It is a semi protected deep water port that was developed to transport many mineral deposits found in the Snettisham Peninsula.

Lieutenant Joseph Whidbey of the Royal Navy discovered the fjord on August 12, 1794; George Vancouver named it after the town of Snettisham in England.

At the head of North Arm is Speel River, a swift-flowing stream which enters the Coast Range for a distance of 18 miles (29 km).

[3] The tributary to East Arm, a much shorter inlet, is Whiting River, traversing the mountain system for 35 miles (56 km), though not crosscutting it.

The iron ore deposits identified in 1954 were located in a stretch of about 1,000 feet (300 m) to southwest of the Sentinel Point extending into the southeastern shore line of the port.