ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS IN SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA. 
By F. E. and C. W. Wright, 
INTRODUCTION. 
The portion of southeastern Alaska which has been called into 
prominence of late by the international boundary decisions is a narrow 
strip of coast land extending northwestward from Dixon Entrance and 
Portland Canal to Mount St. Elias, the highest of a chain of peaks 
marking the boundary between Alaska and the Yukon district of 
Canada. From Dixon Entrance to the head of Lynn Canal this coastal 
area may be described as a partially submerged mountain range, form- 
ing in the Pacific Ocean an archipelago of precipitous islands. These 
rise abruptly from salt water and are separated from each other by 
deep, narrow fiords and channels, or "canals," the whole forming a 
remarkable inland passage, which, for scenic effects, is unrivaled by 
any district in America. 
To this field the writers were assigned, with instructions to examine 
the mining districts and to collect information on the economic condi- 
tions at present prevailing. The season's work in this area for 1904 
was begun in the latter part of May and completed about the first of 
October. During June the geologic cross section from the head of 
Taku Inlet to Sitka by way of Peril Straits was studied, and the min- 
ing camps at Funter Bay, Freshwater Bay, and Rodman Bay were 
visited. In July the senior author made an investigation of the mines 
and prospects of the Sitka region, while the junior author examined 
| the coal and metalliferous deposits of Admiralty Island. August was 
spent in mapping the geology along the coast from Sitka to Wrangell, 
and in making a reconnaissance of the Wrangell mining district. The 
latter part of the month and the first ten days of September were occu- 
pied by the senior author in studying the formations exposed for 180 
miles up the Stikine River, which intersects the Coast Range. The 
junior author, during this time, completed the geologic reconnaissance 
of the mainland from Windham Bay to Cleveland Peninsula. The 
remaining weeks in September were devoted to collecting data on the 
recent mine improvements and the character of the ore deposits in the 
Ketchikan district. 
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