Submit Club Submit Event West Chichagof-Yakobi Wilderness Located in the Tongass National Forest in Alaska. The 264,747 acre Wilderness occupies the western portion of Chichagof and Yakobi Islands in the extreme northwest portion of the Alexander Archipelago of southeast Alaska. The wilderness is accessible by boat or flat plane with numerous sheltered bays along the islands west coast providing safe anchorages. Behind the barrier islands, rocks and reefs of the outer coast lie in quiet waters of a scenic inside passage, honeycombed with bays, inlets, and lagoons as well as tidal meadows and estuaries.
Slopes support old growth rainforests and wind swept shrub forests.
Rising abruptly from the ocean to 3,600 feet are peaks of the mountainous backbone of the area, an isolated satellite of the great coastal range granite rock batholith. Lodgepole pine and Alaska cedar grow in scattered locations, but seldom attain large size. Portions of the outer coast, particularly the offshore islands, support distinctive savanna glades under open spruce cover. Scattered alpine, muskeg, and estuarine plant communities can be found. The area supports a wide variety of wildlife.