Vancouver Island

Geography
Location	Pacific Ocean, on Canada's southern west coast.
Coordinates	49°30′N 125°30′W / 49.5°N 125.5°W / 49.5; -125.5Coordinates: 49°30′N 125°30′W / 49.5°N 125.5°W / 49.5; -125.5[1]
Area	31,285 km2 (12,079.2 sq mi)
Area rank	43rd
Highest elevation	2,200 m (7,200 ft)
Highest point	Golden Hinde[2]
Country
Canada
Province	British Columbia
Largest city	Victoria (Provincial Capital) (pop. 344,630 [3])
Demographics
Population	759,366[4] (as of 2011)
Density	23.94 /km2 (62 /sq mi)

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

Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794. While the city of Vancouver is located on the North American mainland, Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, is located on the island.

The island is 460 kilometres (290 mi) in length and 80 kilometres (50 mi) in width at its widest point. At 32,134 km² (12,407 sq mi), Vancouver Island is the largest Pacific island east of New Zealand,^{[nb 1]} the largest island on the western side of North America, the world's 43rd largest island, Canada's 11th largest island, and Canada's second most populous island after the Island of Montreal. The Canada 2011 Census population is 759,366. ^[5] Nearly half of these (344,630) live in Greater Victoria. Other notable cities and towns on Vancouver Island include Nanaimo, Port Alberni, Parksville, Courtenay, and Campbell River.

The island was originally named Quadra's and Vancouver's Island in commemoration of the friendly negotiations held by Spanish Commander of the Nootka Sound settlement Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra, and British Naval Captain George Vancouver on Nootka Sound in 1792, to find a solution to the Nootka Crisis.

History[link]

Indigenous people[link]

This section requires expansion.

Vancouver Island has been the homeland to many main indigenous peoples for thousands of years.^[6] The groupings, by language, are the Kwakwaka'wakw, Nuu-chah-nulth, and Coast Salish. Kwakwaka'wakw territory includes northern and northwestern Vancouver Island and adjoining areas of the mainland, the Nuu-chah-nulth span most of the west coast, while the Coast Salish cover the southeastern Island and southernmost extremities along the Straits of Juan de Fuca. Their cultures are connected to the natural resources abundant in the area.

Kwakwaka'wakw[link]

A Kwakwaka'wakw wedding ceremony in 1914

The Kwakwaka'wakw today number about 5,500, who live in British Columbia on northern Vancouver Island and the mainland. The autonym they prefer is Kwakwaka'wakw. Their indigenous language, part of the Wakashan family, is Kwak'wala. The name Kwakwaka'wakw means "speakers of Kwak'wala". The language is now spoken by less than 5% of the population—about 250 people. Today 17 separate tribes make up the Kwakwaka'wakw, who historically spoke the common language of kwak'wala. Some Kwakwaka'wakw groups are now extinct. Kwak'wala is a Northern Wakashan language, a grouping shared with Haisla, Heiltsuk and Oowekyala. Kwakwaka'wakw centres of population on Vancouver Island include communities such as Fort Rupert, Alert Bay and Quatsino, The Kwakwaka'wakw tradition of the potlatch was banned by the federal government of Canada in 1885, but has been revived in recent decades.

Nuu-chah-nulth[link]

The Nuu-chah-nulth (pronounced [nuːʧanˀuɬ], or approximately "new-cha-nulth") are indigenous peoples in Canada. Their traditional home is on the west coast of Vancouver Island. In pre-contact and early post-contact times, the number of nations was much greater, but as in the rest of the region, smallpox and other consequences of contact resulted in the disappearance of some groups, and the absorption of others into neighbouring groups.

They were among the first Pacific peoples north of California to come into contact with Europeans, as the Spanish, Americans and British attempted to secure control of Pacific Northwest and the trade in otter pelts, with Nootka Sound becoming a focus of these rivalries. The Nuu-chah-nulth speak a Southern Wakashan language and are closely related to the Makah of the Olympic Peninsula, Washington State and Ditidaht.

Coast Salish[link]

The Coast Salish are the largest of the southern groups. They are a loose grouping of many tribes with numerous distinct cultures and languages. On Vancouver Island, Coast Salish peoples territory traditionally spans from the northern limit of the Gulf of Georgia on the inside of Vancouver Island and covering most of southern Vancouver Island. Distinct nations within the Coast Salish peoples on Vancouver Island include the Chemainus, the Comox of the Courtenay area, the Cowichan of the Cowichan Valley, the Esquimalt, the Saanich of the Saanich Peninsula, the Songhees of the Victoria area and Snuneymuxw in the Nanaimo area.

European exploration[link]

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Europeans began to explore the island in 1774, when rumours of Russian fur traders caused Spain to send a number of expeditions to assert its long-held claims to the Pacific Northwest. The first expedition was that of the Santiago, under the command of Juan José Pérez Hernández. In 1775, a second Spanish expedition under the Spanish Peruvian captain Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra was sent. By 1776 Spanish exploration had reached Bucareli Bay including the mouth of the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington, and Sitka Sound.

