Gil Island (Canada)
Encyclopedia
Gil Island is an island
on the North Coast of British Columbia
, Canada
, located on the west side of Whale Channel in the entrance to Douglas Channel
, one of the main coastal inlets, on the route of the Inside Passage
between Pitt Island
and Princess Royal Island
. It is 26 km (16 mi) long, with a width ranging from 6 to 13 km (4 to 8 mi), and an area of 231 km² (89 sq mi). The only named summit on the mountainous island is Mount Gil, which faces the opening of Douglas Channel.
Queen of the North was a Canadian RORO
ferry
operated by BC Ferries
, which sank on March 22, 2006 after hitting Gil Island on a southbound voyage during the night. All but two passengers were rescued by the people of Hartley Bay
, which is nearby.
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
on the North Coast 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....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, located on the west side of Whale Channel in the entrance to Douglas Channel
Douglas Channel
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...
, one of the main coastal inlets, on the route of 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...
between Pitt Island
Pitt Island (Canada)
Pitt Island is an island in British Columbia, Canada, located between Banks Island, across Grenville Channel from the mainland. It is separated from Banks Island by Principe Channel. The only settlement is a First Nations village, Chino Hat, on the west coast...
and Princess Royal Island
Princess Royal Island
Princess Royal Island is the largest island on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada. It is located amongst the isolated inlets and islands east of Hecate Strait on the British Columbia Coast. At , it is the fourth largest island in British Columbia...
. It is 26 km (16 mi) long, with a width ranging from 6 to 13 km (4 to 8 mi), and an area of 231 km² (89 sq mi). The only named summit on the mountainous island is Mount Gil, which faces the opening of Douglas Channel.
Name origin
"Named in 1792 by Lieutenant Commander Jacinto CaamañoJacinto CaamañoJacinto Caamaño Moraleja was the leader of the last great Spanish exploration of Alaska and the Coast of British Columbia. He was a Knight of the Military Order of Calatrava. Born in Madrid, he came from an aristocratic Galician family, whose homestead was near Santiago de Compostela...
of the Spanish corvette Aranzazu, while searching along the coast under orders from the viceroy of Mexico for the mythical 'Rio de Reyes'. This strait or river, supposed to connect the Pacific with the Atlantic, was claimed to have been discovered in 1640 by Admiral Pedro Bartolome de Fonti, in command of a fleet of 4 vessels, his flagship being named the Holy Ghost (Greenhow's Oregon, 1844, p.84.) The ensign-bearer of the San Martin, flagship of the Duke of Medina Sidonia in the Spanish Armada, was named Juan Gil. (Laughton, The Spanish Armada, Navy Records, II, p.355.) Caamaño sailed from NootkaNootka SoundNootka Sound is a complex inlet or sound of the Pacific Ocean on the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Historically also known as King George's Sound, as a strait it separates Vancouver Island and Nootka Island.-History:The inlet is part of the...
13 June 1792, steered northwards, and after examining Port BucareliBucareli BayBucareli Bay is a bay in the Alexander Archipelago, in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located off the western coast of Prince of Wales Island, between Baker Island and Suemez Island. To the east it connects to various waterways, such as San Alberto Bay. To the west it...
(Alaska) anchored in Dixon EntranceDixon EntranceThe Dixon Entrance is a strait about long and wide in the Pacific Ocean at the International Boundary between the U.S. state of Alaska and the province of British Columbia in Canada. It was named by Joseph Banks for Captain George Dixon, a Royal Navy officer, fur trader, and explorer, who...
, probably under Rose Spit, on the 20 July. He then coasted southward along the continental shore, passing through Principe Channel into Nepean and Whale Sounds and out again near Surf InletSurf Inlet, British ColumbiaPort Belmont, also known as Belmont and Surf Inlet, was a gold-mining camp located on northern Princess Royal Island on the Coast of British Columbia, Canada....
and thence southward through Laredo Channel. In making the examination along this coastline for Fonti's strait, Caamaño bestowed several names, among others being the channels he passed through, and Campania IslandCampania IslandCampania Island is an island on the coast of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is located south of Prince Rupert, east across Hecate Strait from the Queen Charlotte Islands. To the west of Campania Island, across Estevan Sound, is the Estevan Group archipelago. Banks Island lies to the...
, Campania SoundCampania SoundCampania Sound is a sound on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada, located between Campania Island and Princess Royal Island. It was named in association with Campania Island....
, and Aristazabal IslandAristazabal IslandAristazabal Island is an island situated south west of Princess Royal Island in British Columbia, Canada. It has an area of . The island was named on August 30, 1792, by Lieutenant Commander Jacinto Caamaño of the Spanish corvette Aranzazu for the Spanish Captain Gabriel de Aristazábal, one of the...
, all of which VancouverGeorge VancouverCaptain George Vancouver RN was an English officer of the British Royal Navy, best known for his 1791-95 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of contemporary Alaska, British Columbia, Washington and Oregon...
adopted on his chart. Caamaño arrived at Nootka from his cruise 7 September 1972...."
Wreck of the Queen of the North
The M/VShip prefix
A ship prefix is a combination of letters, usually abbreviations, used in front of the name of a civilian or naval ship.Prefixes for civilian vessels may either identify the type of propulsion, such as "SS" for steamship, or purpose, such as "RV" for research vessel. Civilian prefixes are often...
Queen of the North was a Canadian RORO
RORO
Roll-on/roll-off ships are vessels designed to carry wheeled cargo such as automobiles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, trailers or railroad cars that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels...
ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
operated by BC Ferries
BC Ferries
British Columbia Ferry Services Inc. or BC Ferries is a de facto Crown Corporation that provides all major passenger and vehicle ferry services for coastal and island communities in the Canadian province of British Columbia...
, which sank on March 22, 2006 after hitting Gil Island on a southbound voyage during the night. All but two passengers were rescued by the people of Hartley Bay
Hartley Bay, British Columbia
Hartley Bay is a First Nations community on the coast of British Columbia. The village is located at the mouth of Douglas Channel, about north of Vancouver and south of Prince Rupert...
, which is nearby.