Qualla: Johnstone Strait

Johnstone Strait: Introduction

Sat, 21 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Winky from Vancouver, Canada, CC BY 2.0. In 1792, a survey party led by James Johnstone, master of the armed tender HMS Chatham, established something that seems obvious in hindsight but was genuinely uncertain at the time: Vancouver Island was, in fact, an island. The 110-kilometer channel he surveyed along its northeast coast was later named in his honor by Captain George Vancouver. Two centuries later, Johnstone Strait is still defining relationships -- between the island and the mainland, between commercial shipping and marine ecology, and between approximately 150 orcas and the scientists who have been studying them for more than fifty years.

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Image: Winky from Vancouver, Canada | CC BY 2.0

Johnstone Strait: The Passage North

Sat, 21 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit David Stanley from Nanaimo, Canada, CC BY 2.0. Johnstone Strait runs between 2.5 and 5 kilometers wide, threading between Vancouver Island's northeast coast and a chain of islands: Hanson Island, West Cracroft Island, Hardwicke Island, and the Thurlow Islands. Where the strait meets Discovery Passage to the southeast, it conn...

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Image: David Stanley from Nanaimo, Canada | CC BY 2.0

Johnstone Strait: The Orcas of Robson Bight

Sat, 21 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Paul Hermans, CC BY-SA 3.0. Every summer, approximately 150 orcas gather in Johnstone Strait, drawn by the rich salmon runs that funnel through the channel. Kayakers and tourist boats crowd the waters for a chance to see black dorsal fins cutting the surface, and on calm days the sound of an orca's exhalati...

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Image: Paul Hermans | CC BY-SA 3.0

Johnstone Strait: Where the Wild Coast Meets Commerce

Sat, 21 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Carport, CC BY-SA 3.0. The tension in Johnstone Strait is quiet but persistent. Container ships and cruise liners share the water with orca pods and salmon runs. The channel is narrow enough that whale-watching boats and cargo vessels sometimes navigate the same stretch simultaneously. There are no bri...

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Image: Carport | CC BY-SA 3.0