Qualla: Discovery Islands

Discovery Islands: Introduction

Sat, 21 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

From the air, the Discovery Islands look like a jigsaw puzzle someone shook apart and never quite reassembled. Dozens of forested landmasses crowd the waters between Vancouver Island and the British Columbia mainland, separated by channels so narrow and convoluted that even experienced mariners struggle to tell island from shore. The Strait of Georgia funnels northward here into Discovery Passage and Johnstone Strait, and the tidal currents that rip through these bottlenecks have shaped both the landscape and the character of the people who live among it. Only two of the islands have ferry service. The rest belong to those willing to arrive by private boat or floatplane.

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Discovery Islands: A Geography That Defies Certainty

Sat, 21 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The fundamental challenge of the Discovery Islands is knowing where you are. Travelling by boat through Pryce Channel or Homfray Channel, a forested ridge that appears to be the mainland may reveal itself, around the next headland, as the far shore of East Redonda Island. What lo...

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Discovery Islands: Where Currents Collide

Sat, 21 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Discovery Passage, the waterway that gives the archipelago its name, begins where the Strait of Georgia narrows between Quadra Island and Campbell River on Vancouver Island. It runs north to Chatham Point, where it meets Nodales Channel and the open reach of Johnstone Strait. The...

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Discovery Islands: Islands of Solitude

Sat, 21 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Life on the Discovery Islands runs at a pace set by tide tables and weather forecasts. Quadra Island, the most populated, supports a community with schools, shops, and a fifteen-minute ferry crossing to Campbell River. Cortes Island, one step further removed, requires two ferries...

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Discovery Islands: Salmon, Kayaks, and the Pull of the Wild

Sat, 21 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The Discovery Islands sit at the intersection of some of the richest marine habitats on the Pacific coast. Salmon returning to the Campbell, Toba, and mainland rivers pass through these channels, and the sport fishing here has drawn anglers for generations. Kayakers paddle betwee...

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