Calvert Island is an

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

on the coast of the Canadian province of

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, ...

. It is located east of Queen Charlotte Sound in the Central Coast region, about north of the town of

Port Hardy Port Hardy is a district municipality in British Columbia, Canada located on the north-east end of Vancouver Island. Port Hardy has a population of 4,132 as of the last census (2016). It is the gateway to Cape Scott Provincial Park, the North ...

, which is at the north end of

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 ...

Etymology

Calvert Island was named in 1788 by

Charles Duncan Charles Duncan may refer to: Politics and law * Charles T. Duncan (1838–1915), American lawyer and Virginia state judge * Charles Duncan (politician) Charles Duncan (8 June 1865 – 6 July 1933) was a British Labour Party politician and t ...

, captain of the fur trading vessel . The name probably honors the Calvert family, and perhaps specifically Lord Cecil Calvert, second Baron of Baltimore. The name was retained by George Vancouver and published as such on his maps.

Geography

Calvert Island is long and ranges in width from to . It is in area. The island reaches in elevation. Hecate Island is in area. A number of smaller islands lie just north of Calvert Island, across Kwakshua Channel, the largest of which is

Hecate Island Hecate Island is an island on the British Columbia Coast, Canada, located between Queen Charlotte Sound and Fitz Hugh Sound to the north of Calvert Island Calvert Island is an island in Whitefish Bay, Lake of the Woods in Kenora District, Ont ...

. Hakai Passage separates the islands around Calvert Island from those around Hunter Island to the north. To the east Fitz Hugh Sound, part of the

Inside Passage The Inside Passage (french: Passage Intérieur) is a coastal route for ships and boats along a network of passages which weave through the islands on the Pacific Northwest coast of the North American Fjordland. The route extends from southeaste ...

, separates Calvert Island from the mainland. The mouth of

Rivers Inlet Rivers Inlet is a fjord in the Central Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia, its entrance off Fitz Hugh Sound, about southwest of the community of Bella Coola and about north of the northern tip of Vancouver Island and the ...

is east of the southern end of Calvert Island.

History

The traditional territory of the

Heiltsuk The Heiltsuk or Haíɫzaqv , sometimes historically referred to as ''Bella Bella'', are an Indigenous people of the Central Coast region in British Columbia, centred on the island community of Bella Bella. The government of the Heiltsuk people ...

included Calvert Island, and extended north along Dean Channel and Burke Channel, and along the coastal islands to

Milbanke Sound Milbanke Sound is a sound on the coast of the Canadian province of British Columbia. Geography Milbanke Sound extends east from Queen Charlotte Sound, with Price Island on the west, Swindle Island on the north, and the Bardswell Group of island ...

. Archaeological evidence indicates many thousands of years of habitation in the region. In 2015,

Hakai Institute The Hakai Institute (formerly the Hakai Beach Institute) is a scientific research, teaching and meeting center established by Eric Peterson and Christina Munck on Calvert Island, a remote island on the exposed Pacific edge of the Great Bear Rainf ...

and

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary insti ...

researchers announced that human footprints found on the island could date back 13,200 years making them the oldest known footprints in North America. The footprints are thought to represent a man, woman and child. Their discovery supports the Kelp Highway hypothesis that kelp forests along the North Pacific coast provided a route for the

peopling of the Americas The settlement of the Americas began when Paleolithic hunter-gatherers entered North America from the North Asian Mammoth steppe via the Beringia land bridge, which had formed between northeastern Siberia and western Alaska due to the lowering of ...

. In July 1788, the British fur trader Charles Duncan arrived in the region of Calvert Island. He anchored his ship, the ''Princess Royal'', in Milbanke Sound, then worked his way south, trading with the

and exploring what was then unknown waters to the British. He passed through Hakai Passage into Fitz Hugh Sound, then anchored on the east coast of Calvert Island in Safety Cove. After a brief stay he continued south to

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Protected areas

Just north of Calvert Island in Hakai Pass is the Hakai Luxvbalis Conservancy Area. At more than of land and sea, it is the largest provincial marine protected area on the British Columbia Coast. Hakai Provincial Recreation Area, 50,707 ha in size, includes the northern part of Calvert Island and the southern part of Hunter Island, as well as numerous smaller islands in the area.
Integrated Land Management Bureau

References

External links