Vancouver Island came to the attention of Britain after the third voyage of Captain James Cook, who spent a month during 1778 at Nootka Sound, on the island's western coast. Cook claimed it for the United Kingdom. The island's rich fur trading potential led the fur-trader John Meares to set up a single-building trading post near the native village of Yuquot (Friendly Cove), at the entrance to Nootka Sound. The building was removed by the end of 1788.

The island was further explored by Spain in 1789 with Esteban José Martínez, who established the settlement of Yuquot and the artillery battery of Fort San Miguel at Friendly Cove, which Spain called Puerto de San Lorenzo de Nuca. This was to be the only Spanish settlement in what would later be Canada. Asserting their claim of exclusive sovereignty and navigation rights, the Spanish force seized the Portuguese-flagged British ships. The two nations came close to war in the ensuing Nootka Crisis, but the issues were resolved peacefully with the first Nootka Convention in 1790, in which both countries recognized the other's rights to the area. The terms of the convention called for Spain to turn over the Britain the buildings and land that had been seized in 1789. For this purpose the British Naval Captain George Vancouver was sent to Nootka Sound in 1792. His Spanish counterpart in the negotiations was Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra, who was commandant of Santa Cruz de Nuca in 1792. Vancouver had sailed as a midshipman with Cook. The negotiations between Vancouver and Bodega y Quadra ended in a deadlock with nothing resolved. Vancouver insisted the entire Spanish establishment be turned over, but Quadra held that there were no buildings seized in 1789 and the only possible land was a tiny and useless cove nearby. The two decided to refer the entire matter back to their respective governments. The friendly meeting between Quadra and Vancouver led the former to propose that the island be named after both: "Quadra and Vancouver Island", which became the original name. As Spain's influence in the area diminished in the 19th century, the name was shortened to the current "Vancouver".

Dionisio Alcalá Galiano was the first European to circumnavigate Vancouver Island

In 1792, the Spanish explorer Dionisio Alcalá Galiano and his crew were the first Europeans to circumnavigate Vancouver Island. On April 8, 1806 Captain John D'Wolf of Bristol, Rhode Island sailed the Juno to Newettee, a small inlet in the northwestern promontory of Vancouver's Island. The Captain described Newette as one of the southernmost harbors frequented by American fur traders at lat. 51 degrees N. and long. 128 degrees. He relates that since Captain Robert Gray of Tiverton, Rhode Island sailed the Columbia River in 1792, the trade of the Northwest coast had been almost entirely in the hands of Boston merchants, so much so that the natives called all traders "Boston Men." ^[7] While we know this island today as Vancouver Island the English explorer had not intentionally meant to name such a large body of land solely after himself.^[8] 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 Peruvian seafarer Juan Francisco de la Bodega y 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."^[9]

Bodega y Quadra wrote, however, that it was Vancouver who made the suggestion of combining their names to designate some geographical feature.^[10]

The newly discovered "Quadra's and Vancouver's 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.^[11] 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.^[12] Period references to "Vancouver" referred to Vancouver Island until the naming of the city of Vancouver in 1885.

British settlement[link]

The flag of Vancouver Island was authorised in 1865 (colonies could place their badges upon the fly of a blue ensign). This flag uses the Colonial Seal of Vancouver Island from 1849. The flag was probably never actually flown in colonial times, and is now used as an unofficial representative flag.^[13]

Shortly thereafter, in 1846, the Oregon Treaty was signed by the British and the U.S. to settle the question of the U.S. Oregon Territory borders. It awarded all of Vancouver Island to Britain, 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.

The first British settlement on the island was a Hudson's Bay Company post, Fort Camosack, founded in 1843, and later renamed Fort Victoria.^[14] 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, in 1865 and eventually taken over by the Canadian military.

The economic situation of the colony declined following the Cariboo Gold Rush of 1861-1862, 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.

Geography[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2011)

Vancouver Island is located in the southwestern corner of the province of British Columbia. It is separated from the mainland of British Columbia by Johnstone Strait, and Queen Charlotte Strait on the northeast, and by the Strait of Georgia on the southeast, which along with the Strait of Juan de Fuca along its southwest separate it from the United States (the Straits of Georgia and Juan de Fuca are now officially also part of the Salish Sea, which includes Puget Sound as well). West of the island is the open Pacific Ocean, while to its north is Queen Charlotte Sound.

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 2,195 metres (7,201 ft). Located near the centre of Vancouver Island in 2,500 square kilometres (965 sq mi) 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 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.

Major centres[link]

Vancouver Island's major population centre is the Capital Region, based around Victoria. There are six other metropolitan areas as defined by Statistics Canada. These metropolitan areas' populations in 2011 were as follows:

Climate[link]

The climate is the mildest in Canada, with temperatures on the coast even in January being usually above 0 °C (32 °F). In summer, the warmest days usually achieve a maximum of 28–33 °C (82.4–91.4 °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 (261.8 in) at Henderson Lake on the west coast (making it the wettest place in North America) to only 640 millimetres (25.2 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 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.

Geology[link]

The centre of Vancouver Island contains high mountains, such as Mount Rosseau.

