Fitz Hugh Sound, sometimes spelled Fitzhugh Sound, is a

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by ...

on 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 ...

of Canada, located between Calvert Island and the mainland.

Etymology

Fitz Hugh Sound was given its name in 1785 by James Hanna, the first non-indigenous person to find and map it. Hanna was the first British

maritime fur trade The maritime fur trade was a ship-based fur trade system that focused on acquiring furs of sea otters and other animals from the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast and natives of Alaska. The furs were mostly sold in China in e ...

r to visit the Northwest Coast. It was probably named for

William Fitzhugh William Fitzhugh (August 24, 1741June 6, 1809) was an American planter, legislator and patriot during the American Revolutionary War who served as a delegate to the Continental Congress for Virginia in 1779, as well as many terms in the House o ...

who was a partner in the explorations of

John Meares John Meares (c. 1756 – 1809) was an English navigator, explorer, and maritime fur trader, best known for his role in the Nootka Crisis, which brought Britain and Spain to the brink of war. Career Meares' father was Charles Meares, "formerly an ...

Geography

Fitz Hugh Sound is part of a group of named bodies of water around the opening of

Dean Channel Dean Channel is the upper end of one of the longest fjord, 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 ...

, one of the coast's main fjords, where it intersects the infra-insular waterway known as the

Inside Passage The Inside Passage (french: Passage Intérieur) is a coastal route for ships and boats along a network of passages which weave through the islands on the Pacific Northwest coast of the North American Fjordland. The route extends from southeaste ...

. Adjacent water bodies include Fisher Channel to the north, Burke Channel to the northwest, Fish Egg Inlet to its east,

Rivers Inlet Rivers Inlet is a fjord in the Central Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia, its entrance off Fitz Hugh Sound, about southwest of the community of Bella Coola and about north of the northern tip of Vancouver Island and the ...

to its southeast, and Queen Charlotte Sound to its south and west. Beyond Queen Charlotte Sound lies

Queen Charlotte Strait , image = Canadian pilot, near Port Hardy BC.jpg , alt = , caption = A pilot boat plies Queen Charlotte Strait near Port Hardy , image_bathymetry = Locmap-QCS-Hecate-Dixon.png , alt_bathymetry = ...

(to the southeast) and the

open ocean The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean, and can be further divided into regions by depth (as illustrated on the right). The word ''pelagic'' is derived . The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or wa ...

(to the west). Fitz Hugh Sound is the southern limit of the large group of offshore islands known as the

North Coast Archipelago North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

, which extends to the

Dixon Entrance The Dixon Entrance (french: Entrée Dixon) is a strait about long and wide in the Pacific Ocean at the Canada–United States border, between the U.S. state of Alaska and the province of British Columbia in Canada. The Dixon Entrance is part o ...

and the opening of the

Portland Canal , image = Hyder Alaska IMG 0276 (22495379342).jpg , alt = , caption = Portland Canal from Hyder, Alaska , image_bathymetry = , alt_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = Alaska and British Columbia , group = , coordinates ...

at the boundary of

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.S ...

References

External links

* * North Coast of British Columbia Central Coast of British Columbia Sounds of British Columbia {{BritishColumbiaCoast-geo-stub