Saturna Island Feature

Island - Land area surrounded by water or marsh. One of the Gulf Islands, SE of Saltspring Island at S end of the Strait of Georgia, Cowichan Land District

Mapped Location

Saturna Island: The mapped location is an approximation and should not be used for navigation or wayfinding.

 

Information

General information on Saturna Island

  • Feature Type: Feature

 

Official, historical, colloquial and alternative toponyms for Saturna Island

A brief list of names that this geographic feature has been named

Name Description
Saturna Island Official

 

Origin Notes and History of Saturna Island

References to Saturna Island that document the origin of its place name

Adopted 12 December 1939 on 92/SE and on Ottawa file OBF 1699, as labelled on British Admiralty Chart #1917, 1849 et seq.

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
BC place name cards, files, correspondence and/or research by BC Chief Geographer/Geographical Names Office.  |  Province of British Columbia

"Named, in 1791, after the Spanish naval schooner Saturnina, commanded by José Maria Narvaez, which vessel explored the channels to the northeastward of the strait of Juan de Fuca..." [See also "Who Named Saturna Island?" by Nick Doe, published in Shale:Journal of the Gabriola Historical and Museum Society, vol 18, April 2008, for a discussion of early European exploration of these waters (by Narvaez, Pantoja, Eliza, Haro, Galiano, Vancouver, Quadra, etc), the early charting history of the area, and how & when Saturnina become corrupted or abbreviated to Saturna....]

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
Walbran, John T; British Columbia Coast Names, 1592-1906: their origin and history; Ottawa, 1909 (republished for the Vancouver Public Library by J.J. Douglas Ltd, Vancouver, 1971)  |  Province of British Columbia

 

Last updated: 2026-10-14