Dundas Island (British Columbia)
Native name: Kwaexl[1] | |
|---|---|
_location_map.svg.png)  Dundas Island | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Chatham Sound |
| Coordinates | 54°33′47″N 130°52′22″W / 54.56306°N 130.87278°W |
| Administration | |
Canada | |
| Province | British Columbia |
| Land District | Range 5 Coast Land District[2] |
| Additional information | |
| Time zone | |
Dundas Island (Tsimshian: Kwaexl French: île Dundas) is an island on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada,[3] at the northern entrance to Chatham Sound, 1.6 km (0.99 mi) south of BC's international border with Alaska.[4] The island is of great cultural significance to area First Nations.[1]
It is the largest of a group of islands known as the Dundas Archipelago, it has high local relief, and an irregular and predominantly rocky coastline. Drainage consists mainly of flat creeks and seasonal streams with gravel streambeds to about 6 m (20 ft) above sea level, which then abruptly descend to the coast.[4]
The Dundas Archipelago are part of the Lax Kwaxl/Dundas and Melville Islands Conservancy.[5] The conservancy was designated in 2008 as part of the North Coast Land and Resource Management Plan.
The surrounding waters are often rough, especially on the western and northern sides, due to strong tides, currents, and Pacific weather systems.[6] Off the coast is the Grey Islet Automated Weather Station, providing localized weather observations.[7]
Geology
Dundas Island lies within the Alexander Terrane, and is an outcrop of older mafic metavolcanic rocks and metagreywacke from the Paleozoic through Mesozoic, intruded by younger Cretaceous plutons of quartz diorite, diorite, gabbro, and granodiorite. Rocks have been metamorphosed to greenschist facies and displays foliation that dips to the southeast.[8]
History
The island and its archipelago were named in 1792 by Captain George Vancouver in honour of the Rt. Hon. Henry Dundas (1742–1811), Treasurer of the Navy, 1783–1801, who was granted the title of Viscount Melville in 1802 and also named Baron Dunira.[3] The Dundas islands were originally perceived by Vancouver to be one island which he named Dundas's Island. Among the smaller islands of the group are Baron Island, Dunira Island, Melville Island and other small islands and islets on the west side of Chatham Sound between Brown and Caamaño Passages.
Dundas' son, Robert Dundas, 2nd Viscount Melville is the namesake of Melville Island in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, and also Melville Island in Australia, which was the site of the short-lived Fort Dundas.
References
- ^ a b "Kitsumkalum Declaration (2013)" (PDF). Kitsumkalum, a Galts’ap (community) of the Tsimshian Nation. Kitsumkalum First Nation. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
- ^ "Dundas Island". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 2026-01-04.
- ^ a b "Dundas Island". BC Geographical Names.
- ^ a b McLaren, Darryl (2008). Sea Level Change and Archaeological Site Locations on the Dundas Island Archipelago, British Columbia (PDF) (PhD dissertation). University of Victoria. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
- ^ "Lax Kwaxl/Dundas and Melville Islands Conservancy". BC Geographical Names.
- ^ United States Coast Pilot 8: Pacific Coast, Alaska, Dixon Entrance to Cape Spencer (22nd ed.). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Ocean Service. 1996. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
- ^ PAC 205 Canadian Sailing Directions, Dixon Entrance, Hecate Strait and Approaches (PDF). Canadian Hydrographic Service. 2022. p. 435. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
- ^ Gehrels, G. E. (2001). "Geology of the Chatham Sound region, southeast Alaska and coastal British Columbia". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 38 (11): 1579–1599. doi:10.1139/e01-040.