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Archipelago

    Snake Island

    49°13′N 123°53′W

    Snake Island is a small, uninhabited, rocky island northeast of Nanaimo. It is a minor member of the large group of islands east of southern Vancouver Island called the Gulf Islands. It is a bird sanctuary to nesting bird breeds of Glaucous-winged Gulls and Pelagic Cormorants.

    Snake Island, Nanaimo
    Snake Island, Nanaimo

    KenWalker / CC BY-SA 4.0

    Terrain

    49°13′N 123°53′W

    Terrain exaggerated for relief. Drag to look around.

    Overview

    Snake Island is a small, uninhabited, rocky island northeast of Nanaimo. It is a minor member of the large group of islands east of southern Vancouver Island called the Gulf Islands. 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 seals 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 HMCS Cape Breton, a Second World War Victory ship. The vessel was acquired and prepared by the Artificial Reef Society of British Columbia.

    From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

    Chart

    Nearest islands

    Also in Gulf Islands

    Sources

    Facts

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

    Photographs