The north entrance to Whale Passage with a roughly 10 mile long protected bay where the small community of Whale Pass is located. The community of Whale Pass was developed from the logging camp that was originally floating out in Whale Passage Bay.
South east Alaska's Alexander Archipelago is a three-hundred-mile-long archipelago, or group of islands, 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 islands and cut them off from the mainland. The northern part of the Inside Passage is sheltered by the islands as it winds its way among them. The islands have irregular, steep coasts and dense evergreen and temperate rain forests. All the islands are rugged, densely forested, and have an abundance of wildlife. The Tlingit and Kaigani Haida people are native to the area. The Tsimshian people found on Annette Island are not originally from the area, having immigrated to the region from British Columbia in the late 19th century. Tourism, fishing, and logging are the main industries of the islands. The archipelago was visited by the Russians in 1741 and was later explored by Britain, Spain, and the United States. Control of the islands passed from Russia to the United States with the Alaska Purchase in 1867.
We work, live, and adventure year round here in Southeast Alaska, so come along and relax and enjoy what southeast Alaska has to offer!.
Even the Christmas day snow storm doesn't stop us from playing around.
These adventures are located along both the north west side of Prince of Wales Island and the inside passage of Southeast Alaska's Panhandle. Come and see old remnants of mining and fishing communities from the famous El Capitan Cave to Shakan Bay, up to Point Baker and around to Kashevarof Passage, and Northern Clarence Strait. The old fishing community of Wrangell is some 30+ miles to the north east by water.
This is a map of our backyard where all our adventures take place. With a life time of outstanding adventures here, we have no need to look else where!
Photography at it's best. Come and stay in the heart of coastal wildlife viewing.
1000's of miles of coastline and hundreds of bays and coves. This area has a very rich and vibrant ecosystem for coastal wildlife viewing and awesome photography.
The location here in Whale Pass offers a slower pace in life. Where one can just sit back and watch nature right from our little homestead. Everything comes by our beach front location. Killer Whales, Wolves, Humpback Whales, Sitka Blacktail Deer, Harbor Porpoise, Eagles, River Otters, Sea lions and many different types of Sea Ducks, Loons and Grebes, and shore birds.
Not to far from Whale Pass a person can almost daily find Sea Lions sitting and taking a break on this navigational buoy. The sea lions frequent Whale Passage for their favorite food, salmon and steelhead. Fishermen warn people about the sea lions being aggressive, so take care to keep your distance.
The ocean has so much life in it. We are located in front row to the stage of sea life. Come along with us in a relaxed, no rush atmosphere that you can not get anywhere else.
Prince of Wales Island is well known for it's Karst Cave systems. Limestone caves developed from all the rain run off, caused from being in a Temperate Rainforest. The photo above is Cavern Lake Cave. The creek drainage runs into Cavern Lake and then the water flows over and into this Karst Cave coming out the bottom and running on down to the saltwater bay of Whale Passage. There is a small run of salmon and trout that migrate up and through this cave to their spawning grounds. Only 10 miles away from our location is the most popular Karst Cave, ElCapitan Cave.
Karst Caves on Prince of Wales Island
ElCap, as it's nicknamed has been developed and protected by the US Tongass National Forest Service for it's rich library of geographical and zoological stories. Tours can be found at the trailhead on weekdays during the summer months. The cave is the biggest and longest of all the documented caves here. There are more than 850 caves in all throughout the karst system. Many of the caves have been explored by scientists and laypeople for their treasures: animal remains, human artifacts and clues to long ago climates.
You will see karst features from above ground as well, with places like Beaver Falls karst interpretive trail, not to far from ElCap Cave. It's mile long boardwalk course meanders through sink hole areas with vertical pits, lost rivers, and collapsed channels.
The oldest human remains in Alaska or Canada were found in Prince of Wales Island's extensive karst landscape in the mid 1990's. The remains of a man are dated back some 9,200 years ago offers clues to the diet, lifestyle, trades, and society back then. There was also a remains of a brown bear that was dated back about 45,000 years ago.
Here in Southeast Alaska the wolves are a bit smaller than their mainland counterparts. Wolves around Thorne Island and the north end of Prince of Wales Island are seen quite often and if a person is out and about, you stand a good chance of getting some great photos.
A study of the ecology of wolves in southeast Alaska was conducted on Prince of Wales and Kosciusko Islands from 1992 to 1995. Average home-range size of radio-telemetered wolves was 280 square kilometers (109 mi²), with 75 percent of the radio locations for each pack within “core areas” averaging 124 square kilometers (48 mi²). Pack sizes ranged from 2 to 12, with 7 to 9 typical in early autumn. Annual rates of dispersal averaged 39 percent; 71 percent of dispersers were adults 2 years old and older. Dispersal distances were relatively short (13 to 182 kilometers [5 to 71 mi]) presumably due to inter-island water barriers. Wolf movements were more restricted during the denning and pup-rearing season (mid-April through August), when home ranges were 50 percent smaller than in winter. Of the 14 dens located in this study, all were in old-growth forest within 100 meters (328 feet) of fresh water. One den was under a large log; all others were in cavities beneath the roots of large trees. Sitka black-tailed deer (O. h. sitkensis) were the primary prey of wolves. Deer remains occurred in 90 percent of wolf feces (scats) examined from Prince of Wales Island. Deer occurred exclusively in 45 percent of the scats. The only other prey occurring with 10 percent frequency was beaver (Castor canadensis). Other prey consumed in small quantities included black bears (Ursus americanus), mustelids, other small mammals, birds, and salmon
Using information on diet composition, consumption rates, and body size of prey, we estimated that wolves on islands in southern southeast Alaska consumed an average of 26 deer per wolf per year
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Page last updated on 03-23-2009