Active Pass ( Saanich: SḴŦAḴ) is a

strait A strait is a water body connecting two seas or water basins. The surface water is, for the most part, at the same elevation on both sides and flows through the strait in both directions, even though the topography generally constricts the ...

separating Galiano Island in the north and Mayne Island in the south in the southern

Gulf Islands The Gulf Islands is a group of islands in the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the British Columbia Coast, mainland coast of British Columbia. Etymology The name "Gulf Islands" comes from "Gulf of Georgia", the original term used by Geor ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. It connects the Trincomali Channel in the west and the

Strait of Georgia The Strait of Georgia () 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 of Washington, United Stat ...

in the east. The pass stretches 5.5 km from northeast to southwest with two roughly right-angle bends, one at each end. It was named for the USCS ''Active'', a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

survey vessel, the first steamer to navigate the pass in 1855. From 1967 to 2011, the Active Pass light station was part of the

British Columbia Shore Station Oceanographic Program The British Columbia Shore Station Oceanographic Program is a sea surface temperature and salinity monitoring program on the Canadian coast of the northeast Pacific Ocean. The program is administered by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and regroups 12 ...

, collecting coastal water temperature and salinity measurements for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans everyday for 44 years. Currently, the pass is a major shipping lane and is primarily used by

BC Ferries British Columbia Ferry Services Inc., Trade name, operating as BC Ferries (BCF), is a former provincial Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation, now operating as an independently managed, State-owned enterprise, publicly owned Canadian c ...

' passenger and vehicle ferry runs between Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal at Tsawwassen,

Lower Mainland The Lower Mainland is a geographic and cultural region of the mainland coast of British Columbia that generally comprises the regional districts of Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. Home to approximately 3.05million people as of the 2021 ...

, the southern Gulf Islands and Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal at Swartz Bay,

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 ...

. Because the pass has a

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

's narrowness, the ferries pass extremely close to its shores. It is also used by pleasure craft,

fishing boat A fishing vessel is a boat or ship used to catch fish and other valuable nektonic aquatic animals (e.g. shrimps/prawns, krills, coleoids, etc.) in the sea, lake or river. Humans have used different kinds of surface vessels in commercial, arti ...

s, freighters and freight ferries, making it very 'active' commercially as well. However, strong eddies and tide rips are always present in the pass, making it a hazardous corridor for smaller vessels to transit. A variety of wildlife may be seen in the pass, including harbour seals, sea lions,

bald eagles The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a Species complex, species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies ...

, and

orcas The orca (''Orcinus orca''), or killer whale, is a toothed whale and the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. The only extant species in the genus '' Orcinus'', it is recognizable by its black-and-white-patterned body. A cosmopoli ...

Accidents in Active Pass

*On 8 September 1968, HMCS Saskatchewan ran aground while transiting Active Pass in fog. The captain was court martialed and found guilty of negligence. *On 2 August 1970, three people aboard the BC Ferry ''Queen of Victoria'' perished and the ship itself suffered close to $1 million damage when a Russian freighter, the ''Sergey Yesenin'', struck it in Active Pass.Bannerman, Gary and Patricia. The Ships of British Columbia. pp.109–110. Hancock House. 1985 *On 9 August 1979, the BC Ferry '' Queen of Alberni'' ran aground at Collinson Reef in Active Pass, causing the vessel to tip dramatically to one side. Extensive vehicle and ship damage occurred, as well as the casualty of a racehorse. *On 6 November 2015, a man jumped from the deck of a BC Ferry in Active Pass and swam to Galiano Island. He was later arrested after breaking into a cabin.

See more

* List of BC Ferries accidents and incidents

References

External links

Google Maps - Active Pass
Landforms of the Gulf Islands Straits of British Columbia Fluid dynamics {{BritishColumbiaCoast-geo-stub