Vancouver Island is mostly made up of volcanic and sedimentary rock which was formed offshore on the now disappeared Kula oceanic plate. Around 55 million years ago, a microplate of the Kula Plate subducted below the North American continental margin with great strain. A volcanic arc on the surface of the Kula Plate was thus accreted and fused onto the western edge of North America. These terranes were subjected to extreme warping from continued subduction of the Kula plate, leading to the formation of the distorted Insular Mountains. Much of the central mountainous region around Strathcona Park is part of the Karmutsen Formation, which is a sequence of tholeiitic pillow basalts and breccias. Since Vancouver Island has become an accretionary wedge on the North American continent, the Kula Plate has fully subducted beneath it and the remnants of the Farallon Plate, the Juan de Fuca Plate, are now subducting below the island. This process has led to Vancouver Island being one of the most seismically active regions in Canada. The subduction zone off the coast of the island forms a section of the Pacific Ring of Fire. The area has been known to host megathrust earthquakes in the past, the last occurring in 1700. In 1946, the Forbidden Plateau in the east of the Vancouver Island Ranges was the epicenter of an earthquake that registered 7.3 on the Richter scale, the strongest ever recorded on land in Canada.^[16]

Vancouver Island was the location of the observation of the episodic tremor and slip seismic phenomenon.

Ecology[link]

The western side of Vancouver Island hosts a rainforest.

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 (or madrone), Garry oak, salal, Oregon-grape, and manzanita; moreover, Vancouver Island is the location where the Douglas-fir was first recorded by Archibald Menzies;^[17] Vancouver Island is also the location where some of the tallest Douglas fir were recorded. This southeastern portion of the island 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 — western hemlock, western red cedar, Pacific Silver Fir, yellow cedar, Douglas-fir, grand fir, Sitka spruce, and western white pine. It is also characterised by bigleaf maple, red alder, sword fern, and red huckleberry.

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 two species — the Vancouver Island Marmot and the Vancouver Island Wolf — are 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.

After near-total extirpation by fur traders in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Sea otters (Enhydra lutris) were protected by international treaty in 1911. Despite protection, the remnant population off Vancouver Island died out with the last sea otter taken near Kyuquot in 1929. From 1969 to 1972, 89 sea otters were flown or shipped from Alaska to the west coast of Vancouver Island. This population expanded to over 3,000 as of 2004, and their range on the island's west coast expanded from Cape Scott in the north to Barkley Sound to the south.^[18]

Economy[link]

Technology[link]

Within the island's largest city, Victoria, there is a significant IT and technology industry. According to the Victoria Advanced Technology Council website, over 800 technology companies operate in the Victoria area, with combined annual revenues of $1.95 billion.^[19]

High Speed Internet is delivered to the island by Shaw Communications, Telus, and various local providers with their own networks. Wireless Internet connections can be found all over the Island, many free for public use.

While the Island does generate much of its own power at several hydroelectric stations, increased demand required the construction of several high voltage power cables, both HVDC and AC, connecting to the Canadian Mainland. See Powerlines connecting Vancouver Island with Canadian Mainland.

Logging[link]

Outside of Victoria, Vancouver Island's economy is largely dominated by the forestry industry. Many of the logging operations are for paper pulp, in "2nd growth" tree farms that are harvested approximately every 30 years. 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.

Fishing[link]

Fishing plays a large role in the lives of many islanders. Commercial fishing vessels operate out of the island's ports and harbours, and coastal fish farms (controversially) produce many tons of Atlantic salmon yearly.

Tourism[link]

In recent years the government of British Columbia has engaged in an advertising program to draw more tourists to beach resorts such as Tofino. Sport fishing, whale-watching, hiking, SCUBA diving, and skiing are just a few things for which tourists visit Vancouver Island. Visitors also come to see Victoria's nineteenth-century architecture, and the many villages which line the coast such as Cowichan Bay, Chemainus, and Campbell River.

Education[link]

Vancouver Island is home to a handful of universities, several trade-schools and colleges, hundreds of public schools, and a few dozen private schools (including Montessori and Waldorf schools).

Universities[link]

• University of Victoria
• Vancouver Island University (formerly Malaspina University-College)
• Royal Roads University

Colleges[link]

• Camosun College, Saanich
• North Island College

Public school districts[link]

There are 11 school districts on Vancouver Island with several elementary, junior high, and high schools in each. Three school districts are in the Greater Victoria area and the other eight cover the rest of the island to the north. All public schooling falls under the jurisdiction of the British Columbia Ministry of Education.

Private schools[link]

• St. Michael's University School, Victoria, with campuses in Oak Bay and Saanich
• Glenlyon Norfolk, Victoria
• St. Margaret's School, Victoria (limited to female students)
• Brentwood College, Mill Bay
• Shawnigan Lake
• Queen Margaret's School, Duncan
• Dwight International School, Shawnigan Lake
• Sunrise Waldorf School, Duncan
• Island Oak High School, Duncan
• Maria Montessori Academy, Victoria British Columbia, located in Gordan Head
• Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific, Metchosin
• St. Joseph's Chemainus Catholic Elementary School, Chemainus
• Duncan Christian School, Duncan
• Nanaimo Christian School, Nanaimo
• Pacific Christian School, Victoria

Transport[link]

Sea[link]

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. Major technical issues and cost are the largest barriers to a bridge currently though exact public support for the idea is not currently known. ^[20] The only vehicle access to Vancouver Island is via ferries operated by BC Ferries, Washington State Ferries and Black Ball Transport Inc. There are seven vehicle ferry routes:

A BC Ferries vessel.

