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The 'Gardner Canal' is one of the principal inlets of the British Columbia Coast. Technically a side-inlet of the larger Douglas Channel, the Gardner is still 90 km (56 mi) in length in its own right; total length of the waterways converging on the Douglas Channel is 320 km (200 mi) making it one of the largest fjord-complexes in the world. The entrance to the Gardner Canal is hidden behind Hawkesbury Island, and is accessed via Devastation Sound or Varney Passage which form the northeast and southeast flanks of that island.
The Gardner Canal is important for being the location of the Kemano generating station of the Nechako Diversion, which was built to supply power for an Alcan aluminum smelter in Kitimat. The generating station is located about halfway along the canal on its north bank, at the mouth of the Kemano River. At the head of the Gardner Canal is the mouth of the Kitlope River, a major wildlife and wilderness preserve and area of outstanding natural beauty (and harsh weather).