Douglas Channel
Encyclopedia
Douglas Channel is one of the principal inlets of the British Columbia Coast
. Its official length from the head of Kitimat Arm, where the aluminum smelter town of Kitimat
to Wright Sound
, on the Inside Passage
ferry route, is 90 km (56 mi). The actual length of the fjord's waterway includes waters between there and the open waters of the Hecate Strait
outside the coastal archipelago, comprising another 60 km (37 mi) for 140 km (87 mi) in total.
A major side-inlet, the Gardner Canal
, is 90 km (56 mi) in length, and is accessed from the Kitimat Arm of Douglas Channel via Devastation Sound (20 km, 12 mi), which is on the east side of Hawkesbury Island
. South of Hawkesbury is Varney Passage (40 km, 25 mi), which has a sidechannel, Ursula Passage (30 km, 19 mi). Total waterway length of the fjord
dominated by Douglas Channel is therefore, not counting smaller side-inlets, is 320 km (200 mi), longer than Norway
's Sognefjord
(203 km, 126 mi) and rivalling Greenland
's Scoresby Sund
at 350 km (217 mi), though not as long as nearby Dean Channel's total of 335 km (208 mi).
Douglas Channel is a busy shipping artery because of the aluminum smelter at Kitimat
, as bauxite
must be shipped in and smelted aluminum shipped out. Recently-announced (2005) plans will see a major expansion of the port of Kitimat
as a container and bulk resources port, augmenting the port capacity of the British Columbia's North Coast currently a monopoly of the city of nearby Prince Rupert
.
The Gardner Canal
is important for being the location of the Kemano
generating station of the Nechako Diversion, which was built to supply power for Kitimat
. The head of the Gardner Canal, also, is the mouth of the Kitlope River
, a major wildlife and wilderness preserve and area of outstanding natural beauty (and harsh weather).
The Kitimat River
flows into the Kitimat Arm portion of Douglas Channel.
The channel is named in honour of Sir James Douglas
, the first governor of the Colony of British Columbia
.
British Columbia Coast
The British Columbia Coast or BC Coast is Canada's western continental coastline on the Pacific Ocean. The usage is synonymous with the term West Coast of Canada....
. Its official length from the head of Kitimat Arm, where the aluminum smelter town of Kitimat
Kitimat, British Columbia
Kitimat is a coastal city in northwestern British Columbia, in the Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine. The Kitimat Valley, which includes the adjacent community of Terrace, is the most populous urban district in Northwest British Columbia...
to Wright Sound
Wright Sound
Wright Sound is a waterway on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada. Wright Sound is south of Prince Rupert and lies at the southern opening of Grenville Channel and between Gil, Gribbell and Pitt Islands...
, on the Inside Passage
Inside Passage
The Inside Passage is a coastal route for oceangoing vessels along a network of passages which weave through the islands on the Pacific coast of North America. The route extends from southeastern Alaska, in the United States, through western British Columbia, in Canada, to northwestern Washington...
ferry route, is 90 km (56 mi). The actual length of the fjord's waterway includes waters between there and the open waters of the Hecate Strait
Hecate Strait
Hecate Strait is a wide but shallow strait between the Haida Gwaii and the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It merges with Queen Charlotte Sound to the south and Dixon Entrance to the north...
outside the coastal archipelago, comprising another 60 km (37 mi) for 140 km (87 mi) in total.
A major side-inlet, the Gardner Canal
Gardner Canal
The Gardner Canal is one of the principal inlets of the British Columbia Coast. Technically a side-inlet of the larger Douglas Channel, the Gardner is still 90 km in length in its own right; total length of the waterways converging on the Douglas Channel is 320 km making it one of the...
, is 90 km (56 mi) in length, and is accessed from the Kitimat Arm of Douglas Channel via Devastation Sound (20 km, 12 mi), which is on the east side of Hawkesbury Island
Hawkesbury Island
Hawkesbury Island is an island in British Columbia, Canada. It is located in Douglas Channel, one of the major fjords of the British Columbia Coast. Hawkesbury is long and ranges in width from to . It is in area....
