Keats Island is an inhabited island located in

Howe Sound Howe Sound (french: Baie (de /d')Howe, squ, Átl'ka7tsem, Nexwnéwu7ts, Txwnéwu7ts) is a roughly triangular sound, that joins a network of fjords situated immediately northwest of Vancouver, British Columbia. It was designated as a UNESCO Biosp ...

near

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

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 ...

. Around eighty people live on Keats Island year-round.

Physical geography, settlements and climate

Keats Island is one of the larger islands in

, located offshore from the community of

Gibsons Gibsons is a coastal community of 4,605 in southwestern British Columbia, Canada on the Strait of Georgia. Although it is on the mainland, the Sunshine Coast is not accessible by road. Vehicle access is by BC Ferries from Horseshoe Bay in West ...

on the

Sunshine Coast Sunshine Coast may refer to: * Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia **Sunshine Coast Region, a local government area of Queensland named after the region **Sunshine Coast Stadium * Sunshine Coast (British Columbia), geographic subregion of the Br ...

and directly west of

Bowen Island Bowen Island (originally Nex̱wlélex̱m in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh), British Columbia, is an island municipality that is part of Metro Vancouver. Bowen Island is within the jurisdiction of the Islands Trust. Located in Howe Sound, it is approximate ...

. The island is part of West Howe Sound, Electoral Area F within the

Sunshine Coast Regional District The Sunshine Coast Regional District is a regional district in British Columbia, Canada. It is located on the southern mainland coast, across Georgia Strait (part of the Salish Sea) from Vancouver Island. It borders on the qathet Regional Di ...

(SCRD) in

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 ...

. Other than a few cleared fields, the entire island is covered in forest. There are several beaches scattered around the island, and a prominent rocky outcrop called Salmon Rock at the Southwest tip.

Name

Keats Island's indigenous name is Lheḵ’tínes. Like many of the features in Howe Sound, Keats Island was named by

George Henry Richards Sir George Henry Richards (13 January 1820 –14 November 1896) was Hydrographer of the Royal Navy from 1863 to 1874. Biography Richards was born in Antony, Cornwall, the son of Captain G. S. Richards, and joined the Royal Navy in 1832. ...

, who surveyed the British Columbia Coast from 1857 to 1862, first in (which is commemorated by the name of Plumper Cove) until 1861, and then in . Keats Island is named after Sir

Richard Goodwin Keats Admiral Sir Richard Goodwin Keats (16 January 1757 – 5 April 1834) was a British naval officer who fought throughout the American Revolution, French Revolutionary War and Napoleonic War. He retired in 1812 due to ill health and was made Comm ...

, a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet ...

. Admiral Keats served under

Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought a ...

and was famous for sailing through a blockade at

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = "Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gibr ...

in 1801 during the

Napoleonic wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

. In 1813 Admiral Keats was also a governor of the Island of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. Keats Island is the only large island in Howe Sound named for an officer who did not take part in the

Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (1 ...

, as his ship was undergoing refit at the time. However, he had already established his fame in the

Second Battle of Algeciras The Second Battle of Algeciras (also known as the Battle of the Gut of Gibraltar) was a naval battle fought on the night of 12 July 1801 (23 messidor an IX of the French Republican Calendar) between a squadron of British Royal Navy ships of ...

Settlement and services

Residential development on Keats Island is mostly summer cabins, with about 40 full-time residents. Most residents shop and obtain other services in

, the nearest town of any size. The communities on Keats Island are clustered around the two government wharves: Keats Landing on the west coast, facing Gibsons and having a view of Shoal Channel separating the island from the mainland, and the larger community of Eastbourne located on the southeast shore. In addition, Plumper Cove extends along the west shore of the island from Freeman's Bluff (just north of the government wharf at Keats landing) to Plumper Cove Marine Provincial Park, and Melody Point is on the northwest tip of the island, facing

Langdale Great Langdale is a valley in the Lake District National Park in North West England, the epithet Great distinguishing it from the neighbouring valley of Little Langdale. Langdale is also the name of a valley in the Howgill Fells, elsewhere ...

on the mainland. Keats Camps is a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul c ...

summer camp A summer camp or sleepaway camp is a supervised program for children conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as ''campers''. Summer school is usually a part of the academ ...

, founded in 1926 on the site of a former orchard, operated on 93 hectares of land on the west part of the island. Keats Landing grew up around the camp, on lots leased from the Baptist Convention of British Columbia. Because the majority of the island's summer visitors are Christians, Keats Camps hosts public churches on Sundays for the whole island and the campers of Keats Camps. Barnabas Family Ministries is a Christian camp and retreat centre operated on 64 hectares on the north side of the island. This land was formerly owned by the Corkum family, and was referred to as "Corky's Farm". It is now owned by Barnabas.

Access

Visitors to Keats Island can take a BC Ferry vessel from Horseshoe Bay north of

Ferry Terminal on the Sunshine Coast. Keats Island and nearby Gambier Island are served by foot passenger ferry from the ferry terminal at Langdale, and Keats is accessible by

water taxi A water taxi or a water bus is a watercraft used to provide public or private transport, usually, but not always, in an urban environment. Service may be scheduled with multiple stops, operating in a similar manner to a bus, or ...

from Gibsons and Horseshoe Bay. For years, Keats was served from Langdale by the ferry ''Dogwood Princess'' and is now served by the ferry ''Stormaway''. Visitors may also drive from Langdale to Gibsons and take a water taxi to Keats Landing. There are a few rough roads connecting locations on the island, but there is very little vehicle use. Most of the residential properties are accessible only from the water.

Amenities

Plumper Cove Marine Provincial Park, one of the oldest marine parks in BC, is a popular overnight destination for boats from nearby Gibsons and Vancouver.

Physical geography, settlements and climate

Name

Settlement and services

Access

Amenities

References

External links