Observatory Inlet is an

inlet An inlet is a (usually long and narrow) indentation of a shoreline, such as a small arm, bay, sound, fjord, lagoon or marsh, that leads to an enclosed larger body of water such as a lake, estuary, gulf or marginal sea. Overview In marine geogra ...

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. Observatory Inlet was named by

George Vancouver Captain George Vancouver (22 June 1757 – 10 May 1798) was a British Royal Navy officer best known for his 1791–1795 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of what a ...

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 James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...

, and Ramsden Point, after the famed mathematical instrument-maker Jesse Ramsden.

Geography

Observatory Inlet has two main arms, the northwest and longer one being named

Hastings Arm 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–Uni ...

, fed by the Kshwan River, and Alice Arm, an east arm, fed by the

Kitsault River 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 (see Portland Canal). Located at the mouth of th ...

. Hastings Arm is approximately in length, and runs on a nearly true north–south axis, Alice Arm is approximately in length and bends sharply, running on a roughly northeast–southwest axis. From their merger to the mouth of Observatory Inlet is approximately 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

, is located at the head of the inlet's Alice Arm projection. The former mining town of

Kitsault Kitsault is an unincorporated settlement and a private town 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 ...

is located 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).

References

External links

*{{BCGNIS, 36897, Observatory Inlet Fjords of British Columbia North Coast of British Columbia Inlets of British Columbia