Pearse Island
Wil Milit on Pearce Island | |
Interactive map of Pearce Island | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Pacific Ocean |
| Coordinates | 54°53′N 130°18′W / 54.883°N 130.300°W[1] |
| Area | 210 km2 (81 sq mi) |
| Administration | |
Canada | |
| Province | British Columbia |
| Land district | Range 5 Coast Land District[2] |
| Additional information | |
| Time zone |
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Pearse Island is an island in western British Columbia, Canada, in the Portland Inlet, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean.[2] The island was first charted in 1793 by George Vancouver during his 1791-95 expedition.[3] It was named by George Henry Richards, captain of HMS Plumper, circa 1860, in honour of William Alfred Rombulow Pearse of the Royal Navy, who had been commander of HMS Alert.[4]: 470
Location and territorial claims
The island is 210 km2 (81 sq mi) in size. It is separated from the mainland of Alaska by the 2 km (1.2 mi) wide Pearse Canal, which forms part of the Canada–United States border in this area. The island is 56 km (35 mi) north of Prince Rupert, British Columbia.
It and neighbouring islands figured in one of the territorial and marine-boundary quarrels of the Alaska boundary dispute (the island was formerly claimed by the United States).[5]
Features
Wil Milit
The former Pearse Island Indian Reserve No. 43 is on the northeast end of the island. It is now named Wil Milit[6] as a result of the Nisga'a Treaty and is no longer an Indian Reserve, but is fee-simple. Western LNG, a Houston-based company, with the Nisga’a Nation and Rockies LNG, is developing its first floating LNG production facility, a proposed 12-million-tonne-per-year LNG project, on the northern tip of Pearse Island near the Nisga’a village of Gingolx, British Columbia.
Winter Inlet Conservancy
Winter inlet is a fjord located at the south end of the island,[7] it nearly bisects the island and affords secure anchorage for small boats.[8] The Conservancy is located in the land around the head of Winter Inlet,[9] covers 30 ha (74 acres) of the surrounding land, and was designated in 2008 as part of the North Coast Land and Resource Management Plan.[10]
See also
References
- ^ "Pearce Island". BC Geographical Names.
- ^ a b "Pearse Island". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 2025-12-30.
- ^ Vancouver, George (1984). W. Kaye Lamb (ed.). A Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean, and Round the World. Works issued by the Hakluyt Society; no. 163-166. London: Hakluyt Society. ISBN 0904180166. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
- ^ 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. Ottawa: Government Printing Bureau. Retrieved 2025-12-30.
- ^ James, C. C. Canada, Sovereignty and the Alaska Boundary Dispute (PDF). Presentation at the Canadian Political Science Association. Canada: Canadian Political Science Association. Retrieved 2025-12-30.
- ^ "Wil Milit". BC Geographical Names.
- ^ "Winter Inlet". BC Geographical Names.
- ^ "Canadian Sailing Directions: Hecate Strait, Dixon Entrance, Portland Inlet and Adjacent Waters and Haida Gwaii — PAC 206" (PDF) (PDF) (2024/01 ed.). Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Canadian Hydrographic Service, Fisheries and Oceans Canada. January 2024. ISSN 2816-5136. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
- ^ "Winter Inlet Conservancy". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 2026-01-05.
- ^ "Winter Inlet Conservancy". BC Geographical Names.