, image = Pacific Ranges over Johnstone Strait.jpg , image_size = 250px , alt = , caption = Johnstone Strait backdropped by the

Vancouver Island Ranges The Vancouver Island Ranges, formerly called the Vancouver Island Mountains, are a series of mountain ranges extending along the length of Vancouver Island which has an area of . The Vancouver Island Ranges comprise the central and largest part ...

, image_bathymetry = Carte baie Knight.png , alt_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = Map of Johnstone Strait (bottom) and the surrounding islands and inlets , location =

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

, group = , coordinates = , type = Channel , etymology = , part_of = , inflow = , rivers = , outflow = , oceans =

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...

, catchment = , basin_countries = , agency = , designation = , date-built = , engineer = , date-flooded = , length = , width = , area = , depth = , max-depth = , volume = , residence_time = , salinity = , shore = , elevation = , temperature_high = , temperature_low = , frozen = , islands = , islands_category = , sections = , trenches = , benches = , cities = , pushpin_map = British Columbia , pushpin_label_position = , pushpin_map_alt = , pushpin_map_caption = Location in British Columbia , website = , reference = Johnstone Strait (french: Détroit de Johnstone) is a channel along the north east coast 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 by ...

. Opposite the Vancouver Island coast, running north to south, are Hanson Island, West Cracroft Island, the mainland

British Columbia Coast , settlement_type = Region of British Columbia , image_skyline = , nickname = "The Coast" , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = British ...

, Hardwicke Island,

West Thurlow Island West Thurlow Island is an island in British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the Discovery Islands, an archipelago between Vancouver Island and the mainland, whose waters connect the Strait of Georgia with Johnstone Strait and Queen Charlotte Strait ...

and

East Thurlow Island East Thurlow Island is an island in British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the Discovery Islands, an archipelago between Vancouver Island and the mainland, whose waters connect the Strait of Georgia with Johnstone Strait and Queen Charlotte ...

. At that point, the strait meets Discovery Passage which connects to

Georgia Strait The Strait of Georgia (french: Détroit de Géorgie) 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 coas ...

Name origin

The Strait was named by

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

for James Johnstone, master of the armed tender ''Chatham''. In 1792, his survey party established that Vancouver Island was an island.

Geography

The strait is between and wide. It is a major navigation channel on the west coast of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

. It is the preferred channel for vessels from the Georgia Strait leaving to the north of Vancouver Island through the Queen Charlotte Strait bound for

Prince Rupert Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 (O.S.) / 27 December (N.S.) – 29 November 1682 (O.S.)) was an English army officer, admiral, scientist and colonial governor. He first came to prominence as a Royalist caval ...

Haida Gwaii Haida Gwaii (; hai, X̱aaydag̱a Gwaay.yaay / , literally "Islands of the Haida people") is an archipelago located between off the northern Pacific coast of Canada. The islands are separated from the mainland to the east by the shallow Heca ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U ...

, and the North Pacific Ocean, and for southbound vessels from those areas bound for the ports of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

and Tacoma. There are no cities or towns along the length of the strait. Telegraph Cove and Robson Bight on Vancouver Island are along the strait near its north end and the village of

Sayward Sayward is a village located in the Sayward Valley on the northeast coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It is about inland from Kelsey Bay on a spur from Highway 19. The village (like its West Kootenays namesake) was cal ...

on Kelsey Bay is near its midpoint.

Ecology

During the summer months, the Strait is home to approximately 150

orca The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only extant species in the genus '' Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black-and-white ...

s, which are often seen by kayakers and boaters packed with tourists. Scientists including

Michael Bigg Michael Andrew Bigg (December 22, 1939 – October 18, 1990) was an English-born Canadian marine biologist who is recognized as the founder of modern research on killer whales. With his colleagues, he developed new techniques for studying kille ...

and

Paul Spong Paul Spong is a Canadian neuroscientist and cetologist from originally from New Zealand. He has been researching orcas (or killer whales) in British Columbia since 1967, and is credited with increasing public awareness of whaling, through his in ...

have been researching the orcas in the Strait since 1970. Spong established the OrcaLab, based on studying the Orcas in their natural habitat without interfering with their lives or their habitat.Orcalab.org
/ref> The strait includes the Robson Bight (Michael Bigg) Ecological Reserve.

References

External links

Orcas of Johnstone Strait
* {{British Columbia hydrography Landforms of the Discovery Islands Straits of British Columbia Bodies of water of Vancouver Island Central Coast of British Columbia

Name origin

Geography

Ecology

See also

References

External links