Barkley Sound is part of the traditional territory of the Nuu-cha-nulth First Nations.

In 1787, Captain Charles William Barkley of Imperial Eagle, explored the sound and named it after himself.

[1] In 1791, the Spanish ship Santa Saturnina, under Juan Carrasco and José María Narváez, explored Barkley Sound in detail.

[3] In 1933, 27 years after the sinking of SS Valencia, the ship's lifeboat #5 was found floating in Barkley Sound.

[6] This article about a location on the Coast of British Columbia, Canada is a stub.