Sukkwan Island is an island in the Alexander Archipelago

Alexander Archipelago

The Alexander Archipelago is a long archipelago, or group of islands, of North America off the southeastern coast of Alaska. It contains about 1,100 islands, which are the tops of the submerged coastal mountains that rise steeply from the Pacific Ocean. Deep channels and fjords separate the...

 of southeastern 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...

, USA. It lies just off the southwest coast of Prince of Wales Island. To its west lies Dall Island

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 2,443 feet above sea level. Its land area is 254.02 square miles , making it the 28th largest island in the United States...

, and to its south lies Long Island

Long Island (Alaska)

Long Island is an island in the Alexander Archipelago of southeastern Alaska, USA. It lies across the Kaigani Strait from the southern portion of Dall Island and west of the southern part of Prince of Wales Island. Directly to its north is Sukkwan Island...

. The nearest city is Hydaburg

Hydaburg, Alaska

Hydaburg is a town in the Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, in the U.S. state of Alaska. The population was 382 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Hydaburg is located at . It is the southernmost city on Prince of Wales Island...

, to its north on Prince of Wales Island, just across the Sukkwan Strait. The island's area is 166.9 km² (64.44 sq mi) and a population of nine persons was reported at the 2000 census.

Sukkwan Island is where the eponymous novella by David Vann (writer)

David Vann (writer)

David Vann is an assistant professor of English at University of San Francisco. He teaches creative nonfiction and fiction. He was a Wallace Stegner Fellow and Jones Lecturer at Stanford University and is the author of the memoir A Mile Down: The True Story of a Disastrous Career at Sea...

takes place.