Desolation Sound

File:Desolation sound 2006.jpg

Desolation Sound

Desolation Sound is a deep water sound in British Columbia, Canada. It is a favourite destination for boaters because of its spectacular fjords, mountains, and wildlife. It is off the northern end of the Sunshine Coast.

Provincial Park

The Government of British Columbia created Desolation Sound Provincial Marine Park in 1973, under the advocacy of MLA Don Lockstead and the NDP government, out of an area comprising 8,449 hectares (32.6 sq mi) and over 60 kilometres (37 mi) of shoreline.[1] The natural shelter provided by the park's many inlets, islets, coves and bays make it an ideal location to explore by pleasure craft. The area is home to a wide variety of wildlife, and is still relatively free from development, unfortunately some areas do show signs of clear cut logging such as Theodesia Inlet. The park is extremely popular in the summer months (June–August) as many hundreds of boaters flock to this region; it is not uncommon for a hundred boats to share a small anchorage.

Major anchorages

• Prideaux Haven is a cove that is a popular marine anchorage within Desolation Sound Marine Provincial Park located on Homfray Channel in the Desolation Sound area, which lies at the northern end of the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. There is anchorage, but no facilities.

• Grace Harbour

• Tenedos Bay

• Gorge Harbour, Cortes Island

History

The sound was inhabited by tribes of the Mainland Comox prior to the arrival of Europeans, who first charted the sound in 1792. Two expeditions led by Captains George Vancouver, Dionisio Alcalá Galiano and Cayetano Valdés y Flores arrived that same summer and cooperated in mapping the sound. Vancouver named it Desolation Sound saying "there was not a single prospect that was pleasing to the eye".

External links

• Desolation Sound- a popular destination for boaters cruising the Pacific Northwest