What is Wrangell Island?
{{hatnote|Not to be confused with [[Wrangel Island]] in [[Russia]]}} [[File:IFA Ferry MV Stikine.JPG|thumb|right|250px|{{Center|Inter-island Ferry Authority ferry M/V Stikine arriving in Wrangell, Alaska}}]] '''Wrangell [[Island]]''' is an [[island]] in the [[Alaska Panhandle]] of [[southeast]]ern [[Alaska]]. It is {{convert|48|km|mi|abbr=on}} long and 8&ndash;23&nbsp;km (3&ndash;14 miles) wide. It has a land area of {{convert|544.03|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}, making it the [[List of islands of the United States by area|29th largest island in the United States]]. Wrangell is separated from the mainland by the narrow [[Blake Channel]]. Wrangell has been ruled by [[Russia]], [[Great Britain]] and the [[United States]].<ref>Bonnie Demerjian, ''Wrangell'' (Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishers, 2011), p. 7</ref> It was visited in 1799 by ''The Dragon'', a ship out of [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]]. They traded with the [[Tlingit|Stikine Tlingit]] peoples. It was occupied in 1834 by the [[Russia]]ns. It is named after [[Ferdinand von Wrangel|Ferdinand Wrangel]], a [[Germany|German]] [[explorer]] in [[Russia]]n service. From 1867 to 1877 it was a U.S. military post. Later it was a stopping point for hunters, explorers and miners using the [[Stikine river]] route to the [[Yukon]]. The island contains the city of [[Wrangell, Alaska]]. Wrangell Island is heavily forested and contains an abundance of wildlife. The only other community is [[Thoms Place, Alaska|Thoms Place]]. Wrangell Island's total population was 2,009 at the [[United States Census, 2020|2020 census]]. Fishing and mining are the main jobs. A [[sawmill]] closed in the 1990s. The island and surrounding areas contain many [[recreation]]al areas. It is at the mouth of the Stikine River. ==References== {{Reflist}} *[https://www.census.gov Wrangell Island: 1062 thru 1069, 1191 thru 1206, 1242 thru 1247, Block Group 1; Block Groups 2; Census Tract 3, Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area, Alaska] United States Census Bureau {{commons}} {{US-geo-stub}} [[Category:Islands of