# Dean Channel
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{{Short description|Part of an inlet in British Columbia, Canada}}
'''Dean Channel'''[{{Cite cgndb|JAPER|Dean Channel|2020-06-16}}] is the upper end of one of the longest [inlets](/source/fjord) of the [British Columbia Coast](/source/British_Columbia_Coast),[{{BCGNIS|8547|Dean Channel}}] {{convert|105|km|1|abbr=on}} from its head at the mouth of the [Kimsquit River](/source/Kimsquit_River). The [Dean River](/source/Dean_River), one of the main rivers of the [Coast Mountains](/source/Coast_Mountains), enters Dean Channel about {{convert|9.5|km|abbr=on}} below the head of the inlet, at the community of [Kimsquit](/source/Kimsquit).
==History==
Dean Channel was named by [Captain Vancouver](/source/George_Vancouver) in 1793 after Rev. [James King](/source/James_King_(priest)), [Dean of Raphoe](/source/Dean_of_Raphoe), Ireland. The channel was surveyed by [Captain Richards](/source/George_Henry_Richards) in 1861 of [HMS ''Hecate''](/source/HMS_Hecate_(1839)).[{{Citation | last =Walbran | first =Captain John T. | title =British Columbia Place Names, Their Origin and History | url =http://www.nosracines.ca/e/toc.aspx?id=3545 | place =Vancouver/Toronto | publisher =Douglas & McIntyre | year =1971 | edition =Facsimile reprint of 1909 | isbn =0-88894-143-9 | access-date =2008-07-13 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20160303220337/http://www.nosracines.ca/e/toc.aspx?id=3545 | archive-date =2016-03-03 | url-status =dead }}]{{rp|133}} It is located within the [Central Coast region](/source/British_Columbia_Coast).
==Branches==
Ending at the mouth of Cousins Inlet, which is the harbour for the abandoned town of [Ocean Falls](/source/Ocean_Falls), the fjord's name changes to [Fisher Channel](/source/Fisher_Channel) down the west side of [King Island](/source/King_Island_(British_Columbia)). Below Fisher Channel's {{convert|40|km|abbr=on}} length the fjord merges with Burke Channel, which is a {{convert|70|km|abbr=on}} arm of the Dean/Fisher Channel on the east side of King Island, the name of the [fjord](/source/fjord) changes to [Fitz Hugh Sound](/source/Fitz_Hugh_Sound), which is considerably wider than the upper part of the fjord at about {{convert|10|km|abbr=on}} in width and is itself about {{convert|60|km|abbr=on}} in length. Fitz Hugh Sound passes on the inside of [Calvert Island](/source/Calvert_Island_(British_Columbia)) and opens onto [Queen Charlotte Sound](/source/Queen_Charlotte_Sound_(Canada)) just northwest of the opening of [Queen Charlotte Strait](/source/Queen_Charlotte_Strait).
Opening onto Fitz Hugh Sound in its lower reaches near Queen Charlotte Sound is [Rivers Inlet](/source/Rivers_Inlet), home of the [Wuikinuxv](/source/Wuikinuxv) (Owekeeno) [First Nations](/source/First_Nations_in_Canada). The total length of the fjord from the head of Dean Channel to the mouth of Fitz Hugh Sound is about {{convert|170|km|abbr=on}} rivalling [Hardangerfjord](/source/Hardangerfjord) in [Norway](/source/Norway) for length. If the additional lengths of South Bentinck Arm ({{convert|45|km|abbr=on|disp=comma}}) and North Bentinck Arm ({{convert|30|km|abbr=on|disp=comma}}), plus Burke Channel and its shorter companion, Labouchere Channel ({{convert|15|km|abbr=on|disp=comma}}), and an arm of Burke named Kwatna Inlet ({{convert|25|km|abbr=on|disp=comma}}) were factored in, total length of the fjord complex's waterways is {{convert|335|km|abbr=on}} - longer than [Sognefjord](/source/Sognefjord)'s {{convert|203|km|abbr=on}} and rivalling [Greenland](/source/Greenland)'s [Scoresby Sound](/source/Scoresby_Sound)'s {{convert|350|km|abbr=on}}.
===North Bentinck Arm===
{{main|North Bentinck Arm}}
A side-inlet of Burke Channel, [North Bentinck Arm](/source/North_Bentinck_Arm), is noteworthy as the place where the overland expedition by [fur trade](/source/fur_trade) explorer [Alexander Mackenzie](/source/Alexander_Mackenzie_(explorer)) reached the sea, on July 20, 1793. Wanting to see the open ocean, Mackenzie and four [Nuxalk](/source/Nuxalk) people went by canoe the next day to Dean Channel. Mackenzie did not reach the open ocean, stopping at the ruins of an old [Heiltsuk](/source/Heiltsuk) village on the north side of Dean Channel. There he wrote his name on a rock, which today is part of [Sir Alexander Mackenzie Provincial Park](/source/Sir_Alexander_Mackenzie_Provincial_Park).[{{cite book|last=Hayes|first=Derek|title=First Crossing: Alexander Mackenzie, His Expedition Across North America, and the Opening of the Continent|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LeOLas7hh_YC&pg=PA211|year=2009|publisher=D&M Publishers Incorporated|isbn=978-1-926706-59-7|pages=211–224}}] Mackenzie did not know that he arrived just a few weeks after Captain [George Vancouver](/source/George_Vancouver) visited Dean Channel and North Bentinck Arm.
The town of [Bella Coola](/source/Bella_Coola%2C_British_Columbia) is at the head of North Bentinck Arm; Bella Coola is an English adaptation of the [Heiltsuk](/source/Heiltsuk_dialect) name for the [Nuxalk](/source/Nuxalk) (whose name in their own language means the [Bella Coola River](/source/Bella_Coola_River) and its [valley](/source/Bella_Coola_Valley)). Bella Coola is the only community on the coast between [Vancouver](/source/Vancouver) and [Kitimat](/source/Kitimat), to have road access to the rest of the province, via [British Columbia Highway 20](/source/British_Columbia_Highway_20) to [Williams Lake](/source/Williams_Lake%2C_British_Columbia) via the [Chilcotin](/source/Chilcotin_Country) region.
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{coord|52|28|44|N|127|14|22|W|region:CA-BC_type:waterbody_source:http://www4.rncan.gc.ca/search-place-names/unique/JAPER|name=Dean Channel|display=title}}
Category:Fjords of British Columbia
Category:History of British Columbia
Category:Central Coast of British Columbia
Category:Channels of British Columbia
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Dean Channel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Channel) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Channel?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.