Dean Channel facts for kids
Dean Channel is a long, narrow arm of the sea, also known as a fjord. It's located on the British Columbia Coast in Canada. This channel stretches about 105 kilometers (65 miles) from its start at the Kimsquit River. The Dean River, a big river from the Coast Mountains, flows into Dean Channel near the small community of Kimsquit.
History of Dean Channel
Dean Channel got its name in 1793 from Captain George Vancouver. He named it after Rev. James King, who was a "Dean" (a type of church leader) in Ireland. Later, in 1861, Captain Richards explored and mapped the channel using his ship, HMS Hecate. Dean Channel is part of the beautiful Central Coast region.
Connected Waterways
Dean Channel is part of a much larger system of waterways. As you travel down the channel, its name changes.
- Near the mouth of Cousins Inlet, it becomes Fisher Channel. This area was once home to the abandoned town of Ocean Falls.
- Fisher Channel is about 40 kilometers (25 miles) long.
- After Fisher Channel, it joins with Burke Channel. Burke Channel is about 70 kilometers (43 miles) long and runs along the east side of King Island.
- At this point, the waterway's name changes again to Fitz Hugh Sound. This sound is much wider, about 10 kilometers (6 miles) across, and is about 60 kilometers (37 miles) long.
- Fitz Hugh Sound passes inside Calvert Island and opens up into Queen Charlotte Sound.
The total length of this main fjord system, from Dean Channel to Fitz Hugh Sound, is about 170 kilometers (105 miles). This makes it one of the longest fjords, similar in length to Hardangerfjord in Norway. If you add in other connected arms like South Bentinck Arm, North Bentinck Arm, Burke Channel, and Kwatna Inlet, the total length of these waterways reaches about 335 kilometers (208 miles)! This is longer than Norway's Sognefjord and almost as long as Scoresby Sound in Greenland.
North Bentinck Arm
North Bentinck Arm is a special side-inlet of Burke Channel. It's famous because it's where the explorer Alexander Mackenzie reached the Pacific Ocean in 1793. Mackenzie was on an overland journey to find a route to the sea. On July 20, 1793, he arrived at North Bentinck Arm.
The next day, Mackenzie and four Nuxalk people traveled by canoe to Dean Channel. He wanted to see the open ocean. He stopped at the ruins of an old Heiltsuk village on the north side of Dean Channel. There, he wrote his name on a rock. This rock is now part of Sir Alexander Mackenzie Provincial Park. Mackenzie didn't know that Captain George Vancouver had visited the same area just a few weeks before him!
The town of Bella Coola is located at the very end of North Bentinck Arm. Bella Coola is a version of the Heiltsuk name for the Nuxalk people. Bella Coola is important because it's the only community on this part of the coast that has a road connection to the rest of British Columbia. You can reach it via British Columbia Highway 20 through the Chilcotin region.
