View source for Portland Canal

{{For|the former canal in Louisville, Kentucky|Louisville and Portland Canal}}
{{Infobox body of water
| name = Portland Canal
| native_name ={{native name|ncg|Kʼalii Xkʼalaan}}
| other_name = {{langx|fr|Canal Portland}}
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| image = Hyder Alaska IMG 0276 (22495379342).jpg
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| caption = Portland Canal from [[Hyder, Alaska]]
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| location = [[Alaska]] and [[British Columbia]]
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| coordinates = {{coord|55|27|00|N|130|02|00|W|region:CA-BC_type:waterbody_source:http://www4.rncan.gc.ca/search-place-names/unique/JCNWH|name=Portland Canal}}
| type = [[Fjord]]
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| part_of = [[Portland Inlet]]
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'''Portland Canal'''<ref>{{Cite cgndb|JCNWH|Portland Canal|2020-06-16}}</ref> is an arm of [[Portland Inlet]], one of the principal [[fjord|inlets]] of the [[British Columbia Coast]]. It is approximately {{convert|114|km|abbr=on}} long.<ref>Measured in [[Google Earth]]</ref> The Portland Canal forms part of the border between southeastern [[Alaska]] and [[British Columbia]]. The name of the entire inlet in the [[Nisga'a language]] is ''{{lang|ncg|Kʼalii Xkʼalaan}}'', with {{lang|ncg|xkʼalaan}} meaning "at the back of (someplace)". The upper end of the inlet was home to the [[Tsetsaut]] ({{lang|ncg|Jitsʼaawit}} in Nisgaʼa), who after being decimated by war and disease were taken under the protection of the [[Laxsgiik]] (Eagle) chief of the [[Nisgaʼa]], who holds the inlet's title in native law.<ref>{{BCGNIS|53995|K'alii Xk'alaan}}</ref><ref name=bcgnis>{{BCGNIS|37009|Portland Canal}}</ref>

Despite its naming as a [[canal]], the inlet is a [[fjord]], a completely natural and not man-made geographic feature, and extends {{convert|114.6|km|abbr=on}} northward from the Portland Inlet at [[Pearse Island]], British Columbia, to [[Stewart, British Columbia]], and [[Hyder, Alaska]]. [[Observatory Inlet]] joins the Portland Canal at Ramsden Point, where both merge with Portland Inlet.<ref>{{BCGNIS|37196|Ramsden Point}}</ref> [[Pearse Canal]] joins Portland Canal at the north end of Pearse Island.<ref>{{GNIS|1424624|Portland Canal}}</ref>

Portland Canal was given its name by [[George Vancouver]] in 1793, in honour of [[William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland]].<ref name=bcgnis/> The use of the word ''canal'' to name inlets on the [[British Columbia Coast]] and the [[Southeast Alaska|Alaska Panhandle]] is a legacy of the Spanish exploration of the area in the 18th century. For example, [[Haro Strait]] between [[Victoria, British Columbia|Victoria]] and the [[San Juan Islands]] was originally {{lang|es|Canal de Haro}}. The English cognate to the Spanish {{lang|es|canal}} is "channel", which is found throughout the coast, cf. [[Dean Channel]]. George Vancouver used both terms in his naming of inlets, [[Hood Canal]] for example.

The placement of the international boundary in the Portland Canal was a major issue during the negotiations over the [[Alaska boundary dispute]], which heated up as a result of the [[Klondike Gold Rush]] and ended by arbitration in 1903. Together with [[Pearse Canal]] and [[Tongass Passage]], the Portland Canal is defined by the Alaska Boundary Settlement (the [[Hay-Herbert Treaty]]) as part of Portland Channel (Canal),<ref>{{BCGNIS|36954|Pearse Canal}}</ref> a term used as forming the marine boundary in the [[Anglo-Russian Treaty of 1825]] but which was undefined at the time.

==See also==
*[[Granduc Mine]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{GNIS|1424624|Portland Canal}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:History of British Columbia]]
[[Category:Fjords of Alaska]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of Prince of Wales–Hyder Census Area, Alaska]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska]]
[[Category:Fjords of British Columbia]]
[[Category:North Coast of British Columbia]]
[[Category:Borders of British Columbia]]
[[Category:Canada–United States border]]
[[Category:International fjords]]
[[Category:Inlets of British Columbia]]


{{PrinceofWalesHyderAK-geo-stub}}
{{KetchikanGatewayAK-geo-stub}}
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