King Island is an island

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 coast

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....

 of the Canadian province

Provinces and territories of Canada

The provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the world's second-largest country by area. There are ten provinces and three territories...

 of British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

. It is located south of Dean Channel

Dean Channel

Dean Channel is the upper end of one of the longest inlets of the British Columbia Coast, from its head at the mouth of the Kimsquit River. The Dean River, one of the main rivers of the Coast Mountains, enters Dean Channel about below the head of the inlet, at the community of...

 and about 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) east of Bella Bella

Bella Bella, British Columbia

Bella Bella, also known as Waglisla, is an unincorporated community and Indian Reserve community located within Bella Bella Indian Reserve No. 1 on the east coast of Campbell Island in the Central Coast region of British Columbia, Canada. Bella Bella is located north of Port Hardy, on Vancouver...

.. A number of other islands separate King Island from the open sea of Queen Charlotte Sound.

King Island is separated from the mainland by Dean Channel to the north, Burke Channel

Burke Channel

Burke Channel is a channel in the Central Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia, separating the south and east coasts of King Island from the mainland. It was first charted in 1792 by James Johnstone, one of George Vancouver’s officers during his 1791-95 expedition. Vancouver...

 to the south, and Labouchere Channel to the east. Fisher Channel, essentially an extension of Dean Channel, separates King Island from several islands to the west, including Denny Island and Hunter Island

Hunter Island (British Columbia)

Hunter Island is an island on the coast of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is located inshore from Queen Charlotte Sound, about north of the town of Port Hardy at the north end of Vancouver Island....

. Fisher Channel and Burke Channel join at the southern end of King Island, becoming Fitz Hugh Sound

Fitz Hugh Sound

Fitz Hugh Sound, sometimes spelled Fitzhugh Sound, is a sound on the British Columbia Coast of Canada, located between Calvert Island and the mainland. Fitz Hugh Sound is part of a group of named bodies of water around the opening of Dean Channel, one of the coast's main fjords, where it...

.

In the Nuxalk language

Nuxálk language

Nuxálk is a Salishan language spoken in the vicinity of the Canadian town Bella Coola, British Columbia by approximately 20-30 elders...

 the island's name is Nuxalknalus, "centre of Nuxalk Territory".

King Island is 808 square kilometres (312 sq mi) in area, making it the seventh largest island in British Columbia.

King Island was named in 1793 by George Vancouver

George Vancouver

Captain 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...

, in honor of Captain James King, under whom Vancouver had served as a midshipman on the Discovery

HMS Discovery (1774)

HMS Discovery was the consort ship of James Cook's third expedition to the Pacific Ocean in 1776 - 1780. Like Cook's other ships, Discovery was a Whitby-built collier of 298 tons, originally named Diligence when she was built in 1774. Originally a brig, Cook had her changed to a full rigged ship...

during the latter part of the third voyage of James Cook

James Cook

Captain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...

.