BC Ferries

• Tsawwassen (38 km (24 mi) south of Vancouver) - Swartz Bay (32 km (20 mi) 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 (13 km (8 mi) south of Nanaimo)

Crossing time: 2 hours; 8 round trips daily.

• Horseshoe Bay (19 km (12 mi) northwest of Vancouver) - Departure Bay (3 km (2 mi) north of downtown Nanaimo)

Crossing time: 1 hour 35 minutes; Sailings every 2 hours with extra sailings during the summer and holidays.

• Gulf Islands - Swartz Bay

Crossing time: 35 minutes- 3 hours depending on island of departure; 4 or more trips daily.

• Powell River - Comox

Crossing time: 1 hour 20 minutes; 4 round trips daily.

• Port Hardy - Prince Rupert

Service daily or on alternate days; changes seasonally.

Washington State Ferries

• Anacortes, Washington - Sidney

Crossing time: 2 hours (not counting stops in the San Juan Islands)

Black Ball Transport

• Port Angeles, Washington - Victoria

Crossing time: 1 hour 30 minutes; 1 or 2 round trips daily

Passenger-only service

In addition, there are three passenger-only ferry services from the mainland to Vancouver Island:

• Victoria Clipper (Seattle, Washington - Victoria)

Crossing time: 2 hour 45 minutes; 1 to 3 round trips daily

• Victoria Express (Port Angeles, Washington - Victoria)

Crossing time: 1 hour (operates May through September)

• Victoria San Juan Cruises (Bellingham, Washington - Victoria)

Crossing time: 3 hours (operates one trip per day May through October)

• In the past, several passenger catamarans have been run between Nanaimo and Vancouver (most recently by HarbourLynx). Despite the operations repeatedly going bankrupt, there is still popular interest in a passenger service between Nanaimo and Vancouver.^[21][22][23]

Rail[link]

There are two remaining major railways on Vancouver Island. The Southern Railway of Vancouver Island, which assumed control of the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway from RailAmerica in July 2006 offers general freight service on the Victoria–Courtenay main line (called the Victoria Subdivision by the railroad). The Port Alberni branch line (called the Port Alberni Subdivision by the railroad) has been out of service since late 2001.

SVI also runs passenger service under contract with VIA Rail. Western Forest Products operates the Englewood Railway which is Canada's last logging railway, running from Woss to Beaver Cove on the northern end of the island. The former Canadian National Railway out of Victoria to the Cowichan Valley was abandoned in the late 1980s/early 1990s, and the former grade between Victoria and Sooke is now the multi-use Galloping Goose Regional Trail. The BC Forest Discovery Centre has a narrow gauge railway winding around the park, and the Alberni Pacific Railway operates during the summer from the restored E&N Railway station in Port Alberni to the McLean's Mill on former E&N Railway trackage.

Road[link]

There is one major north-south highway system on the island, which runs along the eastern side. It begins as Highway 1 in Victoria, and merges with Highway 19 in Nanaimo, which then terminates at Port Hardy. The highway is a four lane divided highway between Victoria and Campbell River (except the Malahat section), and two lanes north of Campbell River.

East-west routes are:

• Highway 4 between Parksville and Tofino;
• Highway 14 between Greater Victoria and Port Renfrew;
• Highway 18 between Duncan and Lake Cowichan;
• Highway 28 between Campbell River and Gold River; and
• Highway 30 between Port Hardy and Port Alice.

In addition, Highway 17 connects Victoria with the Saanich Peninsula, terminating the Vancouver Island portion of its route at the Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal.

Vancouver Island is well served by secondary routes, and numerous active and decommissioned logging and forest service roads provide access into the back country.

Many communities are served by public transit. Greater Victoria is one of the few places in North America where double-deck buses are used in the regular public transit system.

Proposals have been made for a "fixed link" to the mainland for over a century. Because of the extreme depth and soft seabed of the Georgia Strait, and the potential for seismic activity, a bridge or tunnel would face monumental engineering, safety, and environmental challenges at a prohibitive cost.^[24]

Air[link]

Victoria International Airport (YYJ)

• Victoria Airport is the major airport on Vancouver Island. In 2010, it was the 9th busiest airport in Canada in terms of passenger movements (1,464,420).^[25] Six major carriers (Air Canada, Air Canada Jazz, United Airlines, Horizon Air, Pacific Coastal Airlines, and WestJet) offer a variety of direct flights of short and medium distance including to and from Seattle, San Francisco, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, and Toronto. Victoria International also has seasonal service to Puerto Vallarta, Cancun, Las Vegas, and Honolulu.

CFB Comox (YQQ)

• CFB Comox/Comox Valley Airport is a shared military and civilian airport. In 2010 the Comox Valley Airport was the second busiest airport on Vancouver Island in terms of passenger movements (291,910).^[25] It offers direct flights to Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, and Campbell River several times daily, as well as Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, on a weekly basis through WestJet.

