Moresby Island

For the island in the Gulf Islands of British Columbia, see Moresby Island (Gulf Islands).

Moresby

Haida: Gwaii Haanas
Haida Gwaii, off the coast of BC. The southern tip of the Alaska panhandle is in the northwest corner of this map.
Moresby Island (British Columbia)
Geography
Location	Pacific Ocean
Coordinates	52°45′00″N 131°50′00″W / 52.75°N 131.8333°W / 52.75; -131.8333Coordinates: 52°45′00″N 131°50′00″W / 52.75°N 131.8333°W / 52.75; -131.8333
Archipelago	Haida Gwaii
Area	3,399.39 km2 (1,312.512 sq mi)
Country
Canada
Province	British Columbia
Regional District Electoral Area	Skeena-Queen Charlotte Regional District Electoral Area E
Electoral Area Director	Evan Putterill
Largest city	Sandspit
Demographics
Population	402 (as of 2006)
Density	0.18 /km2 (0.47 /sq mi)

Moresby Island is a large island (3,399.39 km² or 1,312.51 sq mi) that forms part of the Haida Gwaii archipelago (formerly known as Queen Charlotte Islands) in British Columbia, Canada, located at 52°45′00″N 131°50′00″W / 52.75°N 131.8333333°W / 52.75; -131.8333333.^[1] Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site includes Moresby and other islands. The island, together with its numerous nearby smaller islands and islets in the southern portion of the archipelago, is defined by Statistics Canada as Skeena-Queen Charlotte E, with a population was 402 as of the 2006 census. Almost all of its population resided in the unincorporated community of Sandspit, on the northeast corner of Moresby. The total land area of the electoral area is 3,399.39 km² (1,312.51 sq mi).

Moresby Island is the 175th largest island in the world, and the 32nd largest island in Canada.

Name

Moresby Island is named for Rear Admiral Fairfax Moresby. The traditional name in the Haida language is Gwaii Haanas,^{[citation needed]} which is where the national park name is derived from.

References

1. ^ "Moresby Island". BC Geographical Names. http://apps.gov.bc.ca/pub/bcgnws/names/29951.html. 

• Community Profile: Skeena-Queen Charlotte Regional District Electoral Area E, British Columbia; Statistics Canada
• Sandspit unincorporated place, Skeena-Queen Charlotte Regional District Electoral Area E, British Columbia; Statistics Canada
• Sea islands, Natural Resources Canada Atlas of Canada