Chatham Sound

Chatham Sound
French: Bassin de Chatham
Looking Northeasterly across Chatham Sound
Looking Northeasterly across Chatham Sound
Chatham Sound is located in British Columbia
Chatham Sound
Chatham Sound
LocationBritish Columbia, Canada, between Dundas Islands, Stephens Islands and Tsimpsean Peninsula
Coordinates54°22′30″N 130°35′30″W / 54.37500°N 130.59167°W / 54.37500; -130.59167[1]
Primary inflowsNass River, Skeena River
Primary outflowsDixon Entrance, Hecate Strait
Max. length70 kilometres (43 mi)[2]
Max. width15–25 kilometres (9.3–15.5 mi)[2]
Surface area1,600 square kilometres (600 sq mi)

Chatham Sound is a sound on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada, bordering on Alaska, United States. It is located between the Dundas and Stephens Islands and the Tsimpsean Peninsula,[1] it is part of the Inside Passage and extends from Portland Inlet in the north to Porcher Island in the south.[3]

The sound can be divided into two parts, by a line drawn between Tugwell and Melville Islands.[4] The northern part, is influenced by the Nass River outflows and village of Lax Kw'alaams, and the southern part influenced by the Skeena River outflows and the city of Prince Rupert.

It may have been named in 1788 by British Captain Charles Duncan after John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham, who was First Lord of the Admiralty at that time.[1][3]

  1. ^ a b c "Chatham Sound". BC Geographical Names.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Baroclinic Modelling was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b "Chatham Sound - inlet, British Columbia, Canada". www.britannica.com. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  4. ^ "Chart 3989, 3991, Chatham Sound = Northern Part". Sailing Directions, British Columbia Coast, (Northern Portion). II (Ninth Edition): 196. 1983.