Nanaimo Airport (YCD)

• Nanaimo Airport has flights with Air Canada Jazz to Vancouver and Island Express Air to Victoria and Abbotsford. A recently installed (as of February 2010) instrument landing system and runway extension has improved the capacity, safety, and punctuality of flights. There are more improvements slated for completion March 2011.^[26]

Qualicum Beach Airport (XQU), Tofino Airport (YAZ), Campbell River Airport (YBL) and Port Hardy Airport (YZT)

• Qualicum Beach^[27], Tofino, Campbell River and Port Hardy have small airports capable of handling private aircraft and small commercial jets.

Harbour Airports and Heliports

• Floatplane and helicopter traffic to and from Victoria's Inner Harbour (YWH) accounted for 261,712 passengers in 2010,^[25] making it the third busiest airport on Vancouver Island. Nanaimo Harbour (ZNA) also operates a busy water aerodrome. Much of the floatplane traffic is downtown-to-downtown service between these two and Vancouver Harbour, the primary carriers being Harbour Air, West Coast Air, and Baxter Aviation. Harbour Air also flies to other areas around Vancouver, service to Seattle's Lake Union is provided by Kenmore Air, and Orca Airways runs flights between Vancouver and Tofino Harbour. These carriers make several daily scheduled flights, weather permitting. Helicopter service is provided by Helijet in Victoria and various private operators elsewhere.

See also[link]

• Canadian wine
• Cascadia subduction zone
• Colony of Vancouver Island
• Cougar Annie
• First Nations on Vancouver Island
• Kinsol Trestle
• Sasquatch
• Vancouver Island Health Authority
• West Coast of Vancouver Island Aquatic Management Board

Notes[link]

1. ^ Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, off the southern tip of South America, is larger than Vancouver Island and has shores on both the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, but is not generally considered to be a "Pacific island". Alexander Island, west of Palmer Land, the Antarctic Peninsula, is also larger than Vancouver Island, but is not generally consider to be a "Pacific island".

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Cheadle, Chris (2008). Portrait of Vancouver Island. Heritage House Pub. ISBN 978-1-894974-47-9. http://books.google.ca/books?id=Z4BllOkysoUC&lpg=PP1&dq=Vancouver%20Island&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=true. 

External links[link]

• Birds of Vancouver Island
• Great Seal of the crown colony of Vancouver Island
• Measuring crustal motions in coastal British Columbia with continuous GPS
• BC Ministry of Transportation - Report on Fixed Link
• Qualicum Beach Airport on COPA's Places to Fly airport directory

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Vancouver
—  City  —
City of Vancouver
Clockwise from top: Downtown Vancouver as seen from the southern shore of False Creek, The University Endowment Lands, Lions Gate Bridge, a view from Granville Street Bridge, Burrard Bridge, The Millennium Gate (Chinatown), and totem poles in Stanley Park
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Location of Vancouver within Metro Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada
Vancouver Location of Vancouver in Canada
Coordinates: 49°15′N 123°6′W / 49.25°N 123.1°W / 49.25; -123.1
Country	Canada
Province	British Columbia
Region	Lower Mainland
Regional District	Metro Vancouver
Incorporated	1886
Named for	Captain George Vancouver
Government
• Mayor	Gregor Robertson (Vision Vancouver)
• City Council	List of Councillors Suzanne Anton (NPA) David Cadman (COPE) George Chow (Vision) Heather Deal (Vision) Kerry Jang (Vision) Raymond Louie (Vision) Geoff Meggs (Vision) Andrea Reimer (Vision) Tim Stevenson (Vision) Ellen Woodsworth (COPE)
• MPs (Fed.)	List of MPs Don Davies (New Democrat) Libby Davies (New Democrat) Hedy Fry (Liberal) Joyce Murray (Liberal) Wai Young (Conservative)
• MLAs (Prov.)	List of MLAs Spencer Chandra Herbert (NDP) Christy Clark (BC Lib) Adrian Dix (NDP) Mable Elmore (NDP) Colin Hansen (BC Lib) Kash Heed (BC Lib) Jenny Kwan (NDP) Margaret MacDiarmid (BC Lib) Mary McNeil (BC Lib) Shane Simpson (NDP) Moira Stilwell (BC Lib)
Area
• City	114.97 km2 (44.39 sq mi)
• Metro	2,878.52 km2 (1,111.40 sq mi)
Elevation	0-152 m (0-501 ft)
Population (2011 Census)[1]
• City	603,502 (8th)
• Density	5,249/km2 (13,590/sq mi)
• Metro	2,313,328 (3rd)
• Demonym	Vancouverite
Time zone	PST (UTC−8)
• Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC−7)
Postal code span	V5K to V6Z
Area code(s)	604, 778
NTS Map	092G03
GNBC Code	JBRIK
Website	City of Vancouver

Vancouver (/vænˈkuːvər/) is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. The 2011 census recorded more than 603,000 people in the city, making it the eighth largest among Canadian cities.^[1] The metropolitan area, with more than 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country^[1] and the most populous in Western Canada. With 5,249 people per square kilometre (13,590 per sq mile), the City of Vancouver is the most densely populated Canadian municipality among those with 5,000 residents or more.^[2] Vancouver is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities in Canada, with 52% for whom English is not their first language.^[3][4]

