[2][3] Together, the two areas protect old-growth temperate rainforests rising from coastal estuaries to subalpine meadows more than 2,000 feet (610 m) in elevation, with a high point atop the 3,355-foot (1,023 m) Kuiu Mountain.

[2][4] Tebenkof Bay Wilderness was created by Congress and signed into law on December 2, 1980, as a provision of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act.

[5] The landscape of Kuiu Island has much in common with other areas of the Alexander Archipelago — heavily glaciated mountains alternating with narrow, deep fjords.

Within the wilderness areas can be found a variety of ecological communities, including muskeg, Pacific temperate rain forest dominated by Sitka spruce and western hemlock, and alpine tundra zones as low as 2,000 feet above sea level.

[8] The two wilderness areas are a popular destination for kayaking and canoeing, offering experienced backcountry paddlers a mix of peaceful, sheltered waterways and difficult, open-ocean traverses.