The area's complex geography can make it difficult to determine when travelling by boat whether a sighted coastline belongs to the mainland, Vancouver Island, or one of the Discovery Islands.
Major islands The Discovery Islands are all located within the
Strathcona Regional District, except for a few of the southernmost, such as
Hernando Island and
Savary Island, which are in the
qathet Regional District. The larger islands within the Discovery Islands are: ;
Strathcona Regional District •
Cortes Island (west: Subtle Islands) •
Hardwicke Island (north: Poyntz, Seymour, Murray; west: Yorke; south: Helmcken) •
West Thurlow Island •
East Thurlow Island (west: Walkem Islands; south: Tum) •
Sonora Island (northwest: Hardinge, Block) •
Stuart Island •
Quadra Island (north: Okis Islands) •
Maurelle Island •
Mitlenatch Island •
Read Island (east: Hill Island, Penn Islands) •
Rendezvous Islands •
Raza Island •
West Redonda Island (south: Mink, Kinghorn, and the Martin Islands; north: Elizabeth) •
East Redonda Island (south: Melville, Morgan, Eveleigh, Otter, and the William Islands; north: Double, Channel) •
Marina Island •
Twin Islands ;
qathet Regional District •
Hernando Island (east:
Copeland Islands) •
Mink Island •
Savary Island Major waterways The
Discovery Passage starts where the
Strait of Georgia narrows between
Quadra Island and
Vancouver Island and continues north to Chatham Point, where it meets the
Nodales Channel and
Johnstone Strait. ==Tourism==