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Archipelago

    Pacific OceanCanada

    50°17′N 125°09′W

    Discovery Islands

    The Discovery Islands are a group of islands located at the northern end of the Salish Sea and the eastern end of Johnstone Strait, between Vancouver Island and the mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada.

    Discovery Islands
    Discovery Islands

    Wpcpey / CC BY 4.0

    Chart

    618 landforms

    Overview

    The Discovery Islands are a group of islands located at the northern end of the Salish Sea and the eastern end of Johnstone Strait, between Vancouver Island and the mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada. Most of these islands have very few residents. Only Quadra Island and Cortes Island have ferry service. The remainder are served by private boat or float plane.

    From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

    Census, cataloged

    • Major islands10
    • Minor islands55
    • Islets325
    • Rocks & skerries228

    Major islands

    10
    • Quadra Island

      Quadra Island

      Area
      272 km²
      High point
      610 m

      Quadra Island is a large island off the eastern coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the Discovery Islands, in the Strathcona Regional District.

    • West Redonda Island

      West Redonda Island

      Area
      174 km²
      High point
      1,047 m

      West Redonda Island is an island in British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the Discovery Islands, an archipelago between Vancouver Island and the mainland, and between the Strait of Georgia and Johnstone Strait.

    • Sonora Island

      Sonora Island

      Area
      165 km²
      High point
      893 m

      Sonora Island is one of the outer islands (without ferry service) of the Discovery Islands of British Columbia, Canada. It is at the eastern end of the Johnstone Strait and the northern end of the Discovery Passage within Electoral Area C of the Strathcona Regional District.

    • Cortes Island

      Cortes Island

      Area
      127 km²
      High point
      444 m

      Cortes Island is an island in the Discovery Islands archipelago on the coast of British Columbia, Canada. The island is 25 km (16 mi) long, 13 km (8 mi) wide, and 130 km2 (50 sq mi) in area. It has a population of 1,035 permanent residents (2016 census).

    • West Thurlow Island

      West Thurlow Island

      Area
      81.3 km²
      High point
      566 m

      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 the Johnstone Strait and the Queen Charlotte Strait.

    • Read Island

      Read Island

      Area
      57.4 km²
      High point
      435 m

      Read Island is an island in British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the Discovery Islands between Vancouver Island and the mainland, between the Strait of Georgia and Johnstone Strait.

    • East Thurlow Island

      Area
      106 km²
      High point
      662 m

      East Thurlow Island is an island in British Columbia, Canada.

    • East Redonda Island

      Area
      100 km²
      High point
      1,591 m

      East Redonda Island is a coastal island in British Columbia, Canada, part of the Discovery Islands archipelago. It lies just to the north of Desolation Sound Marine Park, which is located off the north end of the Malaspina Peninsula at the mouth of Toba Inlet within Electoral Area C of the Strathcona Regional District.

    • Hardwicke Island

      Area
      76.3 km²
      High point
      804 m

      Hardwicke Island is an island in British Columbia, Canada, measuring approximately 78 square kilometres (30 sq mi).

    • Maurelle Island

      Area
      57.1 km²
      High point
      453 m

      Maurelle Island is an island in British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the Discovery Islands between Vancouver Island and the mainland, between the Strait of Georgia and Johnstone Strait.

    Minor islands

    55

    Rocks & skerries

    228

    On the chart above, at its closest zooms.

    Listing 65 of 618; the rest are on the chart.

    Figures

    Comparative heights

    Sea level500 m1,000 m1,500 m2,000 m1,591 mEast Redonda1,047 mWest Redonda906 mRaza893 mSonora804 mHardwicke662 mEast Thurlow610 mQuadra566 mWest Thurlow510 mStuart453 mMaurelle444 mCortes435 mRead174 mNorth Rendezvous146 mTwin Islands
    High points by island, metres above sea level.

