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Location: Pacific Ocean
Coordinates: 49°00'N, 124°00'W
Area: 32,134 km²
Highest Point: Golden Hinde 2,198 m (7,211 ft)
Province: British Columbia
Largest City: Victoria (78,659)
Population: 734,860 (as of 2004)
Density: 22/km²

Vancouver Island is separated from mainland British Columbia by the Strait of Georgia and the Queen Charlotte
Strait, and from Washington by the Juan De Fuca Strait.

Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada, off Canada's Pacific coast. It is 460 km (285 miles) long
and up to 80 km (50 miles) wide. The largest island on the western side of North America at 32,134 km² (12,407 sq
mi), it is the world's 43rd largest island, Canada's 11th largest island and Canada's second most populous island after
the Island of Montreal, which has 1.3 million more people. The island is named in honour of George Vancouver, the
British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific coast of North America between 1791 and 1794.

Population

The 2001 census population was 656,312. British Columbia statistics in 2004 estimated the population at 734,860.
Slightly fewer than half of these (331,491) live in Greater Victoria. Other major cities on Vancouver Island include
Nanaimo, Port Alberni, Parksville, Comox, Courtenay, and Campbell River.

Geography

Vancouver Island is located in the southwestern corner of the province of British Columbia. It is separated from
mainland Canada by the Strait of Georgia, Johnstone Strait, and Queen Charlotte Strait, and from the U.S. by the
Strait of Juan de Fuca. To the west of the island is the Pacific Ocean.

The Vancouver Island Ranges run most of the length of the island, dividing it into a wet and rugged west coast and a
drier, more rolling east coast. The highest point in these ranges and on the island is the Golden Hinde, at 2195 m or
7200'. Located near the centre of Vancouver Island in the 2,500 km² (620,000 acre) Strathcona Provincial Park, it is part
of a group of peaks that include the only glaciers on the island, the largest of which is the Comox Glacier. The Golden
Hinde is also part of the Karmutsen Formation, which is a sequence of tholeiitic pillow basalts and breccias. The west
coast shoreline is rugged, and in many places mountainous, characterised by its many fjords, bays, and inlets. The
interior of the island has many lakes (Kennedy Lake, northeast of Ucluelet, is the largest) and rivers. Vancouver Island
formed when volcanic and sedimentary rock scraped off the ancient Kula Plate and plastered against the continental
margin when it was subducting under North America 55 million years ago.

Climate

The climate is the mildest in Canada, with temperatures on the coast even in January being usually above 0 °C (32 °F).
In summer, maximum temperatures average 21-24 °C (70-75 °F). However, the rain shadow effect of the island's
mountains, as well as the mountains of Washington's Olympic Peninsula, creates wide variation in precipitation. The
west coast is considerably wetter than the east coast. Average annual precipitation ranges from 6,650 millimetres (260
in) at Henderson Lake on the west coast (making it the wettest place in North America) to only 635 millimetres (25 in)
at the driest recording station in the provincial capital of Victoria on the southeast coast's Saanich Peninsula.
Precipitation is heaviest in the autumn and winter. Snow is rare at low altitudes but is common on the island's
mountaintops in winter.
A notable feature of Vancouver Island is the extension of Mediterranean-type summer dryness to latitudes as high as
50°N. Only in the extreme north of the island near Port Hardy is the rainfall of the driest summer month as much as
one fifth that of the wettest months from November to March. West coasts of other continents at similar latitudes
have a practically even distribution of rainfall through the year.

Vancouver Island lies in the temperate rainforest biome. On the southern and eastern portions of the island, this is
characterized by Douglas-fir, western red cedar, arbutus, Garry oak, salal, Oregon-grape, and manzanita. This is the
heavily populated region of Vancouver Island, and a major area for recreation. The northern, western, and most of
the central portions of the island are home to the coniferous "big trees" associated with British Columbia's coast —
hemlock, western red cedar, amabilis fir, yellow cedar, Douglas-fir, grand fir, Sitka spruce, and western white pine. It
is also characterised by broadleaf maple, red alder, sword fern, and red huckleberry.

Fauna

The fauna of Vancouver Island is similar to that found on the mainland coast, with some notable exceptions and
additions. For example, grizzly bears, mountain goats, porcupines, moose, skunks, coyotes, and numerous species of
small mammals, while plentiful on the mainland, are absent from Vancouver Island. The island does support most of
Canada's Roosevelt elk, however, and one species — the Vancouver Island Marmot — is unique to the island. The
island's rivers, lakes, and coastal regions are renowned for their fisheries of trout, salmon, and steelhead. It has the
most concentrated population of cougars in North America.
Vancouver Island was the location of the observation of the episodic tremor and slip seismic phenomenon.

