Cortes Island is an island in the

Discovery Islands 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. Most of these islands have very fe ...

archipelago on the coast of British Columbia, Canada. The island is long, wide, and in area. It has a population of 1,035 permanent residents (2016 census).Statistics Canada population figures
/ref> Cortes Island lies within Electoral Area B of the

Strathcona Regional District The Strathcona Regional District is a regional district in British Columbia, Canada. It was created on February 15, 2008, encompassing the northern and western portions of the former Regional District of Comox-Strathcona. The partition left ...

, which provides water and sewerage systems, fire protection, land use planning, parks, recreation, and emergency response. Access to Cortes Island is by plane or ferry. By plane through a non-profit private airstrip Cortes Island Aerodrome on the south end of the island, or by seaplane to many of the island's protected harbours; by ferry from

Quadra Island Quadra Island is a large island off the eastern coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the Discovery Islands, in the Strathcona Regional District. Etymology In 1903, the island was named after the Peruvian Span ...

, which is itself accessed from Campbell River on

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

via

BC Ferries British Columbia Ferry Services Inc., operating as BC Ferries (BCF), is a former provincial Crown corporation, now operating as an independently managed, publicly owned Canadian company. BC Ferries provides all major passenger and vehicle ferr ...

. Cortes Island is a tourist destination in the summers, with many people visiting to enjoy the peaceful atmosphere and warm weather.

History

Cortes is part of the traditional unceded territories of the Homalco, Tla'amin, and Klahoose First Nations, with the office of the Klahoose First Nation located on the island. The island was named in 1792 during the expedition of Galiano and Valdés, after

Hernán Cortés Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca (; ; 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of w ...

, the Spanish conqueror of

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

. Despite the official Cortes spelling, which appeared on Canadian Hydrographic Service Charts, many of the island's early pioneers anglicized the name and referred to the island as Cortez. Marina Island, just southwest of Cortes Island in

Sutil Channel , image = Looking up Sutil Channel, Quadra Island.jpg , image_size = 260px , alt = , caption = Looking up Sutil Channel from Quadra Island , image_bathymetry = Locmap-SutilChannel.png , alt_b ...

, was also named by Galiano and Valdes in 1792, in association with Cortes Island, for

La Malinche Marina or Malintzin ( 1500 – 1529), more popularly known as La Malinche , a Nahua woman from the Mexican Gulf Coast, became known for contributing to the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire (1519–1521), by acting as an interpreter, ad ...

, known as Doña Marina, the

Nahua The Nahuas () are a group of the indigenous people of Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. They comprise the largest indigenous group in Mexico and second largest in El Salvador. The Mexica (Aztecs) were of Nahua ethnicity, a ...

woman who was interpreter, adviser, and mistress of Hernando Cortes during his conquest of Mexico. During the late 19th century Admiralty charts showed the name as Mary Island, until the original name was restored in 1906. In July 1792 William Broughton and

Archibald Menzies Archibald Menzies ( ; 15 March 1754 – 15 February 1842) was a Scottish surgeon, botanist and naturalist. He spent many years at sea, serving with the Royal Navy, private merchants, and the Vancouver Expedition. He was the first recorded Euro ...

of the

Vancouver Expedition 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 continen ...

landed at the mouth of a stream in Squirrel Cove, on the east side of Cortes Island, to take some refreshment. They were surprised to find the stream salty. They shot some large grouse and saw some deer but could not get near enough to shoot them.

Geography

Cortes Island is part of the

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arch ...

known as 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, for ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

, which lie beyond the northern end of the

Gulf of Georgia The Strait of Georgia (french: Détroit de Géorgie) 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 ...

, between

and the British Columbia Mainland. It is also considered to be part of the

Northern Gulf Islands The Gulf Islands are a group of islands in the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the mainland coast of British Columbia. Etymology The name "Gulf Islands" comes from "Gulf of Georgia," the original term used by George Vancouver in his ma ...

. Cortes lies on the far side of

from the city of Campbell River, separated from Quadra Island by

. To the northeast of Cortes Island, across Lewis Channel, is West Redonda Island.

Desolation Sound , image = Desolation sound 2006.jpg , image_size = 250px , alt = , caption = Desolation Sound , image_bathymetry = Carte baie Desolation fr.png , alt_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry ...

lies to the east of Cortes Island and, beyond that, the upper end of the

Malaspina Peninsula The Malaspina Peninsula is a peninsula in the northern Gulf of Georgia- Sunshine Coast region of British Columbia, Canada. It extends northwest from the town of Powell River, which lies near its isthmus, past the settlement of Lund, to Desolatio ...

. The island is located roughly halfway between Powell River and Campbell River.

Climate

Demographics

Administration

Cortes Island is in the Sunshine Coast Forest District and the Vancouver Island Ministry of Environment's Vancouver Island Region. The island is part of the North Island Provincial Electoral District.

Communities

Communities on the island include Cortes Bay, Whaletown, Squirrel Cove and Mansons Landing. Desolation Sound is off the east shore of the island. Forestry, fishing and mining have featured in its history. There is also a campground at Smelt Bay Provincial Park. The Campbell River School District operates the Cortes Elementary / Jr. Secondary school on the island. Until 2010 there was also the Linnaea School, a non-traditional school which offered a different approach on education. It was closed due to a lack of students and funding. After the ninth grade, students must either switch to

homeschooling Homeschooling or home schooling, also known as home education or elective home education (EHE), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an onlin ...

or transfer to a school off the island. In addition, a seasonal Canadian Coast Guard Inshore Rescue Boat Station is located in Cortes Bay during the summer. The station is staffed by a coxswain and 2 crewmembers aboard a Zodiac Hurricane Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat (RHIB).

Tourism

Cortes is known for the wilderness and remote nature of the community. Kayaking is a popular activity around the island, and the Cortes Museum and Archives hosts the local visitor's centre. Craft markets are held weekly at the Manson's Landing Community Hall, and the Gorge Harbour Marina Resort. Hiking through K'was park and Carrington bay are popular activities for tourists visiting the island.

References

External links

*
Cortes Island information site
Cortes Island news and information website.
Cortes Island Coastal Plan for Shellfish Aquaculture
{{DiscoveryIslands Populated places in the Strathcona Regional District Spanish history in the Pacific Northwest Unincorporated settlements in British Columbia Islands of the Discovery Islands