ALEXANDER ARCHIPELAGO, a maze of about I,Ioo islands and islets (area about 13,000sq.m.) lying close inland off the south-west coast of Alaska, U.S.A., situated between S4° 4o' and 58° 3o' N. They are the remnant of a submerged mountain system; the islands rise 3,00o to 5,000f t. above the sea with luxuriantly wooded tops and bold sheer sides scarred with marks of glacial action. In some respects the scenery is similar to that of Norway. Through the inner channels, sheltered from the Pacific by the island ramparts, runs the "inland passage," the tourist route northward from Seattle, Washington. The principal islands from north-west to south-east are Chicagof, Baranof, Admiralty, Kupreanof, Kuiu, Prince of Wales (the largest of the archipelago and of all the islands about Alaska, measuring about 14om. in length and 4om. in width), Etolin and Revillagigedo. Sitka, the former capital, is on the west coast of Baranof island.