Geography | |
---|---|
Coordinates | 50°24′25″N125°25′44″W / 50.407°N 125.429°W |
Archipelago | Discovery Islands |
Administration | |
Province | British Columbia |
Regional district | Strathcona |
East Thurlow Island is an island in British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the Discovery Islands, an archipelago between Vancouver Island and the mainland, whose waters connect the Strait of Georgia with Johnstone Strait and Queen Charlotte Strait. East Thurlow Island is located north of Vancouver Island, south of the mainland, northwest of Sonora Island, and east of West Thurlow Island. East Thurlow Island is located within Electoral Area C of the Strathcona Regional District.
East Thurlow Island is separated from the mainland by Cordero Channel, from Vancouver Island by Johnstone Strait, and from Sonora Island by Nodales Channel. East and West Thurlow Islands are separated by Mayne Passage. The junction of Johnstone Strait and Discovery Passage lies just south of East Thurlow Island. [1]
The island received its present name in 1792, after Edward Thurlow, 1st Baron Thurlow, Lord Chancellor of England. [2] It was later discovered that Thurlow consists of two islands, and the narrow passage between them was given the name Blind Channel, perhaps because Captain Vancouver had missed it. We can forgive him this oversight, for many a mariner has since roared past and wondered later where the turn-off was. The channel was later renamed Mayne Passage, but the community which formed on the east end of West Thurlow Island was stuck with the name Blind Channel.
By 1910 Thurlow Island Lumber Company sawmill was established at Blind Channel, and the B. C. Directory lists nine lumbermen, six woodsmen, a blacksmith, and the mill manager. Notches in the sides of big old stumps scattered here and there remind us today of the labouring woodsmen with bucksaws, and the wide shoes of workhorses attest to the method of delivery to the mill. By 1918, the population had grown to 120, with Union Steam Ship freight and passenger boats stopping regularly, and for the next few decades the area bustled with activity. Blind Channel was home to a cannery, a shingle mill, and two large dance halls. The area continued to attract people looking for opportunity and an independent way of life, with the population peaking in the 1940s. In the 1930s, nine bootleggers were competing in Blind Channel at one point, mostly providing their own distillations with a very high alcohol content, if not the most refined flavour. For those who preferred the taste and guaranteed safety of the approved product, two of them specialized in government booze.
The Strait of Georgia or the Georgia Strait is an arm of the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the extreme southwestern mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada and the extreme northwestern mainland coast of Washington, United States. It is approximately 240 kilometres (150 mi) long and varies in width from 20 to 58 kilometres. Along with the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound, it is a constituent part of the Salish Sea.
The Inside Passage is a coastal route for ships and boats along a network of passages which weave through the islands on the Pacific Northwest coast of the North American Fjordland. The route extends from southeastern Alaska in the United States, through western British Columbia in Canada, to northwestern Washington state in the United States. Ships using the route can avoid some of the bad weather in the open ocean and may visit some of the many isolated communities along the route. The Inside Passage is heavily travelled by cruise ships, freighters, tugs with tows, fishing craft, pleasure craft, and ships of the Alaska Marine Highway, BC Ferries, and Washington State Ferries systems. Coast Guard vessels of both Canada and the United States patrol and transit in the Passage.
The Alexander Archipelago is a 300-mile (480 km) long archipelago in North America lying off the southeastern coast of Alaska. It contains about 1,100 islands, the tops of submerged coastal mountains that rise steeply from the Pacific Ocean. Deep channels and fjords separate the islands and cut them off from the mainland. The islands shelter the northern part of the Inside Passage as it winds its way among them.
Queen Charlotte Strait is a strait between Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It connects Queen Charlotte Sound with Johnstone Strait and Discovery Passage and via them to the Strait of Georgia and Puget Sound. It forms part of the Inside Passage from Washington to Alaska. The term Queen Charlotte Strait is also used to refer to the general region and its many communities, notably of the Kwakwakaʼwakw peoples. Despite its name, Queen Charlotte Strait does not lie between Haida Gwaii and the mainland; that body of water is named Hecate Strait.
