Channel Islands

The Channel Islands (: Îles-du-détroit), also known as the Channels (French: Détroits) are a Sierran located off the coast of southwestern mainland Sierra along the. The Channels constitute one of the eight territories of Sierra, and the only one of which that are incorporated territory of Sierra and an integral part of the Kingdom as opposed to a mere possession as the unincorporated territories and crown dependencies.

The main islands are dispersed across 160 miles (257 km) of the Santa Barbara Channel and divided into two groups: the northern islands, known as the King Lewis Islands (Îles-du-Roi-Louis) include (Île Anacapa),  (Île Saint Michael), Santa Cruz Island (Île Saint Croix), and  (Île Saint Rose) and the southern islands, known as the Queen Angelina Islands (Îles-du-Reine-Angèle), include  (Île Saint Barbe), Santa Catalina (Île Saint Catherine),  (Île Saint Clément), and  (Île Saint Nicolas). The entirety of four of the islands constitute a part of the whose waters are protected ecological areas known as the.

The islands' beaches, climate, marine wildlife, culture, ease-of-doing business, and its close proximity to the mainland make the Channels a popular tourist destination and among Sierrans. The Channels have a very mild with consistently warm temperatures year-round and virtually -free at all low elevations. , if it does occur, very rarely falls on the highest mountains in the islands. Access to the islands are primarily done by, with the busiest ferry lines between ports on Santa Catalina Island and the mainland provinces of the Gold Coast and Orange.

Originally inhabited by the and the, the islands were claimed by the  before falling under the joint administration of French and Spanish authorities as the French-Spanish Condominium. By the late 18th century, the Channels experienced rapid population growth and infrastructural development as French colonists arrived to the islands. The majority of the Channels' natives are descendants of these French colonists, and the Channels retain a distinct and independent French culture and identity from mainland Sierra. When the Condominium was disestablished through the in 1802, the Channels was transferred to Spain fully although the islands continued to retain their autonomy, even after Mexico  and consequently gained control of the islands in 1821. When the California Republic gained its independence from Mexico in 1848, the islands were included as part of the in the. Following the creation of the Kingdom of Sierra, the Channels were formally into the province of the Gold Coast, and would remain a part of it until 1999 when Gold Coasters and Channeliers voted in Proposition 11 to grant the Channels to form a new territory and received approval by Parliament. Not including Cancún and Yucatán, the Channels are the most recent territorial areas created in Sierra and the first territory to incorporated since the foundation of Sierra.

The capital of the Channel Islands is Avalon, a city-port situated on the southeastern coast of Santa Catalina. Avalon was the Channels' first settlement and has been the largest since the islands were first settled. A, it has, in recent years, become an important regional financial center, mostly serving Sierran s in part to the Channels' low taxes and attractive economic policies. The islands are administered by the Territorial Governor and the Monarch is represented in the Channels by the Earl of Catalina. The Channels' supreme legislature, the Chanel Islands Legislature and the Channel's supreme court, the Territorial High Court are also both based in Avalon.