Evans Island facts for kids
Evans Island is an island located in the Prince William Sound in southern Alaska. It's a beautiful place with a rich history. The island sits just east of Bainbridge Island and has Elrington Island to its south. Latouche Island is to its southeast, and Knight Island is to its northeast.
Even though people lived on Evans Island a long time ago, it was empty until 1984. That's when a group of people from the original Alutiq village of Chenega decided to build a new village called Chenega Bay. They built it on Crab Bay, right here on Evans Island.
A New Home for Chenega
The original village of Chenega was on Chenega Island. Sadly, it was destroyed by a huge tsunami (a giant ocean wave) in 1964. This tsunami was caused by the big 1964 Alaska earthquake. One-third of the people living in Chenega lost their lives.
After this terrible event, the community needed a new, safer place to live. So, they chose Evans Island to build their new home, Chenega Bay. Today, the community of Chenega Bay covers all of Evans Island. The island is about 74.6 square kilometers (28.8 square miles) in size. In the year 2000, about 86 people lived there.
A Change of Name
Before 1912, Evans Island had a different name: Hoodoo Island. A "hoodoo" is something that brings bad luck, and this name made some sailors feel a bit scared!
To make things better, the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey decided to rename the island. They chose to honor Robley Evans, an admiral in the United States Navy. Admiral Evans had worked as a maritime policeman in the area earlier in his career. So, the island was renamed Evans Island in his honor.
Environmental Impact
In 1989, Evans Island and the ocean around it faced a big problem. The Exxon Valdez oil spill caused a lot of pollution in the area. This event had a major impact on the island's environment and wildlife.
| Climate data for Port San Juan, Alaska (1980–2005 normals) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 34.9 (1.6) |
35.1 (1.7) |
38.1 (3.4) |
43.3 (6.3) |
51.8 (11.0) |
59.2 (15.1) |
61.9 (16.6) |
62.0 (16.7) |
54.6 (12.6) |
45.6 (7.6) |
38.5 (3.6) |
36.4 (2.4) |
46.8 (8.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 26.2 (−3.2) |
25.9 (−3.4) |
27.9 (−2.3) |
31.4 (−0.3) |
37.1 (2.8) |
44.0 (6.7) |
49.5 (9.7) |
49.2 (9.6) |
42.7 (5.9) |
34.8 (1.6) |
28.8 (−1.8) |
27.4 (−2.6) |
35.4 (1.9) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 13.72 (348) |
11.08 (281) |
8.73 (222) |
9.42 (239) |
6.59 (167) |
4.74 (120) |
4.79 (122) |
9.01 (229) |
15.01 (381) |
17.23 (438) |
13.39 (340) |
17.23 (438) |
130.94 (3,325) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 21.2 (54) |
22.5 (57) |
16.0 (41) |
6.1 (15) |
0.5 (1.3) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
1.7 (4.3) |
12.5 (32) |
22.3 (57) |
102.8 (261.6) |
| Source: WRCC | |||||||||||||
See also
In Spanish: Isla Evans (Alaska) para niños