The Discovery Islands are a group of islands located at the northern end of the Salish Sea and the eastern end of Johnstone Strait, between Vancouver Island and the mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada.
Loughborough Inlet is one of the lesser principal inlets of the British Columbia Coast. It penetrates the Coast Mountains on the north side of the Discovery Islands archipelago, running about 35 km (22 mi) from its head at the mouth of the Stafford River to Chancellor Channel and Cordero Channel, which are on the north side of West Thurlow Island. A further 14 km (8.7 mi) west along Chancellor Channel is Johnstone Strait.
Rock Bay Marine Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, located on the Inside Passage at the junction of Johnstone Strait and Discovery Passage. The park contains approximately 525 ha. Rock Bay is located on the shore of Vancouver Island, immediately south of East Thurlow Island.
Sonora Island is one of the outer islands of the Discovery Islands of British Columbia, Canada. It is located at the eastern end of Johnstone Strait and the northern end of Discovery Passage within Electoral Area C of the Strathcona Regional District.
Johnstone Strait is a 110 km (68 mi) channel along the north east coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. Opposite the Vancouver Island coast, running north to south, are Hanson Island, West Cracroft Island, the mainland British Columbia Coast, Hardwicke Island, West Thurlow Island and East Thurlow Island. At that point, the strait meets Discovery Passage which connects to Georgia Strait.
Discovery Passage is a strait that forms part of the Inside Passage between Vancouver Island and the Discovery Islands of British Columbia. The strait is considered the most important natural passage for vessels' entering or leaving the Salish Sea from the north.
The Vancouver Expedition (1791–1795) was a four-and-a-half-year voyage of exploration and diplomacy, commanded by Captain George Vancouver of the Royal Navy. The British expedition circumnavigated the globe and made contact with five continents. The expedition at various times included between two and four vessels, and up to 153 men, all but 6 of whom returned home safely.
Maurelle Island is an island in British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the Discovery Islands between Vancouver Island and the mainland, between the Strait of Georgia and Johnstone Strait.
West Redonda Island is an island in British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the Discovery Islands, an archipelago between Vancouver Island and the mainland, and between the Strait of Georgia and Johnstone Strait.
West Thurlow Island is an island in British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the Discovery Islands, an archipelago between Vancouver Island and the mainland, whose waters connect the Strait of Georgia with Johnstone Strait and Queen Charlotte Strait.
Cordero Channel is a strait in British Columbia, Canada, located between the mainland and Vancouver Island, among the Discovery Islands north of the Strait of Georgia. Cordero Channel runs north of Sonora Island, East Thurlow Island, and part of West Thurlow Island. Its eastern end connects to the mouth of Bute Inlet and to Calm Channel, at Stuart Island. Its west end is marked by the mouth of Loughborough Inlet, beyond which the channel is called Chancellor Channel, which continues west to Johnstone Strait.
Read Island is an island in British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the Discovery Islands between Vancouver Island and the mainland, between the Strait of Georgia and Johnstone Strait.
The Rendezvous Islands are a group of islands in British Columbia, Canada. They are part of the Discovery Islands between Vancouver Island and the mainland, between the Strait of Georgia and Johnstone Strait.
Fitz Hugh Sound, sometimes spelled Fitzhugh Sound, is a sound on the British Columbia Coast of Canada, located between Calvert Island and the mainland.
James Johnstone was a British naval officer and explorer. He is noted for having served as sailing master of the armed tender HMS Chatham and later acting lieutenant during George Vancouver's 1791–1795 expedition to the Pacific Northwest. Johnstone Strait in British Columbia is named after him.
East Cracroft Island is an island in the Johnstone Strait region of the Central Coast region of British Columbia, Canada. It is the smaller of the two Cracroft Islands, and at low tide is really one island with its larger neighbour, West Cracroft Island. On the south side of the shallows that form an isthmus between them at low tide is Port Harvey, which is a short, wide inlet or bay. On its east shore is Keecekiltum Indian Reserve No. 2, 11.7 ha., which is under the governance of the Tlowitsis Nation of the Kwakwaka'wakw peoples. at 50°33′00″N126°16′00″W.