 New Ferry Servicing Metlakatla and Ketchikan To Be Named M/V Lituya Senate Bill 223 Moves Next To Governor For Signature May 22, 2003
Alaska Statutes require that Marine Highway vessels be named after an Alaska glacier. Previous ferries have been named by students through statewide competitions. For this ferry the Department of Transportation & Public Facilities limited the student pool to the Metlakatla community. Forty students from Metlakatla participated in the contest; the winner was Josiah Milne, a second grade student. 
Council Annette Islands Reserve assisted with short-listing names for the ferry and, following tradition, Lieutenant Governor Leman was asked to make the final selection. Partnered with a selection committee of four, the name M/V Lituya was chosen. "The name M/V Lituya is a beautiful link to the rich Tlingit and Russian heritage of Southeastern Alaska," noted Lieutenant Governor Leman. "Additionally, it is a reminder of the spectacular earthquake-generated wave that caused incredible damage and loss of life in July 1958." Lituya Bay, located within Glacier Bay National Park, along Alaska's southeastern coast, was the site of one of the largest local tsunamis ever recorded. It was generated by a magnitude 8.0 earthquake that occurred along the Fairweather Fault, which traces along the far northwestern portion of the bay. The epicenter of the earthquake was 13 miles from Lituya Bay.
Historical Photographs (NASA)
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