The Scott Islands are a group of islands located off the northwestern point of

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 ...

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 ...

Geography

The Scott Islands are located about 10 kilometres (6.4 miles) off of

Cape Scott Provincial Park Cape Scott Provincial Park extends from Shushartie in the east, then westward around Cape Scott and south to San Josef Bay. This coastline comprises the northern tip of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The provincial park is about northwest ...

. The chain consists of Lanz Island, Cox Island, Sartine Island, Beresford Island, and

Triangle Island Triangle Island is a small island, approximately in area,Anne Vallee Triangle Island Ecological Reserve Purpose Statement Ministry of Environmen/ref> located off the northwestern tip of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. It is situated ap ...

, along with several smaller islets and rocks.

Ecology

The Scott Islands are notable for their large

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adaptation, adapted to life within the marine ecosystem, marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent ...

populations, including

thick-billed murre The thick-billed murre or Brünnich's guillemot (''Uria lomvia'') is a bird in the auk family (Alcidae). This bird is named after the Danish zoologist Morten Thrane Brünnich. The very deeply black North Pacific subspecies ''Uria lomvia arra'' i ...

tufted puffin The tufted puffin (''Fratercula cirrhata''), also known as crested puffin, is a relatively abundant medium-sized pelagic seabird in the auk family (Alcidae) found throughout the North Pacific Ocean. It is one of three species of puffin that make ...

marbled murrelet The marbled murrelet (''Brachyramphus marmoratus'') is a small seabird from the North Pacific. It is a member of the family Alcidae, which includes auklets, guillemots, murres and puffins. It nests in old-growth forests or on the ground at hig ...

s, and 55% of the world's breeding population of

Cassin's auklet Cassin's auklet (''Ptychoramphus aleuticus'') is a small, chunky seabird that ranges widely in the North Pacific. It is the only species placed in the genus ''Ptychoramphus''. It nests in small burrows and because of its presence on well studied ...

s. They are also notable for their large populations of

Steller sea lion The Steller sea lion (''Eumetopias jubatus''), also known as Steller's sea lion or the northern sea lion, is a large, near-threatened species of sea lion, predominantly found in the coastal marine habitats of the northeast Pacific Ocean and th ...

s and

rockfish Rockfish is a common term for several species of fish, referring to their tendency to hide among rocks. The name rockfish is used for many kinds of fish used for food. This common name belongs to several groups that are not closely related, and ca ...

Sea otters The sea otter (''Enhydra lutris'') is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between , making them the heaviest members of the weasel fa ...

have recently re-colonized the islands. The islands are located in

hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most widely ...

9b, the warmest in Canada.

Conservation

Lanz and Cox islands are both protected by

Lanz and Cox Islands Provincial Park Lanz and Cox Islands Provincial Park (formerly Scott Islands Marine Provincial Park) is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. It is located off Cape Scott on northern Vancouver Island. See also *Triangle Island Triangle Island is a sma ...

, which is open to the public. Sartine, Triangle, and Beresford are all ecological reserves, which are closed to the public. The waters surrounding the islands are protected by Scott Islands Marine National Wildlife Area.

References

Islands of British Columbia {{BritishColumbia-island-stub