Calvert Island (British Columbia)

Calvert Island is an island on the coast of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is located east of Queen Charlotte Sound in the Central Coast region, about 100 kilometres (62 mi) north of the town of Port Hardy, which is at the north end of Vancouver Island.

A number of smaller islands lie just north of Calvert Island, across Kwakshua Channel, the largest of which is Hecate Island. Hakai Passage separates the islands around Calvert Island from those around Hunter Island to the north. To the east Fitz Hugh Sound, part of the Inside Passage, separates Calvert Island from the mainland. The mouth of Rivers Inlet is east of the southern end of Calvert Island.

Calvert Island is 32 kilometres (20 mi) long and ranges in width from 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) to 16 kilometres (9.9 mi). It is 334.27 square kilometres (129.06 sq mi) in area. The island reaches 1,045 metres (3,428 ft) in elevation. Hecate Island is 47.78 square kilometres (18.45 sq mi) in area.

Calvert Island was named in 1788 by Charles Duncan, captain of the fur trading vessel Princess Royal. The name probably honors the Calvert family, and perhaps specifically Lord Cecil Calvert, second Baron of Baltimore. The name was retained by George Vancouver and published as such on his maps.

The traditional territory of the Heiltsuk included Calvert Island, and extended north along Dean Channel and Burke Channel, and along the coastal islands to Milbanke Sound. Archaeological evidence indicates many thousands of years of habitation in the region. In 2015, Hakai Institute and University of Victoria researchers announced that human footprints found on the island could date back 13,200 years making them the oldest known footprints in North America. The footprints are thought to represent a man, woman and child.

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