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Murder Cove is located at the southernmost portion of Admiralty Island in the U.S. state of Alaska. The cove was home to the Tyee Company whaling station and was known for whaling operations from 1907 through 1913.

Murder Cove
Cove
Whale at mooring, August 1910
Murder Cove Location in Alaska
Coordinates: 57°01′45″N 134°33′20″W
Country	United States
State	Alaska
Time zone	UTC-9 (Alaska (AKST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-8 (AKDT)

History

Name

The area was named Murder Cove after two gold prospectors were murdered in the area in 1869 as revenge for the killing of two Tlingit tribesmen.[1] In retaliation the USS Saginaw destroyed three villages and two wooden forts near present-day Kake, Alaska.[2][3] This unopposed destruction of villages and forts by the US Government became known as the Kake War.

Whaling

Commercial operations in fishing and sea hunting were established inside the bay at Point Gardner by the Tyee Company who sought to take advantage of the unexploited waters of southeast Alaska.[1][4] They established their operations on Admiralty Island at Murder Cove in 1907 using the first American-built steam-powered whaler, the 97-foot "Tyee Junior", which was equipped with a harpoon gun on the bow. Consequent to a declining whale population, the company closed its operations in 1913.[4][5]

Coal exploration

In 1905, the most extensive coal exploration in southeastern Alaska occurred at Murder Cove, Kootznahoo Inlet, and Hamilton Bay. The Tertiary-aged coal-bearing formations are made up of conglomerate, sandstone, and shale. The Murder Cove explorations occurred on a 5 feet (1.5 m) thick seam located 2 miles (3.2 km) from deep water. Though this deposit contains the best grade of coal in the region, further development did not proceed because of its very limited size.[6] A lighthouse was established at Murder Cover during the fiscal year 1914.[7]

Geography

It forms a narrow inlet 2 miles (3.2 km) in length. Just inside the entrance of the bay are several islands, beyond which the channel contracts to a width of 300 feet (91 m) and then opens to form a sheet of water which at high tide is .5 miles (0.80 km) wide and 1 mile (1.6 km) long. This bay forms a well-protected harbor for vessels of moderate size.[8] At its rocky entrance is the Surprise Harbor, which provides safe anchorage and vistas of the area.[1]

References

• This article contains public domain text from A.C. Spencer's "The Juneau gold belt, Alaska: A reconnaissance of Admiralty Island, Alaska" (1906)

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