Parry Passage is a

strait A strait is an oceanic landform connecting two seas or two other large areas of water. The surface water generally flows at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in either direction. Most commonly, it is a narrow ocean channe ...

and marine waterway between

Langara Island Langara Island, known as Kiis Gwaii to the Haida ( Haida: ''Ḵ'íis Gwáayaay''), is the northernmost island of Haida Gwaii in British Columbia, Canada. The island is approximately in size. It is located approximately south of Alaska. Hist ...

(N) and

Graham Island Graham Island () is the largest island in the Haida Gwaii archipelago (previously known as the Queen Charlotte Islands), lying off the mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada. It is separated by the narrow Skidegate Channel from the other pri ...

(S) in Haida Gwaii, formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands, in

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, ...

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 tot ...

Name origin and history

Also called Parry Channel, the passage was named for William E. Parry, the explorer. The passage was named in 1953 by Commander James Prevost of , after W.E. Parry, a close friend. It had been previously named Cox's Channel after one of the backers of , commanded by William Douglas in the area in 1788–1789. Joseph Ingraham in 1791–1792 named it "Cunneyah's Streights" icafter the chief of nearby

Kiusta Kiusta ( hai, K’yuusda) 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 o ...

. Jacinto Caamano named it ''Puerto de Floridablanca'' in 1792 after the

Conde de Floridablanca Conde may refer to: Places United States * Conde, South Dakota, a city France * Condé-sur-l'Escaut (or simply 'Condé'), a commune Linguistic ''Conde'' is the Ibero-Romance form of "count" (Latin ''comitatus''). It may refer to: * Count ...

. The first detailed survey of the passage was in 1791 by Captain Etienne Marchand of . The Haida village of

Dadens Dadens (''daa.adans''), also referred to as Tartenee and Tatense by some early European settlers and Tatense Reserve 16 under the Indian Act is village on the southern coast of Langara Island (Xaad Kil: K'íis Gwáayaay) belonging to the Haida Natio ...

was located on the south end of Langara Island, facing the passage.''The Indian Tribes of North America'', John R. Swanton, 1953
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References

{{Coord, 54, 10, 47, N, 132, 59, 46, W, display=title, source:BCNames, name=Parry Passage Straits of British Columbia Landforms of Haida Gwaii

Name origin and history

See also

References