The original settlement, named Gastown, grew around the Hastings Mill logging sawmill and a nearby tavern, both established in 1867. Enlarging to become the townsite of Granville, with the announcement that the railhead would reach the site it was renamed "Vancouver" and incorporated as a city in 1886. By 1887, the transcontinental railway was extended to the city to take advantage of its large natural seaport, which soon became a vital link in a trade route between the Orient, Eastern Canada, and London.^[5][6] As of 2009, Port Metro Vancouver is the busiest and largest port in Canada, and the most diversified port in North America.^[7] While forestry remains its largest industry, Vancouver is well known as an urban centre surrounded by nature, making tourism its second-largest industry.^[8] Major film production studios in Vancouver and Burnaby have turned Metro Vancouver into the third-largest film production centre in North America after Los Angeles and New York City, earning it the film industry nickname, Hollywood North.^[9][10]

Vancouver has ranked highly in worldwide "liveable city" rankings for more than a decade according to business magazine assessments^[11][12] and it was also acknowledged by Economist Intelligence Unit as the first city to rank among the top-ten of the world's most liveable cities for five straight years.^[13] It has hosted many international conferences and events, including the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, Expo 86, and the World Police and Fire Games in 1989 and 2009. The 2010 Winter Olympics and 2010 Winter Paralympics were held in Vancouver and nearby Whistler, a resort community 125 km (78 mi) north of the city.^[14]

History[link]

Indigenous peoples[link]

Archaeological records indicate the presence of Aboriginal people in the Vancouver area from 8,000 to 10,000 years ago.^[15][16] The city is located in the traditional territories of the Squamish, Musqueam, and Tseil-Waututh (Burrard) peoples of the Coast Salish group.^[17] They had villages in various parts of present day Vancouver, such as Stanley Park, False Creek, Kitsilano, Point Grey and near the mouth of the Fraser River.^[16]

Exploration and contact[link]

The first European to explore the coastline of present-day Point Grey and parts of Burrard Inlet was José María Narváez of Spain, in 1791, although one author contends that Francis Drake may have visited the area in 1579.^[18] The city is named after George Vancouver, who explored the inner harbour of Burrard Inlet in 1792 and gave various places British names.^[19][20][21]

The explorer and North West Company trader Simon Fraser and his crew were the first known people of European race to set foot on the site of the present-day city. In 1808, they travelled from the east down the Fraser River, perhaps as far as Point Grey.^[22]

Early growth[link]

The Fraser Gold Rush of 1858 brought over 25,000 men, mainly from California, to nearby New Westminster (founded February 14, 1859) on the Fraser River, on their way to the Fraser Canyon, bypassing what would become Vancouver.^[23][24][25] Vancouver is among British Columbia's youngest cities;^[26] the first European settlement in what is now Vancouver was not until 1862 at McLeery's Farm on the Fraser River, just east of the ancient village of Musqueam in what is now Marpole. A sawmill established at Moodyville (now the City of North Vancouver) in 1863, began the city's long relationship with logging. It was quickly followed by mills owned by Captain Edward Stamp on the south shore of the inlet. Stamp, who had begun lumbering in the Port Alberni area, first attempted to run a mill at Brockton Point, but difficult currents and reefs forced the relocation of the operation in 1867 to a point near the foot of Gore Street. This mill, known as the Hastings Mill, became the nucleus around which Vancouver formed. The mill's central role in the city waned after the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) in the 1880s. It nevertheless remained important to the local economy until it closed in the 1920s.^[27]

The settlement which came to be called Gastown grew up quickly around the original makeshift tavern established by "Gassy" Jack Deighton in 1867 on the edge of the Hastings Mill property.^[26][28] In 1870, the colonial government surveyed the settlement and laid out a townsite, renamed "Granville" in honour of the then-British Secretary of State for the Colonies, Lord Granville. This site, with its natural harbour, was selected in 1884^[29] as the terminus for the Canadian Pacific Railway, to the disappointment of Port Moody, New Westminster and Victoria, all of which had vied to be the railhead. A railway was among the inducements for British Columbia to join the Confederation in 1871, but the Pacific Scandal and arguments over the use of Chinese labour delayed construction until the 1880s.^[30]

A portrait of the first Vancouver City Council meeting after the 1886 fire. The tent shown was on the east side of the 100 block Carrall.^[31]

Panorama of Vancouver, 1898

Incorporation[link]

The City of Vancouver was incorporated on April 6, 1886, the same year that the first transcontinental train arrived. CPR president William Van Horne arrived in Port Moody to establish the CPR terminus recommended by Henry John Cambie, and gave the city its name in honour of George Vancouver.^[26] The Great Vancouver Fire on June 13, 1886, razed the entire city. The Vancouver Fire Department was established that year and the city quickly rebuilt.^[27] Vancouver's population grew from a settlement of 1,000 people in 1881 to over 20,000 by the turn of the century and 100,000 by 1911.^[32]

Vancouver merchants outfitted prospectors bound for the Klondike Gold Rush in 1898.^[23] One of those merchants, Charles Woodward, had opened the first Woodward's store at Abbott and Cordova Streets in 1892 and, along with Spencer's and the Hudson's Bay department stores, formed the core of the city's retail sector for decades.^[33]