. South of Hawkesbury is Varney Passage (40 km, 25 mi), which has a sidechannel, Ursula Passage (30 km, 19 mi). Total waterway length of the fjord
Fjord
Geologically, a fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glacial activity.-Formation:A fjord is formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley by abrasion of the surrounding bedrock. Glacial melting is accompanied by rebound of Earth's crust as the ice...
dominated by Douglas Channel is therefore, not counting smaller side-inlets, is 320 km (200 mi), longer than Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
's Sognefjord
Sognefjord
The Sognefjord is the largest fjord in Norway, and the second longest in the world. Located in Sogn og Fjordane county, it stretches inland to the small village of Skjolden...
(203 km, 126 mi) and rivalling Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
's Scoresby Sund
Scoresby Sund
Scoresby Sund is an inlet system of the Greenland Sea on the eastern coast of Greenland. It has a tree-like structure, with a main body approximately long that branches into a system of fjords covering an area of about . The longest of these extends 340–350 km in from the coastline...
at 350 km (217 mi), though not as long as nearby Dean Channel's total of 335 km (208 mi).
Douglas Channel is a busy shipping artery because of the aluminum smelter at Kitimat
Kitimat, British Columbia
Kitimat is a coastal city in northwestern British Columbia, in the Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine. The Kitimat Valley, which includes the adjacent community of Terrace, is the most populous urban district in Northwest British Columbia...
, as bauxite
Bauxite
Bauxite is an aluminium ore and is the main source of aluminium. This form of rock consists mostly of the minerals gibbsite Al3, boehmite γ-AlO, and diaspore α-AlO, in a mixture with the two iron oxides goethite and hematite, the clay mineral kaolinite, and small amounts of anatase TiO2...
must be shipped in and smelted aluminum shipped out. Recently-announced (2005) plans will see a major expansion of the port of Kitimat
Kitimat, British Columbia
Kitimat is a coastal city in northwestern British Columbia, in the Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine. The Kitimat Valley, which includes the adjacent community of Terrace, is the most populous urban district in Northwest British Columbia...
as a container and bulk resources port, augmenting the port capacity of the British Columbia's North Coast currently a monopoly of the city of nearby Prince Rupert
Prince Rupert, British Columbia
Prince Rupert is a port city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is the land, air, and water transportation hub of British Columbia's North Coast, and home to some 12,815 people .-History:...
.
The Gardner Canal
Gardner Canal
The Gardner Canal is one of the principal inlets of the British Columbia Coast. Technically a side-inlet of the larger Douglas Channel, the Gardner is still 90 km in length in its own right; total length of the waterways converging on the Douglas Channel is 320 km making it one of the...
is important for being the location of the Kemano
Kemano, British Columbia
Kemano is a settlement situated 75 km southeast of Kitimat in the province of British Columbia in Canada. It was built to service a hydroelectric power station, built to provide energy for Alcan to smelt aluminium from its ore. The powerhouse is built 427 m inside the base of Mt Dubose...
generating station of the Nechako Diversion, which was built to supply power for Kitimat
Kitimat, British Columbia
Kitimat is a coastal city in northwestern British Columbia, in the Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine. The Kitimat Valley, which includes the adjacent community of Terrace, is the most populous urban district in Northwest British Columbia...
. The head of the Gardner Canal, also, is the mouth of the Kitlope River
Kitlope River
The Kitlope River is a river in the Kitimat Ranges in the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada, flowing north into the head of the Gardner Canal to the south of the smelter town of Kitimat. It is named for the Gitlope group of Haisla, now part of the Haisla Nation government and community at...
, a major wildlife and wilderness preserve and area of outstanding natural beauty (and harsh weather).
The Kitimat River
Kitimat River
The Kitimat River is a river in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Its drainage basin is in size.-Course:The Kitimat River flows generally south into Kitimat Arm at the head of Douglas Channel....
flows into the Kitimat Arm portion of Douglas Channel.
The channel is named in honour of Sir James Douglas
James Douglas (Governor)
Sir James Douglas KCB was a company fur-trader and a British colonial governor on Vancouver Island in northwestern North America, particularly in what is now British Columbia. Douglas worked for the North West Company, and later for the Hudson's Bay Company becoming a high-ranking company officer...
, the first governor of the Colony of British Columbia
Colony of British Columbia
The Colony of British Columbia was a crown colony in British North America from 1858 until 1866. At its creation, it physically constituted approximately half the present day Canadian province of British Columbia, since it did not include the Colony of Vancouver Island, the vast and still largely...
.