Virago Sound is a

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

on the north coast of the

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 ...

in the Queen Charlotte Islands,

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 ...

, at the entrance to

Naden Harbour Naden Harbour is a harbour on the north coast of Graham Island on Haida Gwaii (formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands), British Columbia, Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories exten ...

. The sound is named for , a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

sloop-of-war In the 18th century and most of the 19th, a sloop-of-war in the Royal Navy was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. The rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above; thus, the term ''sloop-of-war'' enc ...

surveying these waters in 1853, under the command of Master George H. Inskip. The

Haida Haida may refer to: Places * Haida, an old name for Nový Bor * Haida Gwaii, meaning "Islands of the People", formerly called the Queen Charlotte Islands * Haida Islands, a different archipelago near Bella Bella, British Columbia Ships * , a 1 ...

name for Virago Sound was ''"tin-eye"'', meaning "big" In 1792 Captain Ingraham of the

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...

had named these waters Port Crafts after his first mate, John Croft or Cruft:

"In 1791, Captain Joseph Ingraham on the small brig Hope out of Boston, Massachusetts, spent time along the British Columbia coast trading for furs at Native American villages. His first officer was John Cruft. In Ingraham's logbook (original in the Smithsonian Library, Washington, DC) he mentions that he named an anchorage "Cruft's Cove after my chief officer...." (volume ii, p.80). This occurred a year (or possibly two) prior to the arrival of Captain Vancouver to the area." :(Information provided to the BCGNIS January 2008 by John Bakke, Portland, Oregon, descendant of John Cruft)

References

* Graham Island Sounds of British Columbia {{BritishColumbiaCoast-geo-stub