American Bay

American Bay (also Amerikanskaia, 1883 name by Etolin)^[1] is a waterway on Dall Island in the U.S. state of Alaska.

Geography

This bay indents the Dall Island shore a little more than 1 mile (1.6 km) in a general southwest by south direction, with a width of about .5 miles (0.80 km). On the north side of the bay, .25 miles (0.40 km) within the entrance, is a group of four wooded islets, called Hay Islets, connected with each other and with the shore at low water. Southwest of them is Anchorage Cove, where good anchorage may be found in 15 fathoms. The shores of American Bay are free from dangers, and the water, particularly on the south side, is deep. A trading post of the Northwest Trading Company was formerly located on this bay; the buildings were still visible in 1891. Northeast of the northern entrance point of American Bay, is a shoal patch measuring from 9 to 16 fathoms. Immediately opposite the entrance to American Bay a reef, showing at low water, extends nearly 1 cable to the southwest from the Long Island shore with deep water close-to. How-Kan Narrows, a name given by local navigators to the contracted passage lying .75 miles (1.21 km) above American Bay is about .5 miles (0.80 km) wide.^[2]

Geology

A deposit of schistose marble was reported on the south side of American Bay. The deposit is more than 500 yards wide, stands about vertical, strikes east, and is mostly covered by moss and timber. The marble is both fine and coarse grained and contains mica.^[3]

References

• This article incorporates text from a work in the public domain: Pacific Coast Pilot's Pacific Coast Pilot: Alaska. Dixon entrance to Yakutat Bay with inland passage from Strait of Fuca to Dixon entrance (1891)
• This article incorporates text from a work in the public domain: A. R. Schultz's A Geologic Reconnaissance for Phosphate and Coal in Southeastern Idaho and Western Wyoming (1918)

1. Baker 1902, p. 73.
2. Pacific Coast Pilot 1891, p. 83.
3. Schultz 1918, p. 91.

Bibliography

• Baker, Marcus (1902). Geographic Dictionary of Alaska (Public domain ed.). U.S. Government Printing Office.
• Pacific Coast Pilot (1891). Pacific Coast Pilot: Alaska. Dixon entrance to Yakutat Bay with inland passage from Strait of Fuca to Dixon entrance (Public domain ed.). U.S. Government Printing Office.
• Schultz, Alfred Reginald (1918). A Geologic Reconnaissance for Phosphate and Coal in Southeastern Idaho and Western Wyoming (Public domain ed.). U.S. Government Printing Office.

Coordinates: 54°50′49″N 132°49′37″W / 54.847°N 132.827°W