Talk:Southeast Alaska

Alaska Panhandle or Southeast Alaska?
This should probably be called "Southeast Alaska" and not "Alaska Panhandle" since the former is more accurate and more likely to be understood by people not from Alaska. Changing it however is too much of a PITA for me to do it currently. We'll need a redirection for the old one too. — James Crippen 01:46, 25 Oct 2004 (UTC)

I agree with James' comment. Dan Lesh 05:39, 8 May 2005 (UTC)

Well, I'm from BC and I've grown up around "Alaska Panhandle" like I think people in WA and OR do, part of your schoolbooks. But even in the national media it gets used; I gather from your guys' comments there's a debate about this terminology in Alaska - ?? or ?? - but obviously whatever gets settled on will redirect to the other anyway, right? Actually popped by the page to check out the mountain range descriptions; I've been doing a lot of geographic study on mountains and ranges for one reason or another, as well as wikipedifying them adn noted "Pacific Range". Just checking if this means that specific range along the BC-AK border, which on our side is known as the Boundary Ranges, or if you're meaning the whole coastal mountains running south from Alaska to Mexico? If so, those are in Wikipedia as the Pacific Coast Range, which I grew up hearing the Pacific Cordillera (although in Canada that also includes the Rockies, I guess). Anyway, your opines on the Pacific Range thing; in cartographer's ranking/mapping it goes Pacific Coast Ranges->Coast Mountains->Boundary Ranges. Boundary Ranges needs to get written to go with the rest of the ranges (all there, just hadn't been organized according to family-tree yet); but I was checking around to see what was already on line in the way of mountains and towns and rivers and such so looked up Alaska Panhandle. Which, from my side of the border/NW, was the natural thing to do.Skookum1 09:24, 13 November 2005 (UTC)

I did a bit of looking at the website for the Alaska Division of Tourism. When looking at the page on Alaska's regions, this portion is called the Inside Passage. And while that name might (or might not) be readily recognizable within Alaska, there is a general understanding of what constitutes a panhandle geographically — namely, any portion of land usually within boundaries of a governed area that extends noticeably beyond all other borders of that same governed area. So, I can see both sides, but I generally find whatever the local description or definition happens to be is what I adopt as "official." — ArkansasTraveler 17:00, 27 December 2005 (UTC)

I lived in Southeast Alaska. Actually Juneau Alaska.If you live in the "Panhandle" you live "in Southeast".
 * The Inside Passage is a waterway for ships. Between the big islands and the open ocean. All the tourist ships travel the "Inside Passage". Which by the way ends at Juneau. Since they no longer dredge to Auk Bay. Now to continue up the "Southeast coast of Alaska", you must go around Admiralty Island on the open ocean side from Juneau.


 * Note: the Inside Passage is not exclusive to Alaska, as it refers to the entire waterway from the Puget Sound/Gulf of Georgia northwards, and is a commonly-used term in BC.Skookum1 23:05, 14 July 2006 (UTC)

As a former Alaskan, I couldn't disagree more with Crippin's belief that the term "Southeast Alaska" is "more likely to be understood by people not from Alaska." I never heard the term until I moved to Anchorage. Those from Outside call it "the Panhandle." This is the name it goes by, whether Alaskans like it or not, just as non-Alaskan Americans call that big mountain in the middle of the state "Mount McKinley" and not "Denali," whether Alaskans like it or not. In any case, redirecting this article would be a mistake, IMO. Kirchherr 03:59, 26 January 2006 (UTC)

Im an editor in the Wikipedians in Southeast Alaska category, something set up on the wiki, and the only time I ever heard Alaskan Panhandle was in my highschool geography book. Usage is Southeast, even in newsmedia outlets down south. As for the comment about Denali, really the only people using Mt. McKinley is the feds. Moutain climbers all use Denali, the state uses Denali, it's even sitting in the middle of "Denali National Park". - M ask  04:09, 20 March 2006 (UTC)


 * I'm referring to the time I spent growing up in San Francisco and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, before I moved to Juneau. The mountain climber reference was just to point out that those who would have cause to mention the mountain (which normally would only be mentioned in things like a list of highest mountains or such) use the Denali name. - M ask [[Image:Flag_of_Alaska.svg|20 px]] 23:21, 20 March 2006 (UTC)

I'm in BC and have always (and only) heard the term 'Alaska Panhandle' and think it would be a mistake to remove that. The Inside Passage is the water way, and is mostly located in BC - here the 'inside' part refers to being between Vancouver Island and the Mainland.

