Portland Canal

Portland Canal
Waters	Portland Inlet ( Pacific Ocean )
Land mass	North America
Geographical location	55 ° 48 ′ N , 130 ° 7 ′ W Coordinates: 55 ° 48 ′ N , 130 ° 7 ′ W
width	2.4 km
length	116 km
Tributaries	Salmon River , Bear River .

The Portland Canal is a 116 km long and on average 2.4 km wide fjord on the west coast of North America .

The Portland Canal forms the southern border of the Alaska Panhandle ( USA ) to the Canadian province of British Columbia up to Pearse Island . The Salmon River and Bear River flow into its head end . There are the places Hyder in Alaska and Stewart in Canada. The fjord cuts through the Boundary Ranges , a part of the Coast Mountains , in a southerly direction. The Portland Canal eventually joins the Observatory Inlet and Nass Bay to form Portland Inlet . 11 km above the lower end, the Pearse Canal branches off to the south-west at the northern end of Pearse Island .

The Portland Canal was named by Captain George Vancouver of the Royal Navy on August 15, 1793 after William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland , Home Secretary between 1794 and 1801. In 1903, the Boundary Commission laid the border between Canada and Alaska along the center of this body of water.

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