The Malaspina Peninsula is a peninsula

Peninsula

A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....

 in the northern Gulf of Georgia-Sunshine Coast region of British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. It extends northwest from the town of Powell River

Powell River, British Columbia

Powell River is a city on the northern Sunshine Coast of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Most of its population lives near the eastern shores of Malaspina Strait, that part of the larger Georgia Strait between Texada Island and the Mainland...

, which lies near its isthmus, past the settlement of Lund

Lund, British Columbia

Lund is a small craft harbour and unincorporated village in Powell River District, British Columbia, Canada. It is located along the northern part of the Strait of Georgia on the mainland BC coast. The main landmark in the village is the Lund Hotel, established in 1905...

, to Desolation Sound

Desolation Sound

Desolation Sound is a deep water sound in British Columbia, Canada.It is a favourite destination for boaters because of its spectacular fjords, mountains, and wildlife. It is part of the Sunshine Coast....

. This sound

Sound (geography)

In geography a sound or seaway is a large sea or ocean inlet larger than a bay, deeper than a bight and wider than a fjord; or it may be defined as a narrow sea or ocean channel between two bodies of land ....

 spans the opening of Toba Inlet

Toba Inlet

Toba Inlet is one of the lesser, but still principal, inlets of the British Columbia Coast. It is fourth in the series north from the 49th parallel which begins with Burrard Inlet, which is the harbour for the city of Vancouver...

, a fjord lying between Lund and the Discovery Islands

Discovery Islands

The Discovery Islands are the islands in the Discovery Passage between Vancouver Island and the mainland in British Columbia. These islands are sometimes considered to be part of the Northern Gulf Islands....

 to the west and northwest.

The Malaspina Peninsula is mountainous and is the traditional territory of the Sliammon group of the Mainland Comox indigenous people

Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast

The Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Pacific Northwest Coast, their descendants, and many ethnic groups who identify with those historical peoples. They are now situated within the Canadian Province of British Columbia and the U.S...

.

Like Malaspina Strait

Malaspina Strait

Malaspina Strait is a strait in the northern Gulf of Georgia-Sunshine Coast region of British Columbia, Canada. It separates Texada Island from the upper Sunshine Coast-Malaspina Peninsula area on the adjacent mainland....

 and the Malaspina Glacier

Malaspina Glacier

The Malaspina Glacier in southeastern Alaska is the largest piedmont glacier the world. Situated at the head of the Alaska Panhandle, it is about wide and long, with an area of some . It is named in honor of Alessandro Malaspina, an Italian explorer in the service of the Spanish Navy, who visited...

 further north in Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

, the peninsula was named for Alessandro Malaspina

Alessandro Malaspina

Alessandro Malaspina was an Italian nobleman who spent most of his life as a Spanish naval officer and explorer...

, an Italian of noble birth in the Spanish navy who was among the many captains in the service of Spain who helped explore and chart the Alaska

Alaska Panhandle

Southeast Alaska, sometimes referred to as the Alaska Panhandle, is the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Alaska, which lies west of the northern half of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The majority of Southeast Alaska's area is part of the Tongass National Forest, the United...

 and British Columbia Coast

British Columbia Coast

The British Columbia Coast or BC Coast is Canada's western continental coastline on the Pacific Ocean. The usage is synonymous with the term West Coast of Canada....

s.

Malaspina Peninsula and Malaspina Strait were named in 1859 by Captain George Henry Richards

George Henry Richards

Admiral Sir George Henry Richards was Hydrographer to the British Admiralty from 1864 to 1874.-Early life:Richards was born in Anthony, Cornwall, the son of Captain G S Richards, and joined the navy in 1832....

 of the Plumper. Richards' choice of name was probably influenced by the nearby Malaspina Inlet, named in 1792 by Galiano

Dionisio Alcalá Galiano

Dionisio Alcalá Galiano was a Spanish naval officer, cartographer, and explorer. He mapped various coastlines in Europe and the Americas with unprecedented accuracy, using new technology such as chronometers...

 and Valdés

Cayetano Valdés y Flores

Cayetano Valdés y Flores Bazán was a commander of the Spanish Navy, explorer, and captain general who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, fighting for both sides at different times due to the changing fortunes of Spain in the conflict...

, who had been officers serving under Malaspina.