History

The island is believed to have been inhabited by humans since the withdrawal of Ice Age glaciation some eight
thousand years ago. By the late 1700s, the primary First Nations there were the Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka) on the west
coast, various nations of the Salish language group on the south and east coasts, and the Kwakiutl on the center and
north of the island. The National Maps show a nation of Vancouver consisting of the island and the mainland coastal
regions from Queen Charlotte Sound to Cape Flattery.

European exploration
Europeans began to encroach on the island in 1774, when rumours of Russian fur traders caused the Spanish to send
a ship, the Santiago north under the command of Juan José Pérez Hernández. In 1775 a second Spanish expedition,
under Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra, was sent. Neither actually landed.

James Cook
Vancouver Island came to the attention of the wider world after the third voyage of Captain James Cook, who landed
at Nootka Sound of the Island's western shore on March 31, 1778 and claimed it for the United Kingdom. The island's
rich fur trading potential led the British East India Company to set up a single-building trading post in the native
village of Yuquot on Nootka Island, a small island in the Sound.

Esteban José Martínez
The island was further explored by Spain in 1789 by Esteban José Martínez, who built Fort San Miguel on one of
Vancouver Island's small offshore islets in the sound near Yuquot. This was to be the only Spanish settlement in what
would later be Canada. The Spanish began seizing British ships and the two nations came close to war, but the issues
were resolved peacefully with the Nootka Convention in 1792, in which both countries recognized the other's rights
to the area.

George Vancouver
Supervising the British activities was Captain George Vancouver from King's Lynn in England, who had sailed as a
midshipman with Cook, and from whom the island gained its name. While we know this Island today as Vancouver
Island--after George Vancouver--the English explorer had not intentionally meant to name such a large body of land
solely after himself. In his September 1792 dispatch log report for the British Admiralty, Captain Vancouver reveals
that his decision here was rather meant to honour a request by the Spanish seafarer Juan Francisco Quadra that
Vancouver "would name some port or island after us both in commemoration of our meeting and friendly intercourse
that on that occasion had taken place (Vancouver had previously feted Quadra on his ship);....and conceiving no
place more eligible than the place of our meeting, I have therefore named this land...The Island of Quadra and
Vancouver."

If Vancouver had been vain as some writers had charged, he could have chosen to name the entire Island exclusively
after himself instead of sharing its name with Quadra and placing the latter's name before his. The newly discovered
'Quadra-Vancouver' island "was the most prominent name on maps of the coast, and appeared on most
[contemporary] British, French and Spanish maps of the period. But as Spanish interests in the region dwindled, so
did Quadra's name. The Hudson's Bay Company played a major part in the transition; by 1824 'Vancouver's Island'
had become the usual designation in its correspondence" for the island. A quarter of a century later, Vancouver
Island had become such a well known geographical feature, that the founding of the Colony of Vancouver Island in
1849 gave this name full official status.

British settlement
The British colonial flag of Vancouver Island. It is used today as a local representative flag.
Shortly thereafter, in 1846, the Oregon Treaty was signed by the British and the US to settle the question of the US
Oregon Territory borders. It awarded all of Vancouver Island to what would be Canada, despite a portion of the island
lying south of the 49th parallel. In 1849, the Colony of Vancouver Island was established. Following the brief
governorship of Richard Blanshard, James Douglas, Chief Factor of the Hudson's Bay post, assumed the role in 1851
— a position he would maintain for the next thirteen years.

Victoria
The first British settlement on the island was a Hudson's Bay Company post, Fort Camosack, founded in 1843, and
later renamed Fort Victoria. Fort Victoria became an important base during the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush in 1858, and
the burgeoning town was incorporated as Victoria in 1862. Victoria became the capital of the colony of Vancouver
Island, then retained that status when the island was amalgamated with the mainland in 1866. A British naval base,
including a large shipyard and a naval hospital, was established at Esquimalt, British Columbia in 1865, and
eventually taken over by the Canadian military.
The economic situation of the colony declined following the Cariboo Gold Rush of 1861-62, and pressure grew for
amalgamation of the colony with the mainland colony of British Columbia (which had been established in 1858). The
colony's third and last governor, Sir Arthur Kennedy oversaw the union of the two colonies in 1866.

Economy

Forestry Industry
Vancouver Island's economy outside Victoria is largely dominated by the forestry industry, with tourism and fishing
also playing a large role. Many of the logging operations are for paper pulp, in "2nd growth" tree farms that are
harvested approximately every 30 years. In recent years the government of British Columbia has engaged in an
advertising program to draw more tourists to beach resorts such as Tofino and Ucluelet.
Logging operations involving old-growth forests such as those found on Clayoquot Sound are controversial, and have
gained international attention through the efforts of activists and environmental organizations.