I think if someone knows the history it would also be useful to put in how the Alaskan panhandle became part of Alaska. I vaguely remember learning about this in Social studies in school. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.189.194.69 (talk) 15:57, 22 February 2008 (UTC)


 * Well, we'll have to agree to disagree about Panhandle vs. Southeast; you don't say where "down south" you are, but I'm willing to bet the usage depends a lot on where you are. And yes, it's true that mountain climbers and Alaskans use the term Denali, but that's a tiny minority of the U.S./North American/world population. :-) Kirchherr 21:18, 20 March 2006 (UTC)


 * The answer to the anon's question is propably found here. Now, as to which name I would go with, I'm not sure.  But I will confirm what others say above.  I grew up Outside and always heard it referred to as the Panhandle, with the sole exception of some material I read on President Harding's trip up there.  But when I moved to Alaska in 1980, I always heard the media and folks in coversation saying "Southeast" or "Southeast Alaska".  Don't know why, it's a lot more "panhandly" looking than the Texas panhandle (though not as much as the ultimate panhandle, Oklahoma's).  So I think the two terms just have different groups using them.  Unschool (talk) 23:48, 24 May 2008 (UTC)


 * This thread seems mostly oldish, but for what it's worth there are plenty of sources that use "panhandle" for southeast Alaska. The Columbia Gazetteer of North America uses panhandle over southeast Alaska, as in its entry for Alaska, Juneau, Skagway, etc. Also, historical texts seem to often use "panhandle", especially when there was no clearly defined "Alaska" but there was a string of Russian posts on the panhandle. Pfly (talk) 20:25, 3 September 2008 (UTC)

I've always thought that the Alaska Peninsula looked more like a panhandle to Alaska than Southeast Alaska did. Dkreisst (talk) 19:20, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

2011 redux
I agree with Unschool that there simply must be different groups using different terms in this issue. It seems that people from British Columbia are used to using "Panhandle," but in my experience, no one who actually lives in the region refers to it as such. I'm from Southeast Alaska, and if you asked anyone else, they would say they are too. Now, I'm all for Wikipedia being accessible and using terminology that is most commonly accepted by everyone, but I'm honestly disgusted with this article's title; the term "Panhandle" feels entirely foreign to me. It's not as if "Southeast Alaska" is an obscure term known only to locals; in fact it's far easier to understand. I would greatly appreciate it if Wikipedia respected Southeast Alaskans on this issue. Ketchikanadian (talk) 10:33, 1 February 2011 (UTC)
 * I guess we'll just continue this old thread since the move has now been reverted. Personally I think "Southeast" is the way to go. Alaskans and the Alaskan Press call it that and I have yet to see any hard evidence that the majority of non-Alaskan sources call it the "panhandle." I'm not even positive it even meets the definition of a panhandle as it is mostly bordered by water and contains numerous islands. Beeblebrox (talk) 17:30, 28 March 2011 (UTC)
 * I'm sorry I simply reverted the page move instead of re-starting this discussion. I was being lazy. But I did suspect the move would not be completely uncontroversial. Personally, I don't know which name is better. I had always heard "panhandle" and only first heard "southeast Alaska" on this talk page. I understand it is the common term in Alaska, which might be enough to warrant the page move, but I'm less sure how common it is outside Alaska. The term "panhandle" seems more commonly used in historical sources, in my experience. But it doesn't really matter to me which name is used. I thought it warranted some discussion, but I do apologize for the quick reversion. Pfly (talk) 18:26, 28 March 2011 (UTC)


 * Not to argue for panhandle over southeast, but I note that the Encyclopædia Britannica uses "panhandle" throughout its Alaska article, "The capital is Juneau, which lies in the southeast, in the panhandle region." "The southern coast and the panhandle at sea level are fully temperate regions." etc. And other articles, like "Alaska mountains" , "The St. Elias Mountains, in turn, merge to the southeast into the mountains of the coastal Boundary Ranges, which, with the mountainous islands of the Alexander Archipelago, constitute the Alaskan panhandle." etc. Also the Canadian Encyclopedia, , "The Alaska boundary dispute, took place between Canada and the US over the boundary of the Alaska Panhandle".


