Sechelt Inlet formerly ''Seechelt Inlet'' is one of the principal

inlets An inlet is a (usually long and narrow) indentation of a shoreline, such as a small arm, bay, sound, fjord, lagoon or marsh, that leads to an enclosed larger body of water such as a lake, estuary, gulf or marginal sea. Overview In marine geog ...

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 ...

. The inlet is significant in that it almost makes an island of what is instead the

Sechelt Peninsula The Sechelt Peninsula is located on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia, just northwest of Vancouver. It is bounded to the west by Malaspina Strait (separating it from Texada Island), to the north by Agamemnon Channel (separating it from Nels ...

, whose

isthmus An isthmus (; ; ) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea counterpart of an isthm ...

is at the town of

Sechelt Sechelt (, Shishalh language chat'lich) is a district municipality located on the lower Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. Approximately 50 km northwest of Vancouver, it is accessible from mainland British Columbia by a 40-minute ferry ...

at the head of the inlet. The isthmus is less than in distance. Sechelt Inlet's mouth is at

Jervis Inlet , image = MtFWAir.jpg , image_size = 260px , pushpin_map=British Columbia , caption = Mount Frederick William & the "elbow" of the inlet , image_bathymetry = Carte simplifiée baie Jervis.svg , caption_bathymetry = Map of Jervis Inlet , locat ...

, inland from the

Malaspina Strait Malaspina Strait is a strait in the northern Gulf of Georgia- Sunshine Coast region of British Columbia, Canada. It separates Texada Island from the upper Sunshine Coast-Malaspina Peninsula area on the adjacent mainland. The strait and the pen ...

. Also significant about Sechelt Inlet are, near the inlet's mouth, the Sechelt Rapids within the

Skookumchuck Narrows Skookumchuck Narrows is a strait forming the entrance of Sechelt Inlet on British Columbia's Sunshine Coast in Canada. Before broadening into Sechelt Inlet, all of its tidal flow together with that of Salmon Inlet and Narrows Inlet must pass ...

, which rage with near waterfall-like fury during tidal flow, both incoming and outgoing. Other fjords on the British Columbia Coast have similar rapids, also called

skookumchuck Skookumchuck () is a Chinook Jargon term that is in common use in British Columbia English and occurs in Pacific Northwest English. ''Skookum'' means "strong" or "powerful", and "chuck" means water, so ''skookumchuck'' means "rapids" or "whitewat ...

s (''strong waters'' in the Chinook Jargon, the old coastal

trade language A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...

), which like Sechelt Inlet are caused by the typical shallows and narrows near the mouth of a fjord as the volume of water inside the fjord's depths tries to pour out to, or in from, the more open waters beyond. In Sechelt Inlet's case, the Skookumchuck Narrows are exactly as its name describes - narrow - forcing the water to an even greater torrent than is typical elsewhere. Sechelt Inlet has two side-inlets, Salmon Inlet, which begins at a small power dam at the mouth of the

Clowhom River The Clowhom River is a short, river in British Columbia. It flows into the head of the Salmon Inlet about 26.2 km west of Squamish. Course The Clowhom originates at the outlet of a tiny, unnamed lake on the south slopes of Mount Jimm ...

and is about in length, and Narrows Inlet, which starts at the mouth of the

Tzoonie River The Tzoonie River is a remote, short river that enters the head of the Narrows Inlet about 36.6 km north of Sechelt, British Columbia. Course The Tzoonie River originates at the outlet of Tzoonie Lake, a remote lake located about 6.3 ...

and includes the Tzoonie Narrows. The latter is about in length and emerges on the main inlet just inside the inner mouth of the Skookumchuck Narrows. From early April to late September 2007, the inlet was a habitat for over 200

Pacific white-sided dolphin The Pacific white-sided dolphin (''Lagenorhynchus obliquidens''), also known as the hookfin porpoise, is an active dolphin found in the cool or temperate waters of the North Pacific Ocean. Taxonomy The Pacific white-sided dolphin was named by Sm ...

. These social mammals seemed to enjoy seeking the attention of their human observers.

See also