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 Canal 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. It was named in 1793 by George Vancouver in honour of his friend and former commander, Alan Gardner, 1st Baron Gardner.