, image = Looking up Sutil Channel, Quadra Island.jpg , image_size = 260px , alt = , caption = Looking up Sutil Channel from

Quadra Island Quadra Island is a large island off the eastern coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the Discovery Islands, in the Strathcona Regional District. Etymology In 1903, the island was named after the Peruvian Span ...

, image_bathymetry = Locmap-SutilChannel.png , alt_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = Location of Sutil Channel among the

Discovery Islands The Discovery Islands are a group of islands located at the northern end of the Salish Sea and the eastern end of Johnstone Strait, between Vancouver Island and the mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada. Most of these islands have very fe ...

, location =

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 ...

, group = , coordinates = , type =

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 chan ...

, etymology = , part_of = , inflow = , rivers = , outflow = , oceans = Salish Sea , catchment = , basin_countries = , agency = , designation = , date-built = , engineer = , date-flooded = , length = , width = , area = , depth = , max-depth = , volume = , residence_time = , salinity = , shore = , elevation = , temperature_high = , temperature_low = , frozen = , islands = Coulter Island, Hill Island, Marina Island, Penn Islands , islands_category = , sections = , trenches = , benches = , cities = , pushpin_map = British Columbia , pushpin_label_position = , pushpin_map_alt = , pushpin_map_caption = , website = , reference = Sutil Channel (french: Canal Sutil) is a broad

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 chan ...

located in the

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 ...

Etymology

Sutil Channel was named around 1864 by Captain

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. ...

in honor of the ship '' Sutil'' used by

Dionisio Alcalá Galiano Dionisio Alcalá Galiano (8 October 1760 – 21 October 1805) was a Spanish naval officer, cartographer, and explorer. He mapped various coastlines in Europe and the Americas with unprecedented accuracy using new technology such as chronomete ...

in exploring the region in 1792. A group of small islands in Sutil Channel called the Subtle Islands are named for Galiano's ship as well, translated to English.

Geography

Extent

Sutil Channel is located between

Cortes Island Cortes Island is an island in the Discovery Islands archipelago on the coast of British Columbia, Canada. The island is long, wide, and in area. It has a population of 1,035 permanent residents (2016 census). Cortes Island lies within Electora ...

to the east, and

and Read Island to the west. It connects Calm Channel to the north with the

Strait of Georgia The Strait of Georgia (french: Détroit de Géorgie) or the Georgia Strait is an arm of the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the extreme southwestern mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada and the extreme northwestern mainland coast ...

to the south. Hoskyn Channel branches off toward the northwest from the Sutil Channel between Read Island and Quadra Island. Van Densp Inlet branches off from the northern end of the channel to incise Cortes Island from the northwest. The southern boundary of Sutil Channel, where it joins the Strait of Georgia, is defined as a line between Francisco Point, at the southeast end of Quadra Island, to Sutil Point, the southern end of Cortes Island. Sometimes Cape Mudge instead of Francisco Point is mentioned as the southern end of Quadra Island. The boundary between Sutil Channel and Hoskyn Channel is a line between Rebecca Spit on Quadra Island and Read Point on Read Island. Wide in the south, Sutil Channel narrows in the north, and merges with Calm Channel at the northernmost point of Cortes Island in the vicinity of the Rendezvous Islands. Settlements on the shore of Sutil Channel include Whaletown on Cortes Island.

Desolation Sound , image = Desolation sound 2006.jpg , image_size = 250px , alt = , caption = Desolation Sound , image_bathymetry = Carte baie Desolation fr.png , alt_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry ...

, which strictly defined does not directly connect to Sutil Channel, is sometimes used loosely as all the waters north of Cape Mudge and Sarah Point, including Sutil Channel and

Discovery Passage , image = Discovery Passage.jpg , image_size = 250px , caption = Looking south from between Vancouver Island and Sonora Island , image_bathymetry = Locmap-DiscoveryPassage.png , caption_bathymetry = , loc ...

Major features

The major bays of Sutil Channel include Burwood Bay, Carrington Bay, Coulter Bay, Evans Bay, George Harbour, and Manson Bay. The major islands of Sutil Channel include Coulter Island, Hill Island, Marina Island, and the Penn Islands.

Hydrology

The Penn Islands of Sutil Channel delineate part of the northern limit of the Salish Sea.Environmental History and Features of Puget Sound
, NOAA-NWFSC

References