Vineyards
There are rapidly expanding vineyards and the island produces wines that outscored some French wines at the St.
Catharines Wine Tasting of 2005 in blind evaluations.
Between Vancouver Island and the Canadian mainland there are several high voltage power cables.

Internet
There is also a fast building IT field on Vancouver Island. High Speed Internet is delivered to the island by various
companies. Wireless Internet connections can be found all over the island, many free for public use. Many coffee
shops provide free wireless Internet access and charge an average of five cents a minute for using their computers.

Higher Education
Higher education plays an economic role in the Greater Victoria area being as both students and staff of the many
post secondary schools number well over 50,000. The University of Victoria is the largest school on the island
enrolling 19,475 students in 2006/2007 and employing 4,124 staff. Royal Roads University is much smaller with 2,268
students and 680 staff. Camosun College is also located on a few campuses across the Greater Victoria region and has
17,000 students and almost 1,000 staff (though close to half of the students are under the distance education
umbrella). Malaspina University-College is Vancouver Island's other main university with its main campus in
Nanaimo, as well as other campuses in Duncan, Parksville and Powell River. Malaspina represents a unique
combination of a degree-granting university and a practical college. University Canada West, located in central
Victoria, rounds out the list of degree granting institutions. There are also numerous community colleges and
international education centres. Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific is an international school dedicated to the
promotion of world peace, cooperation, and coexistence. It is named after former Canadian Prime Minister Lester B.
Pearson.

Transport

Sea
Marine transport is very important to Vancouver Island for access to the mainland of British Columbia and
Washington. There are no bridges connecting the island to the mainland, although the idea of building one has been
brought up many times. The only vehicle access to Vancouver Island is via ferries operated by BC Ferries, Washington
State Ferry and Black Ball Transport Inc. There are six vehicle ferry routes:

BC Ferries

Tsawwassen - Swartz Bay
Tsawwassen BC is 38 km south of Vancouver
Swartz Bay BC is 32 km north of Victoria
Crossing time: 1 hour 35 minutes;
8 sailings per day in the fall, winter, and spring and more in summer

Tsawwassen - Duke Point
Tsawwassen BC is 38 km south of Vancouver
Duke Point BC is 13 km south of Nanaimo
Crossing time: 2 hours; 8 round trips daily

Horseshoe Bay - Departure Bay
Horseshoe Bay BC is 20 km northwest of Vancouver
Departure Bay BC is 3 km north of Nanaimo
Crossing time: 1 hour 35 minutes;
Sailings every 2 hours with extra sailings during the summer and holidays

Powell River, Sunshine Coast - Comox, Vancouver Island
Crossing time: 1 hour 20 minutes; 4 round trips daily

Washington State Ferries
Anacortes WA - Sidney BC
Crossing time: 3 hours (not counting stops in the San Juan Islands)

Black Ball Transport
Port Angeles WA - Victoria BC
Crossing time: 1 hour 30 minutes; 1 or 2 round trips daily

Passenger-only service
Three passenger-only ferry services run from the mainland to Vancouver Island:
Victoria Clipper
Seattle WA - Victoria BC
Crossing time: 2 hour 45 minutes; 1 to 3 round trips daily
Victoria Express
Port Angeles WA - Victoria BC (operates May through September)
Crossing time: 1 hour
Victoria San Juan Cruises
Bellingham WA - Victoria BC (operates one trip per day May through October)
Crossing time: 3 hours

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References

Air Carrier Traffic at Canadian Airports (Statistics Canada, 2005)
Notes
* BC stats, quoted at. Invest British Columbia. Retrieved on 2007-09-20.
* History and Heritage of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Retrieved on 2007-07-08.
* The Voyage of George Vancouver 1791-1795, Volume 1, ed: W. Kaye Lamb, Hakluyt Society, 1984, p.247
* George Vancouver, "A Narrative of my proceedings in HMS Discovery from 28 August - 26 September 1792"; the cited quote from
Vancouver is given in the final section of his report here from Nootka and is dated 26 September 1792, P.R.O., C.O. 5/187, f. 114
* Lamb, op. cit., p.247
* Lamb, op. cit., p.248
* Hbc Heritage - Our History - Places. Retrieved on 2008-03-08.
* "Air Carrier Traffic at Canadian Airports" (Catalogue no. 51-203-XIE), page 8. Statistics Canada, 2005
* "Air Carrier Traffic at Canadian Airports" (Catalogue no. 51-203-XIE), page 8. Statistics Canada, 2005
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