, image = Hyder Alaska IMG 0276 (22495379342).jpg , alt = , caption = Portland Canal from

Hyder Hyder can refer to: Places *Hyder, Alaska, U.S. **Hyder Seaplane Base *Hyder, Arizona, U.S. **Hyder Valley *Hyder Creek, is a river in New York, U.S. Other uses *Hyder (defunct company), a former Welsh utility company **Hyder Consulting, a subsid ...

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 ...

, image_bathymetry = , alt_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location =

and

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 ...

, group = , coordinates = , type =

Fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Icel ...

, etymology = , part_of = Portland Inlet , inflow = , rivers = , outflow = , oceans = , catchment = , basin_countries =

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 ...

and

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, 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 = Canada British Columbia , pushpin_label_position = , pushpin_map_alt = , pushpin_map_caption = , website = , reference = Portland Canal is an arm of Portland Inlet, one of the principal inlets of the

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 ...

. It is approximately long. The Portland Canal forms part of the border between southeastern

and

. The name of the entire inlet in the Nisga'a language is ', with meaning "at the back of (someplace)". The upper end of the inlet was home to the

Tsetsaut The Tsetsaut (Nisga'a language: ''Jits'aawit''; in the Tsetsaut language: ''Wetaŀ'' or ''Wetaɬ'') were an Athabaskan-speaking group whose territory was around the head of the Portland Canal, straddling what is now the boundary between the US state ...

( in Nisgaʼa), who after being decimated by war and disease were taken under the protection of the Laxsgiik (Eagle) chief of the Nisga'a, who holds the inlet's title in native law. Despite its naming as a

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface f ...

, the inlet is a

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Icel ...

, a completely natural and not man-made geographic feature, and extends northward from the Portland Inlet at Pearse Island, British Columbia, to

Stewart, British Columbia Stewart is a district municipality at the head of the Portland Canal in northwestern British Columbia, Canada, near the Alaskan panhandle. In 2011, its population was about 494. History The Nisga'a, who live around the Nass River, called the ...

and Hyder, Alaska. Observatory Inlet joins the Portland Canal at Ramsden Point, where both merge with Portland Inlet.

Pearse Canal Pearse Canal is a channel or strait forming part of the Canada–United States border at the southern end of the Alaska Panhandle and adjacent to the mouth of Portland Inlet. It is on the northwest side of Wales and Pearse Islands, which are in ...

joins Portland Canal at the north end of Pearse Island. Portland Canal was given its name by

George Vancouver Captain George Vancouver (22 June 1757 – 10 May 1798) was a British Royal Navy officer best known for his 1791–1795 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of what are ...

in 1793, in honour of

William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland William Henry Cavendish Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, (14 April 173830 October 1809) was a British Whig and then a Tory politician during the late Georgian era. He served as Chancellor of the University of Oxford (1792–1809) ...

. The use of the word ''canal'' to name inlets on the

and the

Alaska Panhandle Southeast Alaska, colloquially referred to as the Alaska(n) Panhandle, is the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Alaska, bordered to the east and north by the northern half of the Canadian province of British Columbia (and a small part ...

is a legacy of the Spanish exploration of the area in the 18th century. For example,

Haro Strait , image = Southern Gulf Islands, BC, Canada - panoramio.jpg , image_size = 250px , alt = , caption = View of Haro Strait from South Pender Island , image_bathymetry = Locmap-Haro-Boundary ad ...

between Victoria and the

San Juan Islands The San Juan Islands are an archipelago in the Pacific Northwest of the United States between the U.S. state of Washington and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The San Juan Islands are part of Washington state, and form the core ...

was originally . The English cognate to the Spanish is "channel", which is found throughout the coast, cf.

Dean Channel Dean Channel is the upper end of one of the longest inlets of the British Columbia Coast, from its head at the mouth of the Kimsquit River. The Dean River, one of the main rivers of the Coast Mountains, enters Dean Channel about below the head o ...

. George Vancouver used both terms in his naming of inlets,

Hood Canal Hood Canal is a fjord forming the western lobe, and one of the four main basins,Alaska boundary dispute, which heated up as a result of the Klondike Gold Rush and ended by arbitration in 1903. Together with

and Tongass Passage, the Portland Canal is defined by the Alaska Boundary Settlement (the Hay-Herbert Treaty) as part of Portland Channel (Canal), a term used as forming the marine boundary in the Anglo-Russian Treaty of 1825 but which was undefined at the time.

References

External links

* History of British Columbia Fjords of Alaska Bodies of water of Prince of Wales–Hyder Census Area, Alaska Bodies of water of Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska Fjords of British Columbia North Coast of British Columbia Borders of British Columbia Canada–United States border International fjords Inlets of British Columbia {{fjord-stub

See also

References

External links