| Queen Charlotte Strait | |
|---|---|
| French:Détroit de la Reine-Charlotte | |
 Apilot boat plies Queen Charlotte Strait nearPort Hardy | |
  Queen Charlotte Strait | |
 Queen Charlotte Strait is located southeast ofQueen Charlotte Sound | |
| Location | British Columbia |
| Coordinates | 50°50′16″N127°27′29″W / 50.83778°N 127.45806°W /50.83778; -127.45806 (Queen Charlotte Strait) |
| Type | Strait |
| Ocean/sea sources | Pacific Ocean |
| Settlements | Alert Bay,Port Hardy,Port McNeill,Sointula |
Queen Charlotte Strait[1] is astrait betweenVancouver Island and the mainland ofBritish Columbia, Canada. It connectsQueen Charlotte Sound withJohnstone Strait andDiscovery Passage and via them to theStrait of Georgia andPuget Sound. It forms part of theInside Passage fromWashington toAlaska. The term Queen Charlotte Strait is also used to refer to the general region and its many communities, notably of theKwakwakaʼwakw peoples. Despite its name, Queen Charlotte Strait does not lie betweenHaida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands) and the mainland; that body of water is namedHecate Strait.
Queen Charlotte Sound was named byJames Strange on August 5, 1786, in honour ofQueen Charlotte, the consort ofKing George III. Strange was the leader of afur trading expedition of two vessels, theCaptain Cook, under Captain Henry Lawrie, and theExperiment, under Captain John Guise.[2] During a boat excursion upGoletas Channel, Strange saw an opening ahead and named it Queen Charlotte Sound. The body of water he named was what is today known as Queen Charlotte Strait.
For some time Queen Charlotte Strait was also called Queen Charlotte Sound, until 1920 when the BCGNIS and Hydrographic Service distinguished between Queen Charlotte Sound and Queen Charlotte Strait.[3]George Vancouver, who used the name in his maps and writings, wrote that the sound was named by Mr. S. Wedgeborough, in command of theExperiment under James Strange, but this is probably a mistake.[4][2]
According to theBC Geographical Names, the northern boundary of Queen Charlotte Strait is defined as a line runningCape Sutil, at the north end of Vancouver Island, toCape Caution on the mainland. The southern end of Queen Charlotte Strait is described as "several narrow channels north and east ofMalcolm Island".[4]
The strait lies between the mainland andVancouver Island portions of theRegional District of Mount Waddington, a form of regional municipal governance with power over zoning, building and sewer permits and inter-municipal integration. Most communities in the region, however, areIndian reserve communities of the Kwakwakaʼwakw peoples which are outside the jurisdiction of regional district governance. The traditional territories of most ofthe various Kwakwaka'wakw peoples overlap in the strait, which is a vital fishery resource and transportation link between their communities.
Media related toQueen Charlotte Strait at Wikimedia Commons
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