Quadra Hill

Quadra Hill (48˚56'04" 123˚28'11" NW of Montague Hbr, Galiano I, Gulf Is), Quadra Island (50˚12'00" 125˚15'00" E of Discovery Passage, NW end of Str of Georgia), Quadra Saddle (49˚46'00" 126˚26'00" E of Tlupana Inlet, Nootka Sd, W side of Vancouver I). After Spanish naval officer and explorer Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra. See Bodega Anchorage for biographical details. Quadra I, Sonora I and Maurelle I were all originally thought to be one large land mass, which was known as Valdes (or Valdez) I after Spanish naval officer Cayetano Valdés, who explored this region with Dionisio Alcalá-Galiano in 1792. When it was realized, in the 1870s, that there were three islands, they were called the Valdes Is or Valdes group. It was not until 1903 that the islands received individual names. Today, 276-sq-km Quadra I has a ferry connection, more than 2,000 inhabitants and an economy that revolves around logging, fishing, aquaculture and tourism. There are two commercial centres, at Heriot Bay and Quathiaski Cove. See also Quadra Rocks. E W