The economy of early Vancouver was dominated by large companies such as the CPR, which fueled economic activity and led to the rapid development of the new city;^[34] in fact the CPR was the main real estate owner and housing developer in the city. While some manufacturing did develop, natural resources became the basis for Vancouver's economy. The resource sector was initially based on logging and later on exports moving through the seaport, where commercial traffic constituted the largest economic sector in Vancouver by the 1930s.^[35]

Twentieth century[link]

The dominance of the economy by big business was accompanied by an often militant labour movement. The first major sympathy strike was in 1903 when railway employees struck against the CPR for union recognition. Labour leader Frank Rogers was killed by CPR police while picketing at the docks, becoming the movement's first martyr in British Columbia.^[36] The rise of industrial tensions throughout the province led to Canada's first general strike in 1918, at the Cumberland coal mines on Vancouver Island.^[37] Following a lull in the 1920s, the strike wave peaked in 1935 when unemployed men flooded the city to protest conditions in the relief camps run by the military in remote areas throughout the province.^[38][39] After two tense months of daily and disruptive protesting, the relief camp strikers decided to take their grievances to the federal government and embarked on the On-to-Ottawa Trek,^[39] but their protest was put down by force. The workers were arrested near Mission and interned in work camps for the duration of the Depression.^[40]

Other social movements, such as the first-wave feminist, moral reform, and temperance movements were also influential in Vancouver's development. Mary Ellen Smith, a Vancouver suffragist and prohibitionist, became the first woman elected to a provincial legislature in Canada in 1918.^[41] Alcohol prohibition began in the First World War and lasted until 1921, when the provincial government established control over alcohol sales, a practice still in place today.^[42] Canada's first drug law came about following an inquiry conducted by the federal Minister of Labour and future Prime Minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King. King was sent to investigate damages claims resulting from a riot when the Asiatic Exclusion League led a rampage through Chinatown and Japantown. Two of the claimants were opium manufacturers, and after further investigation, King found that white women were reportedly frequenting opium dens as well as Chinese men. A federal law banning the manufacture, sale, and importation of opium for non-medicinal purposes was soon passed based on these revelations.^[43]

Amalgamation with Point Grey and South Vancouver gave the city its final boundaries not long before it became the third-largest metropolis in the country. As of January 1, 1929, the population of the enlarged Vancouver was 228,193.^[44]

Geography[link]

23 neighborhood communities of Vancouver (local usage varies)

Located on the Burrard Peninsula, Vancouver lies between Burrard Inlet to the north and the Fraser River to the south. The Strait of Georgia, to the west, is shielded from the Pacific Ocean by Vancouver Island. The city has an area of 114 km² (44 sq mi), including both flat and hilly ground, and is in the Pacific Time Zone (UTC−8) and the Pacific Maritime Ecozone.^[45] Until the city's naming in 1885, "Vancouver" referred to Vancouver Island, and it remains a common misconception that the city is located on the island.^[46][47] The island and the city are both named after Royal Navy Captain George Vancouver (as is the city of Vancouver, Washington in the United States).

Vancouver has one of the largest urban parks in North America, Stanley Park, which covers 404.9 hectares (1,001 acres).^[48] The North Shore Mountains dominate the cityscape, and on a clear day scenic vistas include the snow-capped volcano Mount Baker in the state of Washington to the southeast, Vancouver Island across the Strait of Georgia to the west and southwest, and Bowen Island to the northwest.^[49]

Ecology[link]

The vegetation in the Vancouver area was originally temperate rain forest, consisting of conifers with scattered pockets of maple and alder, and large areas of swampland (even in upland areas, due to poor drainage).^[50] The conifers were a typical coastal British Columbia mix of Douglas fir, Western red cedar and Western Hemlock.^[51] The area is thought to have had the largest trees of these species on the British Columbia Coast. Only in Elliott Bay, Seattle did the size of trees rival those of Burrard Inlet and English Bay. The largest trees in Vancouver's old-growth forest were in the Gastown area, where the first logging occurred, and on the southern slopes of False Creek and English Bay, especially around Jericho Beach. The forest in Stanley Park was logged between the 1860s and 1880s, and evidence of old-fashioned logging techniques such as springboard notches can still be seen there.^[52]

Many plants and trees growing throughout Vancouver and the Lower Mainland were imported from other parts of the continent and from points across the Pacific. Examples include the monkey puzzle tree, the Japanese Maple, and various flowering exotics, such as magnolias, azaleas, and rhododendrons. Some rhododendrons have grown to immense sizes,^{[citation needed]} as have other species imported from harsher climates in Eastern Canada or Europe. The native Douglas Maple can also attain a tremendous size. Many of the city's streets are lined with flowering varieties of Japanese cherry trees donated from the 1930s onward by the government of Japan. These flower for several weeks in early spring each year, an occasion celebrated by the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival. Other streets are lined with flowering chestnut, horse chestnut and other decorative shade trees.^[53]

Climate[link]

Vancouver's climate is mild enough in the winter to allow Windmill Palms to grow

Vancouver is one of the warmest Canadian cities. Vancouver's climate is temperate by Canadian standards and is usually classified as Oceanic or Marine west coast, which under the Köppen climate classification system would be Cfb. The summer months are typically dry, with an average of only one in five days during July and August receiving precipitation. In contrast, precipitation falls during nearly half the days from November through March.^[54]

