Browning Entrance

Browning Entrance
LocationRange 4 Coast Land District[1]
Coordinates53°43′0″N 130°30′51″W / 53.71667°N 130.51417°W / 53.71667; -130.51417[2]
Typestrait
EtymologyGeorge Alexander Browning
Part ofHecate Strait; Inside Passage
Basin countriesCanada
IslandsGoschen Island, Dolphin Island, Spicer Island, Banks Island, McCauley Island
Location
Interactive map of Browning Entrance

Browning Entrance is a strait in British Columbia[1], located north Banks Island,[2] and provides part one of the main maritime routes from Hecate Strait to Kitimat,[3] also used by tugs towing scows or timber rafts crossing from Haida Gwaii.[4]

Strong storms can initiate broad oscillations that last for days, degrading current predictability compared to tides alone. This can create navigational concerns for smaller boats and towing operations.[5]

Browning Entrance light, on the north islet of White Rocks, is shown at an elevation of 41 ft (12 m) from a skeleton tower.[4]

Etymology

Named in 1870 by Captain Pender, after George Alexander Browning, his assistant surveying officer aboard HM hired surveying vessel HMS Beaver, 1863–1868; previously second master aboard HMS Hecate, under Captain Richards, 1861–1862.[6]: 68 

References

  1. ^ a b "Browning Entrance". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 2026-01-06.
  2. ^ a b "Browning Entrance". BC Geographical Names.
  3. ^ "British Columbia North Coast Waterway Management Guidelines – SSB No.: 26/2023" (HTML). Government of Canada. Transport Canada. 20 December 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  4. ^ a b "Canadian sailing directions. PAC 206, Hecate Strait, Dixon Entrance, Portland Inlet and adjacent waters and Haida Gwaii" (PDF). Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Canadian Hydrographic Service, Fisheries and Oceans Canada. 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  5. ^ Thomson, J.; Huggett, D. (1981). "Wind-driven inertial oscillations of large spatial coherence". Continental Shelf Research. 1 (1): 1–25. doi:10.1016/0278-4343(81)90001-4.
  6. ^ Walbran, John T. (1909). British Columbia Coast Names, 1592–1906, to Which Are Added a Few Names in Adjacent United States Territory: Their Origin and History, with Map and Illustrations. BC Historical Books. Ottawa: Government Printing Bureau. Retrieved 7 January 2026.