Tongass Island, historically also spelled Tongas Island, is an island

Island

An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...

 in the southern Alaska Panhandle

Alaska Panhandle

Southeast Alaska, sometimes referred to as the Alaska Panhandle, is the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Alaska, which lies west of the northern half of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The majority of Southeast Alaska's area is part of the Tongass National Forest, the United...

, near the marine boundary with Canada at 54-40 N. it was the site of Fort Tongass

Fort Tongass

Fort Tongass was a United States Army base on Tongass Island, in the southernmost Alaska Panhandle, located adjacent to the village of the group of Tlingit people on the east side of the island. Fort Tongass was the first US Army base established in Alaska following its purchase from the Russian...

, which was first established shortly after the Alaska Purchase

Alaska purchase

The Alaska Purchase was the acquisition of the Alaska territory by the United States from Russia in 1867 by a treaty ratified by the Senate. The purchase, made at the initiative of United States Secretary of State William H. Seward, gained of new United States territory...

 as a customs port for travellers bound from British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

n waters to the Stikine River

Stikine River

The Stikine River is a river, historically also the Stickeen River, approximately 610 km long, in northwestern British Columbia in Canada and southeastern Alaska in the United States...

, which was one of the main routes of access to the Cassiar Gold Rush of the 1870s. it lies west of Port Tongass in Nakat Bay

Nakat Bay

Nakat Bay is a bay in Southeast Alaska, U.S.A. The bay extends northeast from Cape Fox. It was charted in 1793 by George Vancouver. The bay's name comes from a Tlingit name published in 1853 on a Russian Hydrographic Department chart as "Bukh Nakat" ....

, adjacent to the Dixon Entrance

Dixon Entrance

The Dixon Entrance is a strait about long and wide in the Pacific Ocean at the International Boundary between the U.S. state of Alaska and the province of British Columbia in Canada. It was named by Joseph Banks for Captain George Dixon, a Royal Navy officer, fur trader, and explorer, who...

 and is 0.8 miles in length. It's Native Alaskan name "Kut-tuk-wah" was published in 1869 by USC&GS; its current name was first published in 1891.