Snake Island is a small, uninhabited, rocky island northeast of

Nanaimo Nanaimo ( ) is a city of about 100,000 on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. "The Harbour City" was previously known as the "Hub City", which was attributed to its original layout design with streets radiating fr ...

. It is a minor member of the large group of islands east of southern

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 ...

called the

Gulf Islands The Gulf Islands is a group of islands in the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the British Columbia Coast, mainland coast of British Columbia. Etymology The name "Gulf Islands" comes from "Gulf of Georgia", the original term used by Geor ...

. It is a bird sanctuary to nesting bird breeds of Glaucous-winged Gulls and Pelagic Cormorants. The island is a frequent destination for local wildlife tours, and the rocky shores and reefs around the island are popular with divers. It is also home to a colony of

harbour seal The harbor (or harbour) seal (''Phoca vitulina''), also known as the common seal, is a true seal found along temperate and Arctic marine coastlines of the Northern Hemisphere. The most widely distributed species of pinnipeds, pinniped (walruses ...

s who have become accustomed to divers in the water, and will interact with them. The Island may get its name from the image of a snake’s head that appears in the coastal rocks at low tide. Snake Island is near the site of the artificial reef created by the sinking of , a

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Victory ship The Victory ship was a class of cargo ship produced in large numbers by American shipyards during World War II. They were a more modern design compared to the earlier Liberty ship, were slightly larger and had more powerful steam turbine engin ...

. The vessel was acquired and prepared by the Artificial Reef Society of British Columbia.

References

External links

Artificial Reef Society of BC
* Uninhabited islands of British Columbia Regional District of Nanaimo {{BritishColumbia-island-stub