Tongass National Forest

American  

[tong-guhs nash-uh-nl fawr-ist, for-, nash-nuhl] / ˈtɒŋ gəs ˈnæʃ ə nl ˈfɔr ɪst, ˈfɒr-, ˈnæʃ nəl /

noun

1. a temperate rainforest in southeastern Alaska that also harbors more than two dozen communities, including Juneau: largest U.S. national forest. 16.7 million acres (6.8 million hectares; 26,100 square miles; 68,000 square kilometers).

---

Etymology

Origin of Tongass National Forest

First recorded in 1905–10; probably from Tsimshian Tamgas, the Tsimshian name for the Taanta Kwáan or Taant'a Ḵwáan “Sea Lion People,” a Tlingit people who lived near Ketchikan in southeastern Alaska

Example Sentences

Unlike California’s towering redwoods and the red cedars of Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, these trees built to survive in the high desert are often left out of discussions of iconic old growth.

From Washington Post • Apr. 20, 2023

The Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska covers 16.7 million acres — an area larger than West Virginia — and is home to old-growth Sitka spruce and cedars.

From Salon • Feb. 5, 2023

Gordon Chew, a co-owner of Tenakee Logging Company, a small family-owned business in the area, said lumber jobs have declined in the Tongass National Forest over the past three decades.

From BBC • Jan. 30, 2023

“As our nation’s largest national forest and the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world, the Tongass National Forest is key to conserving biodiversity and addressing the climate crisis,” Mr. Vilsack said in a statement.

From New York Times • Jan. 25, 2023

The larger of these woodlands, the Tongass National Forest, is estimated to contain 70,000,000,000 board feet of timber ripe for marketing.

From The School Book of Forestry by Pack, Charles Lathrop