Parry Passage

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Parry Passage is a strait and marine waterway between Langara Island (N) and Graham Island (S) in Haida Gwaii, formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands, in British Columbia, Canada. [1]

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Name origin and history

Also called Parry Channel, the passage was named for William E. Parry, the explorer. [2]

The passage was named in 1953 by Commander James Prevost of HMS Virago, after W.E. Parry, a close friend. It had been previously named Cox's Channel after one of the backers of Iphigenia, commanded by William Douglas in the area in 1788–1789. Joseph Ingraham in 1791–1792 named it "Cunneyah's Streights" [sic] after the chief of nearby Kiusta. Jacinto Caamano named it Puerto de Floridablanca in 1792 after the Conde de Floridablanca.

The first detailed survey of the passage was in 1791 by Captain Etienne Marchand of La Solide. [3]

The Haida village of Dadens was located on the south end of Langara Island, facing the passage. [4]

See also

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Parry may refer to:

Kiusta located on Haida Gwaii is the oldest Northern Haida village: and the site of first recorded contact between the Haida and Europeans in 1774. Haida lived in this village for thousands of years, due to the sheltered nature of its location it was used for boats offloading, especially in rough waters. Kiusta is one of the oldest archeological sites of human use in British Columbia, and continues to be a site for cultural revitalisation.

Union was an American sloop built in Somerset, Massachusetts in 1792. It is best known for its circumnavigation of the world, 1794–1796, under the maritime fur trader John Boit.

Cloak Bay is a bay in Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, Canada. It is located on the west side of Langara Island, between Langara and Graham Island, at the northwestern end of Haida Gwaii. It adjoins Parry Passage, the strait between Langara and Graham Island. There are several islands in Cloak Bay, the largest being Cox Island. Indian Reserves on or near Cloak Bay include Guoyskun 22, on the north side of Cloak Bay, and Kioosta 15, on Parry Passage. The historic Haida village of Kiusta is the main settlement in the area.

References

  1. BC Names/GeoBC entry "Parry Passage"
  2. [Sailing Directions, Queen Charlotte Islands - Western Coast of North America, 1853, p.9; remarks by George H. Inskip, Master, RN. British Library accession #10496.i.29.
  3. [Queen Charlotte Islands - Book 2: of places and names, Kathleen E. Dalzell, Cove Press, Prince Rupert, 1973
  4. The Indian Tribes of North America, John R. Swanton, 1953

Coordinates: 54°10′47″N132°59′46″W / 54.17972°N 132.99611°W / 54.17972; -132.99611 (Parry Passage)