Letnikof Cove is a small embayment about 0.5 miles (0.8 km) across on the eastern shore of Chilkat Inlet, approximately 70 miles (113 km) north-northwest of Juneau and 5 miles (8 km) south-southeast of Haines, Alaska. The cove is situated on the Chilkat Peninsula near the mouth of the Chilkat River. The name comes from the Russian “Bukhta Letnikov,” published on Russian hydrographic charts in 1848. It was first recorded as Letnikoff Cove by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey in the 1883 Coast Pilot. “Chilkat” is a Tlingit word meaning “salmon storehouse.” The Chilkat River originates at the Chilkat Glacier in Alaska and flows west and south through the Coast Range in British Columbia for 17 miles (27 km). It then re-enters Alaska and continues southwest for another 37 miles (60 km) to Chilkat Inlet, reaching the ocean at the Chilkat Tlingit village of Klukwan and forming a long delta. The Chilkat Peninsula lies between Chilkat Inlet to the west and Chilkoot Inlet to the east, extending south-southeast for 11 miles (18 km) from Haines to Seduction Point. It was first charted in 1794 by Lieutenant Joseph Whidbey during Captain George Vancouver‘s voyage of discovery. Named after Chilkat Inlet by C.W. Wright of the U.S. Geological Survey in 1904, the southern part of the Chilkat Peninsula, including Letnikof Cove, is composed of erosion-resistant igneous intrusive rocks. These rocks are part of the Coast Range Arc, a large volcanic system that extended from northern Washington through British Columbia and Southeast Alaska to southwestern Yukon. This arc formed due to the subduction of the Kula and pre-existing Farallon plates during the Late Cretaceous, around 100 million years ago. Volcanic activity ceased about 50 million years ago, leading to the erosion of many volcanoes. Today, remnants of the Coast Range Arc consist of basaltic dikes and granitic intrusions. Specifically, at Letnikof Cove, the Chilkat Peninsula is primarily composed of basaltic rocks and greenstone.

The largest salmon rivers in Southeast Alaska are the Unuk, Stikine, Taku, Chilkat, and Alsek. A Tlingit origin story tells of the Raven who stole water from a secret spring and journeyed north to where there was no water. First, the Raven let some water fall from his mouth, creating the Nass River. He then spit out more to form the Stikine River, followed by the Taku, Chilkat, and Alsek Rivers, as well as other large rivers. The Tlingit’s genetic origins are uncertain, but it is widely acknowledged that over 300 years ago, a few Tlingit clans from Prince of Wales Island, the Stikine River Valley, the Nass River Valley, and Kupreanof Island migrated north. They established villages at Klukwan, Kalwaltu, Yandestaki, and Chilkoot Lake, eventually forming the Chilkat and Chilkoot tribes. The Chilkat Tlingits lived along the Chilkat River in Klukwan, Kalwaltu, and Yandestaki, controlling the Chilkat River Valley. They managed trade routes over the Chilkat Pass into Athabascan territory and south along the western shore of Lynn Canal. The Chilkoot Tlingits had permanent village sites at Chilkoot Lake and Tanani Point. Their territory extended from Chilkoot Lake and River, along Lutak Inlet, Taiyasanka Harbor, north to present-day Skagway, and along the eastern shore of Lynn Canal to Berners Bay. Their trade routes over the Chilkoot and White passes were later used by gold prospectors. Most Chilkoot Tlingits eventually relocated to settle around the Presbyterian mission at Fort William H. Seward, now Haines. In contrast, many Chilkat Tlingits remained in Klukwan, a village that remains active and integral to the Tlingit people today.

In 1880, as salmon in the Columbia River grew scarcer, Marshall J. Kinney, a major salmon packer there, began exploring Alaska for cannery sites. In 1883, he built a cannery under the name Chilkat Packing Company on the eastern shore of Chilkat Inlet. That same year, the Northwest Trading Company constructed another cannery at Pyramid Harbor on the inlet’s west side. This facility operated in 1883 and 1884, was idle in 1885, and in 1888 was sold to D.L. Beck & Sons of San Francisco. In 1889, the Chilkat Canning Company, established by Hugh Murray and David Morgan, opened at a Chilkat village on the eastern side of the inlet near Pyramid Island. It operated from 1889 to 1893 before being sold to the Alaska Packers’ Association and subsequently closed. These canneries purchased fish from the local Chilkat and Chilkoot Tlingit peoples and also employed Euro-American fishermen. The Tlingit were outraged when industrial fish traps and gill nets threatened their sovereignty over fishing grounds. In response, the Chilkat reportedly resorted to sabotage by cutting nets and attempting to dismantle the traps. In 1892, the Chilkat Packing Company cannery caught fire, prompting the U.S. Navy to dispatch warships to protect company fishing interests. The Letnikof Cove Cannery, built in 1917, is still operated by the Haines Packing Company, the oldest continuously operating business in Haines and one of the oldest canneries in Southeast Alaska. It is one of 12 historical salmon canneries in the Chilkat Valley and is now the last remaining with a dock and warehouse. The Haines Packing Company continues to process all five species of Pacific salmon, as well as crab, halibut, and shrimp. Read more here and here. Explore more of Letnikof Cove and Chilkat Inlet here: