Catala Island Marine Provincial Park is a

provincial park Ischigualasto Provincial Park A provincial park (or territorial park) is a park administered by one of the provinces of a country, as opposed to a national park. They are similar to state parks in other countries. They are typically open to the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Canaded on the west coast of

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...

at the mouth of

Esperanza Inlet Esperanza Inlet is an inlet on the West Coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. Its entrance is located off the northwest side of Nootka Island and is defined by a line drawn from Tachu Point to Blind Reef. Until that definition wa ...

, between

Kyuquot Sound Kyuquot Sound is a complex of coastal inlets, bays and islands on northwestern Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The sound is named after the Kyuquot people, who are of the Nuu-chah-nulth peoples by culture and language ...

(N) and

Nootka Sound , image = Morning on Nootka Sound.jpg , image_size = 250px , alt = , caption = Clouds over Nootka Sound , image_bathymetry = , alt_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = Map of Nootka So ...

(S). The park is 955 ha. in size and was established in July 1995.

Name origin

Catala Island, which is one of the islands comprising the park, was originally named Isla de Catala on a chart made in 1792 by

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

explorer Dionisio Galiano. Galiano named it for

Magin Catalá Magin is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname: *Alik Magin, Australian rules footballer *Miłosz Magin (1929–1999), Polish composer and pianist *Rhys Magin (born 1989), Australian rules footballer Given ...

, a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

who was serving as chaplain at the Spanish garrison at

at the time. Catala, who returned to California in 1794, was born in 1761 in

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

(Spain), and had arrived in Mexico in 1786. Serving 44 years as a missionary on the Spanish-American coast, he died in

Santa Clara, California Santa Clara (; Spanish for " Saint Clare") is a city in Santa Clara County, California. The city's population was 127,647 at the 2020 census, making it the eighth-most populous city in the Bay Area. Located in the southern Bay Area, the cit ...

in 1830.

References

External links

BC Parks webpage
Provincial parks of British Columbia Nootka Sound region Islands of British Columbia Spanish history in the Pacific Northwest 1995 establishments in British Columbia Marine parks of Canada {{BritishColumbia-park-stub