Saanich Inlet

Saanich Inlet is a body of salt water that lies between the Saanich Peninsula and the Malahat highlands of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Located just northwest of Victoria, the Inlet is 24 km long, has a surface area of 65 square km, and its maximum depth is 225 m. It extends from Satellite Channel in the north (separating Salt Spring Island from the Saanich Peninsula) to Squally Reach and Finlayson Arm in the south. The only major tributary feeding the Inlet is the Goldstream River.

The Inlet has been of importance as a fishery to the Malahat and Saanich First Nations for centuries, and many First Nations reserves are situated on the shoreline. Since the arrival of Europeans and their descendants, the Inlet has also provided a recreational and commercial fishery. For several years, a port existed on the western shore at Bamberton, servicing a cement works.

Notable bays and inlets adjacent to Saanich Inlet include:
*Brentwood Bay
*Coles Bay
*Deep Cove
*McKenzie Bight
*Patricia Bay
*Tod Inlet

Other notable features around the Inlet are:
*Butchart Gardens
*Goldstream Provincial Park
*Gowlland Tod Provincial Park
*Mount Finlayson

External links

* [http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/sci/OSAP/projects/bcinlets/saanich_inlet_e.htm Information from the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans, including a map of the Inlet]
* [http://www.venus.uvic.ca/saanich/index.html Scientific information from the University of Victoria]