Seymour Narrows

Coordinates: 50°08.2′N 125°21.2′W / 50.1367°N 125.3533°W / 50.1367; -125.3533
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Seymour Narrows
Approaching Seymour Narrows from the north
Seymour Narrows is located in British Columbia
Seymour Narrows
Seymour Narrows
Location of Seymour Narrows in the Discovery Islands
LocationBritish Columbia, Canada
Coordinates50°08.2′N 125°21.2′W / 50.1367°N 125.3533°W / 50.1367; -125.3533
TypeStrait
Part ofDiscovery Passage
Max. width750 metres (820 yd)
Average depth100 m (330 ft)

Seymour Narrows is a 5-kilometre (3.1 mi) section of the

Georgia Strait near Campbell River. For most of the length of the narrows, the channel is about 750 metres (820 yd) wide. Through this narrow channel, currents can reach 15 knots
(28 km/h; 17 mph).

Etymology

The narrows were named for Rear Admiral Sir George Francis Seymour who commanded the Pacific Station from 1844 to 1848.[2]: 240  Seymour Narrows was described by Captain George Vancouver as "one of the vilest stretches of water in the world." Even after Ripple Rock was removed,[3] it remains a challenging route. In March 1981, the freighter Star Philippine ran aground in the narrows.

Hydrology

Seymour Narrows is notable also because the flowing current can be sufficiently turbulent to realize a Reynolds number of about , i.e. one hundred million, which is possibly the largest Reynolds number regularly attained in natural water channels on Earth (the current speed is about 8 m/s, 26 ft/s, the nominal depth about 100 m, 330 ft).[4] Turbulence develops usually around a Reynolds number of 2000, depending on the geometric structure of the channel.

Seymour Narrows delineates part of the northern extent of the Salish Sea.[5]

Ripple Rock

Main article: Ripple Rock

Ripple Rock was a submerged

Nitramex 2H explosive making it the largest commercial, non-nuclear blast in North America. The Halifax Explosion
in 1917 was larger but it was not a deliberate act.

The event was broadcast live on Canadian television. The footage is also regularly screened at the Campbell River Museum.

Ripple Rock
.

References

  1. ^ "Seymour Narrows". BC Geographical Names.
  2. ISBN 0-7748-0636-2
  3. ^ "B.C.'s deadly Ripple Rock blown up" (CBC Broadcast). 1958-04-05. Retrieved 2024-06-26.
  4. doi:10.1017/S002211206200018X
    . Retrieved 2024-06-26.
  5. ^ Environmental History and Features of Puget Sound Archived 2009-05-13 at the Wayback Machine, NOAA-NWFSC

Canadian Tide and Current Tables, Vol. 6, 2003

External links

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