Stephens Island (British Columbia)

Stephens Island (British Columbia)
Native name:
Ksgaxl
Northeast end of Stephens Island, as seen from Brown Passage
Stephens Island is located in British Columbia
Stephens Island
Stephens Island
Geography
Coordinates54°09′28″N 130°43′54″W / 54.15778°N 130.73167°W / 54.15778; -130.73167 (Stephens Island)[1]
Area14,000 ha (35,000 acres)

Stephens Island is an island on the British Columbia Coast, Canaded in the Hecate Strait to the northwest of Porcher Island and to the southwest of the city of Prince Rupert.[1] Its main geographic feature is Mount Stephens, at 432 m (1417 feet),[2] on the island's southeast end at 54°07′39″N 130°40′15″W / 54.12750°N 130.67083°W / 54.12750; -130.67083 (Mount Stephens).[3] To its northwest is Congreve Hill, at 150 m (492 feet),[4] at 54°09′29″N 130°42′31″W / 54.15806°N 130.70861°W / 54.15806; -130.70861 (Congreve Hill).

The island was named by Captain Vancouver in honour of Sir Philip Stephens, secretary to the Admiralty from 1763 to 1795.[5]: 255 

The Early Cretaceous Stephens Island pluton dates to the Albian era (102±8 Ma).[6]

Indian reserves

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Squaderee Indian Reserve No. 91 is located on the west side of the island's northern part, at 54°08′00″N 130°47′00″W / 54.13333°N 130.78333°W / 54.13333; -130.78333 (Squadaree IR No. 9)[7] on Skiakl Bay at 54°08′17″N 130°47′02″W / 54.13806°N 130.78389°W / 54.13806; -130.78389 (Skiakl Bay),[8] in which there is a small island, Skiakl Island, at 54°07′38″N 130°45′44″W / 54.12722°N 130.76222°W / 54.12722; -130.76222 (Skiakl Island).[9]

Off Stephens Island's northern tip is Avery Island at 54°12′42″N 130°45′32″W / 54.21167°N 130.75889°W / 54.21167; -130.75889 (Avery Island),[10] the whole of which constitutes Avery Island Indian Reserve No. 92,[11] Both it and Squadaree IR No. 9 are under the administration of the Metlakatla First Nation.[12][13] It lies in Qlawdzeet Anchorage which is at 54°12′15″N 130°46′09″W / 54.20417°N 130.76917°W / 54.20417; -130.76917 (Qlawdzeet Anchorage).[14] Overlooking that from the south, at the northern tip of Stephens Island itself, is Qlawd Hill at 54°11′28″N 130°46′29″W / 54.19111°N 130.77472°W / 54.19111; -130.77472 (Qlawd Hill).[15]

Looking at Prescott island from Chatham Sound

Other features and adjoining islands

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Other small islands adjoining Stephens Island include Skiakl Island, Philip Island, Parry Island, Arthur Island, and Joyce Island.[16]

Prescott Island is the largest of the small islands around Stephens Island, lying to its southeast between it and Porcher Island at 54°11′28″N 130°46′29″W / 54.19111°N 130.77472°W / 54.19111; -130.77472 (Prescott Island).[17]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Stephens Island". BC Geographical Names.
  2. ^ Bivouac Mountain Encyclopedia entry "Mount Stephens"
  3. ^ BC Names/GeoBC entry "Mount Stephens"
  4. ^ Bivouac Mountain Encyclopedia entry "Congreve Hill"
  5. ^ Akrigg, G.P.V.; Akrigg, Helen B. (1986), British Columbia Place Names (3rd, 1997 ed.), Vancouver: UBC Press, ISBN 0-7748-0636-2
  6. ^ Symons DT (1977). "Paleomagnetism of Mesozoic plutons in the westernmost Coast Complex of British Columbia". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 14 (9): 2127–39. Bibcode:1977CaJES..14.2127S. doi:10.1139/e77-180. Retrieved 2020-07-11.
  7. ^ BC Names/GeoBC entry "Squadaree 9 (Indian reserve)"
  8. ^ BC Names/GeoBC entry "Skiakl Bay"
  9. ^ BC Names/GeoBC entry "Skiakl Island"
  10. ^ BC Names/GeoBC entry "Avery Island"
  11. ^ BC Names/GeoBC entry "Avery Island 92 (Indian reserve)"
  12. ^ Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Reserve/Settlement/Village Detail
  13. ^ Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Reserve/Settlement/Village Detail
  14. ^ BC Names/GeoBC entry "Qlawdzeet Anchorage"
  15. ^ [http.gov.bc.ca/pub/bcgnws/names/37033.html BC Names/GeoBC entry "Qlawd Hill"]
  16. ^ BC Names/GeoBC 10km radius search around "Stephens Island" entry
  17. ^ "Prescott Island". BC Geographical Names.