Passage Canal

Passage Canal is a natural bay (not an artificial canal) of Prince William Sound on the east coast of the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska, United States. Its only settlement is the small town of Whittier, located near the head of the bay.

Passage Canal
Passage Canal, with Lowell Peak to left
Passage Canal
Location	Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Coordinates	60.813°N 148.546°W / 60.813; -148.546
Primary inflows	Whittier Creek, Learnard Creek, Cove Creek, Billings Creek, Seth River
Basin countries	United States
Max. length	11 mi (18 km)[1]
Max. width	2 mi (3.2 km)
Average depth	1,128 ft (344 m)
Max. depth	1,290 ft (390 m)
Frozen	Never
Islands	None
Sections/sub-basins	Shotgun Cove, Emerald Bay, Squirrel Cove, Poe Bay, Logging Camp Bay
Settlements	Whittier

It is called the gateway to Prince William Sound as many water taxis, kayak tours, anglers, and recreational boaters use the bay to access nearby state marine parks and federal cabins.

The town of Whittier was founded along the banks of Passage Canal to serve as a secret deep water port for the United States military during World War II.^[2]

Fatalities and incidents

On April 1, 2018, Anchorage resident Karl Stoltz went missing after departing Whittier's deep water port in a small skiff to harvest crabs over Easter. Earlier, he had been spotted experiencing issues with the engine of the watercraft, which had recently been bought on Craigslist.^[3] His hypothermic body was found floating two days later, attached to lines hooked to crab pots after an intensive Coast Guard search.^[4]

References

1. "Alaska Topographic Maps by Topo Zone". TopoZone.
2. "Port of Whittier". World Port Source.
3. "An Anchorage man left Whittier to harvest crab for Easter. He's still missing". 3 April 2018.
4. "Volunteers find body of crab fisherman missing near Whittier". 4 April 2018.