Observatory Inlet

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Observatory Inlet
Canada British Columbia relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Observatory Inlet
Location in British Columbia
Location British Columbia, Canada
Coordinates 55°17′25″N129°46′59″W / 55.29028°N 129.78306°W / 55.29028; -129.78306 (Observatory Inlet) Coordinates: 55°17′25″N129°46′59″W / 55.29028°N 129.78306°W / 55.29028; -129.78306 (Observatory Inlet)
Type Fjord
Part of Portland Inlet

Observatory Inlet [1] is an inlet on the North Coast of British Columbia. It is a northward extension of Portland Inlet, other branches of which include the Portland Canal. The entrance of Observatory Inlet, from Portland Inlet, lies between Ramsden Point and Nass Point. Ramsden Point also marks, to the west, the entrance of Portland Canal. [2] [3] Observatory Inlet was named by George Vancouver in 1793, because he set up his observatory on the shore of the inlet, at Salmon Cove, in order to calibrate his chronometers. His two vessels, HMS Discovery and HMS Chatham, stayed in Salmon Cove from July 23 to August 17, 1793. During this time a boat surveying expedition under Vancouver himself explored Behm Canal. Vancouver also named three headlands at the entrance of Observatory Inlet: Maskelyne Point, for Nevil Maskelyne, the Astronomer Royal, Wales Point, for William Wales, the mathematical master who sailed with James Cook, and Ramsden Point, after the famed mathematical instrument-maker Jesse Ramsden. [4]

Contents

Geography

Observatory Inlet has two main arms, the northwest and longer one being named Hastings Arm, fed by the Kshwan River, and Alice Arm, an east arm, fed by the Kitsault River. Hastings Arm is approximately 30 km (19 mi) in length, and runs on a nearly true north–south axis, Alice Arm is approximately 25 km (16 mi) in length and bends sharply, running on a roughly northeast–southwest axis. From their merger to the mouth of Observatory Inlet is approximately 50 km (31 mi) in length, running south-southwest to its merger with the Portland Canal just southwest of Nass Bay, which is an arm of Observatory Inlet and the saltwater outer estuary of the Nass River.

Of many islands in the inlet, Granby Island and Brooke Island are located at the intersection of the Hastings and Alice Arms. Granby Island and Granby Bay are named for Granby Consolidated Mining, Smelting and Power Company, which built and operated the mining town of Anyox, located on Granby Bay.

Settlements

At the aperture of Nass Bay is the community of Arrandale on its southern point, with the community of Ging̱olx (Kincolith) located on its northern shore just inside the bay at the mouth of the Kincolith River. Also entering the Nass estuary just to its east is the Iknouk River.

The smelter ghost town of Anyox is located on the west side of the inlet at Granby Bay, which marks the beginning of Hastings Arm.

The locality of Alice Arm, which is a former steamer landing and on the west bank of the mouth of the Kitsault River, is located at the head of the inlet's Alice Arm projection.

The former mining town of Kitsault is located 2.5 km (1.6 mi) due south of Alice Arm, on the far side of the inlet's shoreline. With no rail nor road connection to the rest of British Columbia, these mining towns relied on shipping through Observatory Inlet.

Adjacent to the community of Alice Arm, but on the east side of the Kitsault River, is the Nisga'a village of Gits'oolh (formerly Gitzault Indian Reserve No. 24).

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Anyox was a small company-owned mining town in British Columbia, Canada. Today it is a ghost town, abandoned and largely destroyed. It is located on the shores of Granby Bay in coastal Observatory Inlet, about 60 kilometres southeast of Stewart, British Columbia, and about 20 kilometres, across wilderness, east of the tip of the Alaska Panhandle.

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Gardner Canal Fjord in the North Coast region of British Columbia, Canada

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Portland Inlet Broad inlet located in the North Coast region of British Columbia, Canada

Portland Inlet is an inlet of the Pacific Ocean on the north coast of British Columbia, Canada, approximately 55 km (34 mi) north of Prince Rupert. It joins Chatham Sound opposite the Dixon Entrance. It is 4 km (2.5 mi) long and as much as 13 km (8.1 mi) wide. It drains the Portland Canal, Nass Bay, and Khutzeymateen Inlet, among others, and is the site of Pearse Island and Somerville Island. Other major sidewaters of the inlet are Observatory Inlet and its east arm, Alice Arm.

Alice Arm Arm of Observatory Inlet in British Columbia, Canada

Alice Arm is the east arm of Observatory Inlet, which itself is an arm of Portland Inlet, on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada, near the border with the American state of Alaska. The abandoned settlement and steamer landing of Alice Arm, is located on the east side of Observatory Inlet at the mouth of the Kitsault River.

Alice Arm, British Columbia Place in British Columbia, Canada

Alice Arm is a locality, former post office, and steamer landing on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada, located on the east side of Observatory Inlet at the mouth of the Kitsault River. There are still a number of houses standing and several seasonal homeowners who still access their houses every year. It was the location of a short rail line that accessed the mine.

Kitsault Place in British Columbia, Canada

Kitsault is an unincorporated settlement on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada, at the head of Alice Arm, Observatory Inlet and at the mouth of the Kitsault River. The locality of Alice Arm and the Nisga'a community of Gits'oohl are in the immediate vicinity. "Kitsault" is an adaptation of Gits'oohl, which means "a ways in behind".

The Kitsault River is a river on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada, located at the head of Alice Arm, which is the east arm of Observatory Inlet, which is itself an arm of Portland Inlet. Located at the mouth of the river are the localities of Alice Arm, Kitsault and Gits'oohl, a community of the Nisga'a people which was the Gitzault Indian Reserve No. 24 prior to the Nisga'a Treaty.

Hastings Arm bay in British Columbia, Canada

Hastings Arm is a fjord on the North Coast of British Columbia, which is the northwest arm of Observatory Inlet, one of the two main branchings of Portland Inlet, the other being the better-known Portland Canal, which forms part of the Canada–United States border. Hastings Arm is approximately 30 km (19 mi) in length from the divergence of Observatory Inlet near the former smelting town of Anyox, where a 25 km (16 mi) east arm, Alice Arm, branches off towards its head at the mouth of the Kitsault River. This divergence is approximately 50 km (31 mi) from the mouth of Observatory Inlet itself, near Nass Bay, which is the outer part of the estuary of the Nass River. At the head of Hastings Arm is the mouth of the Kshwan River, and the Nisga'a village-site of Kswan.

Granby Consolidated Mining, Smelting & Power Company, Limited (also known as Granby Consolidated Mining & Smelting Company, Granby Copper & Granby Mining Company Ltd was a publicly traded company that owned and operated the Phoenix Mine in the community of Phoenix in the Boundary Country region of British Columbia, Canada in the early and mid 20th century.

References

  1. "Observatory Inlet". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada . Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  2. "Ramsden Point". BC Geographical Names.
  3. "Nass Point". BC Geographical Names.
  4. Walbran, John T. (1909). British Columbia coast names, 1592-1906 : to which are added a few names in adjacent United States territory, their origin and history. Ottawa Government Printing Bureau. p. 364. OCLC   317633225. Archived from the original on 2012-03-07. Retrieved 2010-01-26.