 * Again, I'm not arguing one way or the other, just some food for thought. Pfly (talk) 18:41, 28 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Raw Google hits: Alaska Panhandle = 302,000 results -vs- Southeast Alaska = 3,010,000 results. This would tend to suggest that Southeast is used quite bit more often than panhandle, although ghits are by no means the only yardstick we have. Beeblebrox (talk) 20:00, 28 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Both state and federal government sources also seem to favor "southeast" as do major tour guide books such as Fodor's and Frommer's. Beeblebrox (talk) 20:06, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

I moved the article for two reasons, the first being that I didn't know how to make a formal move proposal, and the second that I didn't see the discussion moving anywhere. The facts, as we've all discovered and can plainly see, are that the "panhandle" is an old and forgotten term; sources that continue to use it are simply behind the times. Today, regardless of whether you've only visited or have lived in the region for most of your life as I have, Southeast Alaska is Southeast Alaska. Ketchikanadian (talk) 23:15, 28 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Not behind the times, just in another country where the usage in question is still common, though I'm not going to take the time to look through various online modern sources in BC from newspapers to histories to weather/marine reports which use the term; it's certainly not obsolete outside of Alaska. I'd be curiouis what's in teh styleguides of the Seattle Times or New York Times etc, as I don't think it's purely a Canadian problem.  True, we have particular local usages in BC that belie any outside term e.g. the Cariboo; I'm fine with changing it to suit Alaskan sensitivities about it, and NB in this case it's not an official-use term as with Haida Gwaii/QCI; though as with QCI the wider usage, my bet only, is that Alaska Panhandle (and/or its variant Alaskan Pahandle) are more common globally than in Alaska.  Maybe there's an official regional/associative designation, and obvoiusly extensive local usage; wording issue really, though not as politically volatile as QCI/Haida Gwaii...Skookum1 (talk) 08:08, 29 March 2011 (UTC)


 * I'll redo the move--I feel bad for my knee-jerk revert. And "panhandle" will redirect anyway, so it's not much of an issue. Pfly (talk) 06:11, 29 March 2011 (UTC)


 * This topic reminded me of another page that has been moved and reverted, a place near southeast Alaska. So I'm curious whether the Queen Charlotte Islands are becoming more commonly called "Haida Gwaii" among the people of southeast Alaska. Pfly (talk) 06:16, 29 March 2011 (UTC)

External Links?
AlaskaTrekker 17:49, 16 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Southeast Alaska Conservation Council
 * Kayak journey through the Misty Fjords
 * Expedition through Southeast Alaska - a hiking and packrafting expedition from Seattle to the Aleutian Islands

Right on! Babykitten44 (talk) 20:56, 4 August 2020 (UTC)

BC & Pacific Northwest History Forum
Please see RE BC & Pacific Northwest History Forum re: Talk:List of United States military history events. If you think maybe I should also move some or copy some of my other stuff from NW history and BC history pages and various Indigenous peoples project article/talk pages let me know; I never mean to blog, but I'm voluble and to me everything's interconnected; never meaning to dominate a page so have made this area to post my historical rambles on. Thoughts?Skookum1 03:49, 14 July 2006 (UTC)


 * Comment on my posting of this: if anyone has any questions or wants to debate any issues relating to Oregon Country/Columbia District/Pacific Northwest history/historical geography, colonialist or aboriginal/indigenous or YT/AK or related topics, please feel free to drop by the forum and start a thread/topic, or just butt in at yer leisure.Skookum1 05:50, 14 July 2006 (UTC)

Misty Fjords for map
Nice map, but if it has Glacier Bay Park and Preserve shouldn't it also have Misty Fjords National Monument, which is a large chunk of the southern end of the Panhandle, and no less around the same size?Skookum1 (talk) 15:17, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

historical background - British lease from Russians
Hi; this isn't primarily a history article but I thought maybe someone interested in the early history of the panhandle might want to read this.Skookum1 (talk) 23:32, 27 October 2008 (UTC)