Cormorant Island is an island in Queen Charlotte Strait

Queen Charlotte Strait

Queen Charlotte Strait is a strait between Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It connects Queen Charlotte Sound with Johnstone Strait, Discovery Passage and then to the Strait of Georgia and Puget Sound...

 on the Central Coast of British Columbia

British Columbia Coast

The British Columbia Coast or BC Coast is Canada's western continental coastline on the Pacific Ocean. The usage is synonymous with the term West Coast of Canada....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. It has a total land area of about 4 square km and is located south of Malcolm Island and west of Port MacNeill.

Approximately 1500 people live on the island in three communities: the village of Alert Bay and two Indian Reserves

Indian reserve

In Canada, an Indian reserve is specified by the Indian Act as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." The Act also specifies that land reserved for the use and benefit of a band which is not...

. Approximately 60% of persons on the island live on one of the reserves, which together occupy about 30% of the island's land area.

The island is accessible by boat or by air. BC Ferries

BC Ferries

British Columbia Ferry Services Inc. or BC Ferries is a de facto Crown Corporation that provides all major passenger and vehicle ferry services for coastal and island communities in the Canadian province of British Columbia...

 runs a passenger and car ferry between Cormorant Island, Malcolm Island, and Port McNeill

Port McNeill, British Columbia

Port McNeill is a town in the North Island region of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada with a population of 2,623 . Located on Vancouver Island's north-east shore on Queen Charlotte Strait, it was originally a base camp for loggers, Port McNeill became a settlement in 1936...

 which departs from Cormorant Island approximately every three hours during the day. There are two airports

Airport

An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...

 on the island: Alert Bay Water Aerodrome

Alert Bay Water Aerodrome

Alert Bay Water Aerodrome, , is located adjacent to Alert Bay, British Columbia, Canada. The water aerodrome is built on Cormorant Island in the Queen Charlotte Strait, between Malcolm Island and Port McNeill....

 allows for access via floatplane

Floatplane

A floatplane is a type of seaplane, with slender pontoons mounted under the fuselage; only the floats of a floatplane normally come into contact with water, with the fuselage remaining above water...

, while Alert Bay Airport

Alert Bay Airport

Alert Bay Airport is a public airport located on Cormorant Island next to the village of Alert Bay, British Columbia, Canada. Cormorant Island lies between Malcolm Island and Port McNeill on northeastern Vancouver Island....

 allows for conventional airplanes.

Name origin

The island was named for the paddle sloop HMS Cormorant in 1846, by that vessel's commander, George T. Gordon. The Cormorant was assigned to the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

's Pacific Station

Pacific Station

The Pacific Station, often referred to as the Pacific Squadron, was one of the geographical divisions into which the Royal Navy divided its worldwide responsibilities...

from 1844 to 1850, and was the first naval steam vessel in the waters of the Pacific Northwest Coast.