    Islands by area

    0.11101001,000Quadra: 272 km²QuadraWest Redonda: 174 km²West RedondaSonora: 165 km²SonoraCortes: 127 km²CortesEast Thurlow: 106 km²East ThurlowEast Redonda: 100 km²East RedondaWest Thurlow: 81.3 km²West ThurlowHardwicke: 76.3 km²HardwickeRead: 57.4 km²ReadMaurelle: 57.1 km²MaurelleRaza: 16.8 km²RazaStuart: 16.8 km²StuartHernando: 9.9 km²HernandoMarina: 8.7 km²MarinaSavary: 4.9 km²SavaryMink: 3.2 km²MinkTwin Islands: 3 km²Twin IslandsNorth Rendezvous: 1.5 km²North RendezvousHelmcken: 1.4 km²HelmckenGowlland: 1.2 km²GowllandSouth Rendezvous: 1.1 km²South RendezvousKinghorn: 0.81 km²KinghornPenn Islands: 0.63 km²Penn IslandsHill: 0.53 km²HillWalkem Islands: 0.52 km²Walkem IslandsMartin Islands: 0.47 km²Martin IslandsDent: 0.47 km²DentHardinge: 0.41 km²HardingeMitlenatch: 0.41 km²MitlenatchEveleigh: 0.41 km²EveleighMelville: 0.41 km²MelvilleBold: 0.37 km²BoldSubtle Islands: 0.36 km²Subtle IslandsTurn: 0.35 km²TurnAllies: 0.34 km²AlliesGillard Islands: 0.33 km²Gillard IslandsSturt: 0.33 km²SturtYorke: 0.32 km²YorkeUnnamed island: 0.31 km²Unnamed islandMiddle Rendezvous: 0.29 km²Middle Rendezvous
    km², log scale. 1 without a known area.
    Quadra Island272 km²
    West Redonda Island174 km²
    Sonora Island165 km²
    Cortes Island127 km²
    East Thurlow Island106 km²
    East Redonda Island100 km²
    West Thurlow Island81.3 km²
    Hardwicke Island76.3 km²
    Read Island57.4 km²
    Maurelle Island57.1 km²
    Raza Island16.8 km²
    Stuart Island16.8 km²
    Hernando Island9.9 km²
    Marina Island8.7 km²
    Savary Island4.9 km²
    Mink Island3.2 km²
    Twin Islands3 km²
    North Rendezvous Island1.5 km²
    Helmcken Island1.4 km²
    Gowlland Island1.2 km²
    South Rendezvous Island1.1 km²
    Kinghorn Island0.81 km²
    Penn Islands0.63 km²
    Hill Island0.53 km²
    Walkem Islands0.52 km²
    Martin Islands0.47 km²
    Dent Island0.47 km²
    Hardinge Island0.41 km²
    Mitlenatch Island0.41 km²
    Eveleigh Island0.41 km²
    Melville Island0.41 km²
    Bold Island0.37 km²
    Subtle Islands0.36 km²
    Turn Island0.35 km²
    Allies Island0.34 km²
    Gillard Islands0.33 km²
    Sturt Island0.33 km²
    Yorke Island0.32 km²
    Unnamed island0.31 km²
    Middle Rendezvous Island0.29 km²
    Otter Island0.27 km²
    Okis Islands0.24 km²
    Morgan Island0.23 km²
    Unnamed island0.22 km²
    Erasmus Island0.21 km²
    Unnamed island0.21 km²
    Octopus Islands0.2 km²
    Unnamed island0.2 km²
    Unnamed island0.2 km²
    Goepel Island0.19 km²
    Coulter Island0.18 km²
    Elizabeth Island0.18 km²
    Unnamed island0.17 km²
    Tan Island0.16 km²
    Unnamed island0.15 km²
    Peck Island0.14 km²
    Block Island0.13 km²
    Unnamed island0.13 km²
    Howe Island0.13 km²
    Protection Island0.12 km²
    Copplestone Island0.1 km²
    Grouse Island0.1 km²
    Cordero Islands0.1 km²
    Little Dent Island0.1 km²

    Groups within

    2

    Overlapping groups

    Sources

    Facts

    • Geometry, areas and high points: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Copernicus GLO-30, via Talus.
    • Wikidata
    • Wikipedia

    Photographs