Annual precipitation as measured at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond averages 1,199 millimetres (47.2 in), though this varies dramatically throughout the metropolitan area due to the topography and is considerably higher in the downtown area. In winter, a majority of days receive measurable precipitation. Summer months are drier and sunnier with moderate temperatures, tempered by sea breezes. The daily maximum averages 22 °C (72 °F) in July and August, with highs rarely reaching 30 °C (86 °F).^[55]

The highest temperature ever recorded was 34.4 °C (93.9 °F) on July 30, 2009.^[56]

On average, snow falls on eleven days per year, with three days receiving 6 cm (2.4 in) or more. Average yearly snowfall is 48.2 cm (19.0 in) but typically does not remain on the ground for long.^[55]

Winters in Greater Vancouver are the fourth mildest of Canadian cities after nearby Victoria, Nanaimo and Duncan, all on Vancouver Island.^[57]

Cityscape[link]

A view of English Bay from the Burrard Bridge

Urban planning[link]

At 5,335 people per km² (13,817.6 people per mi²) in 2006, Vancouver is more densely populated than most North American cities. Urban planning in Vancouver is characterized by high-rise residential and mixed-use development in urban centres, as an alternative to sprawl.^[59]

Downtown Vancouver as seen from the Lookout Tower

Vancouver has been ranked one of the most livable cities in the world for more than a decade.^[12] As of 2010, Vancouver has been ranked as having the 4th highest quality of living of any city on Earth.^[60] In contrast, according to Forbes, Vancouver had the 6th most overpriced real estate market in the world and was second-highest in North America after Los Angeles in 2007.^[61] Vancouver has also been ranked among Canada's most expensive cities in which to live.^[62][63] Forbes has also ranked Vancouver as the tenth cleanest city in the world.^[64]

This approach originated in the late 1950s, when city planners began to encourage the building of high-rise residential towers in Vancouver's West End,^[65] subject to strict requirements for setbacks and open space to protect sight lines and preserve green space. The success of these dense but livable neighbourhoods led to the redevelopment of urban industrial sites, such as North False Creek and Coal Harbour, beginning in the mid-1980s. The result is a compact urban core that has gained international recognition for its "high amenity and 'livable' development".^[66] More recently, the city has been debating "ecodensity"—ways in which "density, design, and land use can contribute to environmental sustainability, affordability, and livability."^[67]

A panorama of Vancouver looking north from the vicinity of Broadway and Oak Street. The bridge on the left is the Granville Street Bridge.

Architecture[link]

Woodwards development W43 tower

The Vancouver Art Gallery is housed downtown in the neoclassical former courthouse built in 1906. It was designed by Francis Rattenbury, who also designed the British Columbia Parliament Buildings and the Empress Hotel in Victoria, and the lavishly decorated second Hotel Vancouver.^[68] The 556-room Hotel Vancouver, opened in 1939 and the third by that name, is across the street with its copper roof. The Gothic-style Christ Church Cathedral, across from the hotel, opened in 1894 and was declared a heritage building in 1976.

There are several modern buildings in the downtown area, including the Harbour Centre, the Vancouver Law Courts and surrounding plaza known as Robson Square (designed by Arthur Erickson) and the Vancouver Library Square (designed by Moshe Safdie), reminiscent of the Colosseum in Rome, and the recently completed Woodward's building Redevelopment (designed by Gregory Henriquez). The original BC Hydro headquarters building (designed by Ron Thom and Ned Pratt) at Nelson and Burrard Streets is a modernist high-rise, now converted into the Electra condominiums.^[69] Also notable is the "concrete waffle" of the MacMillan-Bloedel building on the north-east corner of the Georgia and Thurlow intersection.

A prominent addition to the city's landscape is the giant tent-frame Canada Place, the former Canada Pavilion from the 1986 World Exposition, which includes part of the Convention Centre, the Pan-Pacific Hotel, and a cruise ship terminal. Two modern buildings that define the southern skyline away from the downtown area are City Hall and the Centennial Pavilion of Vancouver Hospital, both designed by Townley and Matheson in 1936 and 1958 respectively.^[70][71]

A collection of Edwardian buildings in the city's old downtown core were, in their day, the tallest commercial buildings in the British Empire. These were, in succession, the Carter-Cotton Building (former home of The Vancouver Province newspaper), the Dominion Building (1907) and the Sun Tower (1911), the former two at Cambie and Hastings Streets and the latter at Beatty and Pender Streets. The Sun Tower's cupola was finally exceeded as the Empire's tallest commercial building by the elaborate Art Deco Marine Building in the 1920s.^[72] The Marine Building is known for its elaborate ceramic tile facings and brass-gilt doors and elevators, which make it a favourite location for movie shoots.^[73] Topping the list of tallest buildings in Vancouver is Living Shangri-La at 201 metres (659 feet)^[74] and 62 storeys. The second-tallest building in Vancouver is One Wall Centre at 150 metres (490 feet)^[75] and 48 storeys, followed closely by the Shaw Tower at 149 metres (489 feet).^[75]