Why Princess Royal Island
Princess Royal Island is situated along the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada, set among remote inlets and islands east of the Hecate Strait. Spanning 2,294.1 square kilometers, it is the fourth-largest island in British Columbia and the 33rd largest in Canada. The island features Trivett Point at its northernmost end and Kingcome Point at its northwestern tip, while its interior landscape is drained by the Canoona River, which flows eastward into the sea from Canoona Lake.
Positioned approximately 520 kilometers north of Vancouver and 200 kilometers south of Prince Rupert, Princess Royal Island is located in a highly isolated environment. Reaching the island is possible only by boat or aircraft. The Inside Passage shipping and ferry route passes along the island's eastern border within Princess Royal Channel, which separates the landmass from the Canadian mainland. Although the island is completely uninhabited today, the nearest active communities are Klemtu on Swindle Island and Hartley Bay on the mainland shore to the east.
Captain Charles Duncan named the island in 1788 after his vessel, the Princess Royal. The island formerly hosted human settlements, including the gold-mining town of Surf Inlet, also known as Port Belmont, as well as Butedale, an eastern coastal hub for logging, fishing, cannery operations, and mining. In 1950, the island was the site where twelve surviving crew members of a United States Air Force flight were recovered during a Cold War nuclear incident. Several Indian reserves set aside for the Gitgaʼat and Kitasoo/Xaixais First Nations are also located on or next to the island.
Ecologically, Princess Royal Island is classified within the Pacific temperate rainforest ecoregion, the Pacific Maritime Ecozone, and the Coastal Western Hemlock zone. It serves as a core territory in the North and Central Coast conservation initiative known as the Great Bear Rainforest. The environment supports abundant wildlife, such as spirit bears, black bears, grizzly bears, wolves, foxes, and deer. Avian species include nesting bald eagles, golden eagles, and endangered marbled murrelets, while surrounding marine waters are inhabited by salmon, orcas, porpoises, and elephant seals.
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