Princess Royal Island
| Princess Royal Island | |
|---|---|
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| Waters | Pacific Ocean |
| Geographical location | 52 ° 55 ′ N , 128 ° 50 ′ W |
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| length | 83.2 km |
| width | 45.1 km |
| surface | 2 251 km² |
| Highest elevation | Mount Parry 1061 m |
| Residents | uninhabited |
| main place | Butedale (historical) |
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Princess Royal Island is the fourth largest island in the Canadian province of British Columbia . The 2,251 km² large, uninhabited island with a coastline of 592 km was named in 1788 by Captain Charles Duncan, who named it after his sloop Princess Royal . The island is located on the Inside Passage , 520 km north of Vancouver and 200 km south of Prince Rupert and, like most of the islands in the northern coastal area of the province, is included in the Great Bear Rainforest .
To the east of the island is the mainland. Sarah Island is in the southeast of the island and Swindle Island in the south . To the west of the island is Aristazabal Island and in the northwest is Campania Island , Gil Island and Gribbell Island .
The only way to get to Princess Royal Island is by boat or plane. Today the island is uninhabited, but in the past there were small settlements of gold miners, loggers and fishermen.
In 1950, a B-36 with atomic bombs on board crashed on the island . When the machine hit a mountain in bad weather, 5 out of 17 crew members died. The accident is considered to be the first ever loss of nuclear weapons .
The island is made up of temperate rainforest , in particular the West American hemlock is found here . In addition to grizzlies , wolves , foxes , deer and jellyfish , rare species such as the kermode bear and the golden eagle are native here. Elephant seals and killer whales also live on the coasts .
Web links
- Princess Royal Island . In: BC Geographical Names (English)
- Information about the island on britishcolumbia.com (English).
Individual evidence
- ^ The Atlas of Canada. Sea Islands. Natural Resources Canada , archived from the original on January 22, 2013 ; Retrieved November 22, 2013 .
- ^ Andrew Scott: The Encyclopedia of Raincoast Place Names: A Complete Reference to Coastal British Columbia . Harbor Publishing, Madeira Park, BC October 2009, p. 479 (English).