Virago Sound facts for kids

Virago Sound is a special kind of water area, like a long, wide bay, found on the northern coast of Graham Island. This island is part of the beautiful Haida Gwaii islands (also known as the Queen Charlotte Islands) in British Columbia, Canada. You can find Virago Sound right at the entrance to Naden Harbour.

How Virago Sound Got Its Name

Virago Sound was named after a ship called the HMS Virago. This ship was a Royal Navy sloop-of-war, which is a type of warship. In 1853, the HMS Virago was exploring and mapping these waters, led by a captain named George H. Inskip.

The Haida Name for the Sound

The Haida people, who are the original inhabitants of this land, had their own name for this area. They called it "tin-eye", which means "big."

An Earlier Name: Port Crafts

Before it was named Virago Sound, this area had another name. In 1792, a captain named Joseph Ingraham sailed here on his ship, the Hope. He decided to name these waters "Port Crafts" after his first officer, John Croft (or Cruft).

Here's what was written about it:

"In 1791, Captain Joseph Ingraham on the small brig Hope out of Boston, Massachusetts, spent time along the British Columbia coast trading for furs at Native American villages. His first officer was John Cruft. In Ingraham's logbook (original in the Smithsonian Library, Washington, DC) he mentions that he named an anchorage "Cruft's Cove after my chief officer...." (volume ii, p.80). This occurred a year (or possibly two) prior to the arrival of Captain Vancouver to the area."

(Information provided to the BCGNIS January 2008 by John Bakke, Portland, Oregon, descendant of John Cruft)