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Strait of Georgia

Waterway between Vancouver Island and mainland North America

  • 5 min read
  • 6 chapters
Date: 2020-07-26 Sensor: MODIS on Aqua Resolution: 250m RGB Composites: True color
NASA · Public domain

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Through North America

Archipelagos and narrow channels mark each end of the Strait of Georgia, the Gulf Islands and San Juan Islands in the south, and the Discovery Islands in the north. The main channels to the south are Boundary Pass, Haro Strait and Rosario Strait, which connect the Strait of Georgia to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. In the north, Discovery Passage is the main channel connecting the Strait of Georgia to Johnstone Strait. The strait is a major navigation channel on the west coast of North America, owing to the presence of the port of Vancouver, and also due to its role as the southern entrance to the Intracoastal route known as the Inside Passage.

Geography

The United States Geological Survey defines the southern boundary of the Strait of Georgia as a line running from East Point on Saturna Island to Patos Island, Sucia Island, and Matia Island, then to Point Midgley on Lummi Island. This line touches the northern edges of Rosario Strait, which leads south to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and Boundary Pass, which leads south to Haro Strait and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

The Strait of Georgia has a mean depth of 156 m (512 ft) and average surface area of 6,800 km2 (2,600 mi2). The Ballenas Basin in the centre of the strait reaches a maximum depth of 420 m (1,380 ft) approximately 15 km (9.3 mi) north of Nanaimo.

The Fraser River accounts for roughly 80 percent of the freshwater entering the strait. Water circulates in the strait in a generally counterclockwise direction.

Major islands

The strait contains several major islands, the largest by far being Texada Island at 300.45 km2 (116.00 mi2). Other major islands include Nelson Island, Denman Island, Lasqueti Island, and Hornby Island.

"Gulf of Georgia"

The term "Gulf of Georgia" includes waters other than the Georgia Strait proper, such as the inter-insular straits and channels of the Gulf Islands, and may refer to communities on the shore of southern Vancouver Island. As defined by George Vancouver in 1792, the Gulf of Georgia included all the inland waters beyond the eastern end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, including Puget Sound, Bellingham Bay, the waters around the San Juan Islands, as well as the Strait of Georgia.

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