Loughborough Inlet is one of the lesser principal inlets

Fjord

Geologically, a fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glacial activity.-Formation:A fjord is formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley by abrasion of the surrounding bedrock. Glacial melting is accompanied by rebound of Earth's crust as the ice...

 of the British Columbia Coast

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....

. It penetrates the Coast Mountains

Coast Mountains

The Coast Mountains are a major mountain range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges, of western North America, extending from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and virtually all of the Coast of British Columbia. They are so-named because of their proximity to the sea coast, and are often...

 on the north side of the Discovery Islands

Discovery Islands

The Discovery Islands are the islands in the Discovery Passage between Vancouver Island and the mainland in British Columbia. These islands are sometimes considered to be part of the Northern Gulf Islands....

 archipelago, running about 35 kilometres (21.7 mi) from its head at the mouth of the Stafford River

Stafford River

The Stafford River is a river of the West Coast Region of New Zealand's South Island. It flows north, reaching the Tasman Sea 10 kilometres west of the western end of Jackson Bay.-References:...

 to Chancellor Channel and Cordero Channel

Cordero Channel

Cordero Channel is a strait in British Columbia, Canada, located between the mainland and Vancouver Island, among the Discovery Islands north of the Strait of Georgia. Cordero Channel runs north of Sonora Island, East Thurlow Island, and part of West Thurlow Island. Its eastern end connects to the...

, which are on the north side of West Thurlow Island

West Thurlow Island

West Thurlow Island is an island in British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the Discovery Islands, an archipelago between Vancouver Island and the mainland, whose waters connect the Strait of Georgia with Johnstone Strait and Queen Charlotte Strait....

. A further 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) west along Chancellor Channel is Johnstone Strait

Johnstone Strait

Johnstone Strait is a channel along the north east coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. Opposite the Vancouver Island coast, running north to south, are Hanson Island, West Cracroft Island, the mainland British Columbia Coast, Hardwick Island, West Thurlow Island and East...

.

Loughborough Inlet averages about 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) wide. Its mouth marks the east end of Chancellor Channel and the west end of Cordero Channel. The mouth of Loughborough Inlet is about midway between the mouths of Bute Inlet

Bute Inlet

Bute Inlet is one of the principal inlets of the British Columbia Coast. It is 80 km long from its head at the mouths of the Homathko and Southgate Rivers to the continental headlands at its mouth, where it is nearly blocked by Stuart Island, and it averages about 4 km in width...

, to the east, and Knight Inlet

Knight Inlet

Knight Inlet is one of the principal inlets of the British Columbia Coast, and the largest of the major inlets in the southern part of the Coast...

, to the west.

Because of the arrangement of the mountain ranges separating the inlets, the upper end of Loughborough Inlet is only about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from the nearest waters of Knight Inlet

Knight Inlet

Knight Inlet is one of the principal inlets of the British Columbia Coast, and the largest of the major inlets in the southern part of the Coast...

, but much farther from Bute Inlet.

History

James Johnstone

James Johnstone (explorer)

James Johnstone was a British naval officer and explorer. He is noted for having served as sailing master of the armed tender HMS Chatham and later acting lieutenant during George Vancouver’s 1791-95 expedition to the Pacific Northwest...

, one of George Vancouver

George Vancouver

Captain George Vancouver RN was an English officer of the British Royal Navy, best known for his 1791-95 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of contemporary Alaska, British Columbia, Washington and Oregon...

's lieutenants during his 1791-95 expedition

Vancouver Expedition

The Vancouver Expedition was a four-and-a-half-year voyage of exploration and diplomacy, commanded by Captain George Vancouver. The expedition circumnavigated the globe, touched five continents and changed the course of history for the indigenous nations and several European empires and their...

, first charted the inlet in 1792. Loughborough Inlet was the site of a large cannery town at Roy

Roy, British Columbia

Roy was a cannery town on the South Coast of British Columbia, Canada, located on Loughborough Inlet north of the town of Campbell River and the Discovery Islands....

, which remains on the map as a locality.