Tongass National Forest, National forest in Southeast Alaska, United States.

Tongass National Forest covers 6.8 million hectares in Southeast Alaska and includes temperate rainforest, high mountain areas, glaciers, and branching coastlines with fjords. The area consists of several large islands and a narrow strip of mainland, crossed by bays and waterways that connect with each other.

The Alexander Archipelago Forest Reserve was created by Theodore Roosevelt's proclamation of 20 August 1902; a second proclamation on 10 September 1907 established the Tongass National Forest, and the two were joined on 1 July 1908. Further proclamations in 1909 and 1925 expanded it. The name comes from the Tongass, a group of the Tlingit who once lived in and around Ketchikan.

The name Tongass comes from the Tongass group of the Tlingit, who once lived in and around Ketchikan. Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian peoples live in the forest's 31 communities today, about 75,000 people in all. In 1935 the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska formed to challenge federal title to the land.

Access is mainly through smaller coastal towns reached by plane or ferry, as there are no continuous roads. Visitors should prepare for changeable weather and bring rain gear, as the region remains very wet throughout the year.

Sitka spruce trees grow up to 90 meters (295 feet) tall here and rank among the tallest coniferous trees in North America. In some valleys, so much rain falls that the ground is covered with a thick layer of moss that cushions every step.