Icy Strait
{{Short description|Inlet of the Pacific Ocean in Alaska, United States}}
Image:Landsat GlacierBay 01aug99.jpg from the Brady Glacier discolours the shallow waters of Icy Strait.]]
The Icy Strait is a strait in the Alexander Archipelago in southeastern Alaska, at about {{coord|58|16|41|N|135|38|48|W|scale:1000000|display=inline,title}}.
Geography
Icy Strait separates Chichagof Island to the south and the Alaska mainland to the north. The strait is {{convert|64|km|mi nmi|abbr=on}} from its west side at the intersection of the Cross Sound and Glacier Bay to its east side at Chatham Strait and the Lynn Canal. The two largest islands in the strait are Pleasant Island and Lemesurier Island.
The Cape Spencer Light is an important former lighthouse and remains an active aid to navigation.
The nearby cruise ship destination Icy Strait Point is named in reference to Icy Strait.
History
At 9:57 p.m. on September 13, 1886, the sidewheel steamer {{ship||Ancon|1867 ship|2}}, a cargo liner, ran aground on an uncharted rock in Icy Strait within {{convert|0.5|nmi|1}} of Point Gustavus while attempting to enter Glacier Bay. After three hours, she floated free on the rising tide at 1:00 a.m. on September 14, and her captain beached her on a sandy shore about {{convert|1.5|nmi}} from the rock to prevent her from sinking.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/396553998/?terms=ancon|title=A Thrilling Experience|date=October 16, 1886|work=Wisconsin State Journal|page=4}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/457913378/?terms=ancon|title=She Struck On A Rock|date=October 9, 1886|work=San Francisco Examiner|page=2}} She was refloated on October 2, 1886, and, after initial repairs, run ashore again in Bartlett Cove for additional repairs. She finally proceeded to Juneau, Alaska, for permanent repairs.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/27392230/?terms=ancon|title=Of A Sunken Rock|date=October 9, 1886|work=San Francisco Chronicle|page=3}} A United States Coast and Geodetic Survey team sent to chart the rock in November 1886 named it "Ancon Rock,"{{Cite book|title=Dictionary of Alaska Place Names|last=Orth|first=Donald J.|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|year=1967|location=Washington, D.C.|pages=75}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/457952811/?terms=ancon|title=A Dangerous Rock|date=November 29, 1886|work=San Francisco Examiner|page=2}} and a buoy moored at the site now warns ships of the submerged Ancon Rock.{{Cite book|url=http://www.charts.noaa.gov/OnLineViewer/17318.shtml|title=Glacier Bay – Chart 17318|publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|year=2018}} Ancon returned to service in mid-December 1886.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/41094039/?terms=ancon|title=Pacific Coast Steamship Company|date=December 14, 1886|work=Los Angeles Herald|page=8}}
The cruise ship Empress of the North ran aground near Rocky IslandWikinews:Alaskan cruise ship evacuated and took on some water there on May 14, 2007, causing the evacuation of her passengers. None were injured.