Berners Bay
| Berners Bay | |
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A whale in Berners Bay
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 Berners Bay
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| Coordinates: 58°44′38″N 134°58′16″W / 58.74389°N 134.97111°WCoordinates: 58°44′38″N 134°58′16″W / 58.74389°N 134.97111°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Alaska |
| Time zone | Alaska (AKST) (UTC-9) |
| • Summer (DST) | AKDT (UTC-8) |
Berners Bay (Daxanaak) is a waterway in the U.S. state of Alaska, approximately 40 miles (64 km) north of Juneau. It is a large and deep indentation, about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) wide at the entrance, which is formed by Point Bridget and Point St. Marys. It runs in a north-northwest direction for 6 miles (9.7 km) from Point Bridget, with a width of 3 miles (4.8 km) opposite Point St. Marys. The bay is surrounded by Tongass National Forest.
Berners Bay, Point Bridget, and Point St. Marys were named by George Vancouver during his 1790s expedition to chart the Alaskan coastline; his mother's maiden name was Bridget Berners and she was born in St. Mary's Wiggenhall. Berners Bay was traditionally the place of Wooshkeetaan Auke people who collected blueberries, huckleberries, and nagoonberries at the bay. Auke smokehouses and a village existed near the bay and another village, Kutegan, was situated upstream at the confluence of the Lace River. The bay was used throughout the year by Auke for fishing operations, but is now deserted. The Clinton administration declared it as an Aquatic Resource of National Importance.
The bay is an estuary fed by four glacial rivers including the Antler River, Berners, and Lace Rivers, as well as Cowee Creek. It extends 12 miles (19 km) north into the interior. The protected cove is called Echo Cove. Extensive flats and several large streams are located at the head. The Berners Bay region forms the northwestern extremity of the auriferous mineralization zone on the mainland of Southeast Alaska known as the Juneau gold belt. It has been proposed to exploit the Kensington gold mine above the bay, but this has been subject to protests.
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Wikipedia