Tugidak Island is an island of the Kodiak Archipelago

Kodiak Archipelago

The Kodiak Archipelago is an archipelago, or group of islands, south of main land mass of the state of Alaska , about by air south of Anchorage in the Gulf of Alaska. The largest island in the archipelago is Kodiak Island, the second largest island in the United States...

 in Kodiak Island Borough

Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska

-National protected areas:* Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge ** Barren Islands** Semidi Wilderness*** Semidi Islands** Trinity Islands*** Sitkinak Island*** Tugidak Island...

, 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...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It lies southwest of the southern tip of Kodiak Island

Kodiak Island

Kodiak Island is a large island on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska, separated from the Alaska mainland by the Shelikof Strait. The largest island in the Kodiak Archipelago, Kodiak Island is the second largest island in the United States and the 80th largest island in the world, with an...

 in the western part of the Gulf of Alaska

Gulf of Alaska

The Gulf of Alaska 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 east, where Glacier Bay and the Inside Passage are found.The entire shoreline of the Gulf is...

. Sitkinak Island

Sitkinak Island

Sitkinak Island is an island of the Kodiak Archipelago of the state of Alaska, USA. It lies south of the southern tip of Kodiak Island in the western part of the Gulf of Alaska. Tugidak Island lies to its west. The two islands are the largest components of the Trinity Islands of Alaska...

 lies to its east. The two islands are the largest components of the Trinity Islands of Alaska. The Trinity Islands, and thus Tugidak, are part of the Gulf of Alaska unit of Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge

Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge

The Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge is a United States National Wildlife Refuge comprising 2,400 islands, headlands, rocks, islets, spires and reefs in Alaska, with a total area of , of which is wilderness)...

. Tugidak Island has a land area of 173.142 km² (66.85 sq mi) and no resident population. The most prominent feature of the island is the large shallow lagoon

Lagoon

A lagoon is a body of shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form of barrier. The EU's habitat directive defines lagoons as "expanses of shallow coastal salt water, of varying salinity or water volume, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sand banks or shingle,...

 near its northeastern end. This part of the island was established as the Tugidak Island Critical Habitat Area by the state of Alaska in 1998 as a wildlife conservation area, and is managed by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game

Alaska Department of Fish and Game

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is a department within the government of Alaska. The Department of Fish and Game manages Alaska's fish, game, and aquatic plant resources.-History:...

. The island has historically been known as a nesting spot for harbor seal

Harbor Seal

The harbor seal , also known as the common seal, is a true seal found along temperate and Arctic marine coastlines of the Northern Hemisphere...

s as well as many species of marine birds.