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Sonora Island is one of the outer islands (without ferry service) of the Discovery Islands of British Columbia, Canada. It is located within Electoral Area C of the Strathcona Regional District. The island took its name from the Spanish schooner that explored the Pacific Northwest in 1775. The expedition consisted of two ships: the ''Santiago'', commanded by Bruno de Heceta and the schooner ''Sonora (la Señora)'', commanded by his second in command, Lieutenant Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra. After some loss of life, Hezeta decided to return to Mexico, but Bodega y Quadra refused to follow him without having completed the essential mission, which was to locate the Russians. He continued northward on the Sonora and got as far as what is now close to Sitka, Alaska, reaching 59˚ North Latitude on 15 August 1775. Failing to find any Russians, he returned southward. When returning he made sure that he landed once to claim the coast for Spain. This expedition made it clear to the Spanish that the Russians didn't have a large presence in the Pacific Northwest.〔see Quadra, 1775 Expedition〕 The vessel, its full name ''Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe'' (generally known as the ''Señora'') with a crew of 16 was intended to perform coastal reconnaissance and mapping, and could make landfall in places the larger ''Santiago'' was unable to approach on its previous voyage; in this way, the expedition could officially lay claim to the lands north of Mexico it visited.〔see Heceta 1775 Expedition〕 The island includes Thurston Bay Marine Provincial Park on the west side of the island (accessible only by sea) and a resort on the east side of the island. The island is the location of the Sonora Resort. A narrow passage between Sonora and Maurelle Islands, Hole In The Wall, is the site of extremely powerful tidal currents and whirlpools. Discovery Mountain, on the western part of Sonora Island, has a Canadian Coast Guard radiocommunication station. ==See also== * Cordero Channel 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Sonora Island」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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