Canoe Passage is a State of Alaska Marine Park of 2,507 acres (1,015 ha) that includes both shores of a small boat passage that trends northwest-southeast and bisects Hawkins Island, located in southeastern Prince William Sound, about 44 miles (71 km) south-southeast of Valdez and 11 miles (18 km) west of Cordova, Alaska. The narrow passage is about 4 miles (6 km) long and a popular boating, fishing, and hunting destination. Hawkins Island is between Orca Bay to the north and Orca Inlet to the south, and flanked by Hinchinbrook Inland to the west and the mainland to the east. The island was first mapped in 1794 by James Johnstone and named by Captain George Vancouver. Canoe Passage is aligned with the Cordova Fault that also bisects Hawkins Island north to south. The island represents rocks formed by the Orca Group, a geologic belt comprising turbidites consisting of sandstone, siltstone, and mudstone that extends about 250 miles (400 km) from eastern Prince William Sound along the southern margin of Southcentral Alaska to Kodiak Island and probably underlies much of the contiguous continental shelf. The Orca Group rocks are in fault contact with the southern margin of the Valdez Group. During the Wisconsin glaciation, the present land areas bordering the Gulf of Alaska were completely overridden by ice that extended to the edge of the continental shelf. The present-day flora and fauna of the region have become established in the 10,000 years since the recession of the ice.

Evidence of pre-historical humans inhabiting Prince William Sound comes primarily from an archaeological site on Hawkins Island that was first excavated in 1930 and 1932. These studies indicated that Hawkins Island was inhabited from approximately 2200 years ago until at least the early to mid-1700. The excavations also provided information about the diet and hunting habits of these ancestors of the present-day Chugach Sugpiaq people, which included a significant marine diet of fish, several species of whale, and land-based fauna. When the Russians arrived during the 18th century, the territory between the Chugach Sugpiaq of Prince William Sound and the Tlingit of Dry Bay was occupied by Eyak, an Athabaskan people who originated from the interior and descended the Copper River to the coast. The original homeland of the Eyak stretched from an area east of Yakutat to Cape Suckling, and probably included the shores of Controller Bay. The Chugach Sugpiaq, however, controlled Prince William Sound and the offshore islands. The proximity, and possible overlap of territories, precipitated frequent skimishes between the Chugach Sugpiaq and their neighbors, but trade was also important. Commerce was primarily in non-food items such as slaves, copper, greenstone, slate, and caribou skins.

The present-day land status of the uplands on Hawkins Island is complex and includes lands on the eastern part of the island selected by the Eyak Corporation that was formed in 1973 as a for-profit corporation under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. The western part of the island is in the Chugach National Forest. The State of Alaska has title to Canoe Passage and to Shipyard Bay at the eastern end of the island, where mariculture is permitted. The state also owns the tidelands surrounding the island. A private subdivision exists on the northeast shore of Canoe Passage. In 1990, the Alaska State Legislature designated Canoe Passage as a State Marine Park. The passage is an excellent anchorage, has a scenic landscape, and provides access to the remainder of the island for hunting and has long been an important recreation, hunting, and fishing area for residents of Cordova. In 1919, black-tailed deer which are not native to Prince William Sound, were transplanted from Sitka in Southeast Alaska to Hawkins and Hinchinbrook Islands with more brought in from 1917 to 1923. The deer responded rapidly to the lack of competition for habitat, and the population increased rapidly, eventually dispersing throughout Prince William Sound. Read more here and here. Explore more of Canoe Passage and Hawkins Island here: