska, the island had no modern-day inhabitants until 1984, when a group of residents and former residents of the original Alutiq village of Chenega
, on Chenega Island
, decided to build the village of Chenega Bay on Crab Bay on Evans Island. Old Chenega had been destroyed and one-third of its residents had been killed by the tsunami
from the 1964 Alaska earthquake. The new community of Chenega is coextensive with Evans Island, which has a land area of 74.605 km² (28.805 sq mi) and a population of 86 persons as of the 2000 census
.
Evans Island and the ocean around it was polluted by the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill
.
Evans Island was called Hoodoo Island before 1912. The name frightened some sailors. The United States Coast and Geodetic Survey renamed the island in honor of United States Navy Admiral Robley Evans (1846–1912), who had been a maritime policeman in the area early in his career.
Prince William Sound
Prince William Sound is a sound off the Gulf of Alaska on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located on the east side of the Kenai Peninsula. Its largest port is Valdez, at the southern terminus of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System...
of southern Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. It lies just east of Bainbridge Island across the Prince of Wales Passage. Elrington Island lies to its south, Latouche Island
Latouche Island
Latouche Island is an island in the southern part of Alaska, USA. It lies in the Gulf of Alaska between Montague Island to the east and Evans Island to the northwest. Latouche Island has a land area of 60.627 km² and had no resident population at the 2000 census.-References:* United States...
to its southeast, and Knight Island
Knight Island (Alaska)
Knight Island is an island in western Prince William Sound of the Gulf of Alaska in the state of Alaska, USA.The island has a land area of 277.166 km² and no resident population as of 2000...
to its northeast. Although Evans Island had been inhabited up to the time of the Russian exploration of Alaska, the island had no modern-day inhabitants until 1984, when a group of residents and former residents of the original Alutiq village of Chenega
Chenega, Alaska
Chenega is a census-designated place on Evans Island in the Valdez-Cordova Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. Located in Prince William Sound, the CDP consists of the Chugach Alutiiq village of Chenega Bay, which was established only after the Good Friday Earthquake destroyed the original...
, on Chenega Island
Chenega Island
Chenega Island is an island in Prince William Sound in the U.S. state of Alaska.It is the traditional home to the community of Chenega, though much of its population eventually migrated to Chenega Bay on nearby Evans Island after the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake and accompanying tsunami...
, decided to build the village of Chenega Bay on Crab Bay on Evans Island. Old Chenega had been destroyed and one-third of its residents had been killed by the tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
from the 1964 Alaska earthquake. The new community of Chenega is coextensive with Evans Island, which has a land area of 74.605 km² (28.805 sq mi) and a population of 86 persons as of the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
.
Evans Island and the ocean around it was polluted by the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill
Exxon Valdez oil spill
The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred in Prince William Sound, Alaska, on March 24, 1989, when the Exxon Valdez, an oil tanker bound for Long Beach, California, struck Prince William Sound's Bligh Reef and spilled of crude oil. It is considered to be one of the most devastating human-caused...
.
Evans Island was called Hoodoo Island before 1912. The name frightened some sailors. The United States Coast and Geodetic Survey renamed the island in honor of United States Navy Admiral Robley Evans (1846–1912), who had been a maritime policeman in the area early in his career.