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73-534: Pachena Point Lighthouse is located on Vancouver Island , 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) south of Bamfield, British Columbia , in Pacific Rim National Park . The octagonal wooden tower is maintained by the Canadian Coast Guard who employ lighthouse keepers at the station. In Summer of 2024, it was announced that Pachena Point Light (along with nearby Carmanah Point Light) would be destaffed before

146-405: A deadlock with nothing resolved. Vancouver insisted the entire Spanish establishment be turned over, but Bodega y 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 Bodega y Quadra and Vancouver led the former to propose that

219-588: A formal application to the Geographical Names Board of Canada . A parallel American movement promoting the name had a different definition, combining of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound as well as the Strait of Georgia and related waters under the more general name Salish Sea . This latter definition was made official in 2009 by geographic boards of Canada and the United States. In October 2009,

292-556: A homestead in Sooke . Following the brief governorship of Richard Blanshard , James Douglas , Chief Factor of the Hudson's Bay post, assumed the role in 1851. The island's first legislative assembly was formed in 1856. Government buildings were built and were occupied in 1859; the replacement, today's Parliament Buildings , were opened in 1898. Fort Victoria had become an important base when prospectors, miners and merchants began arriving for

365-564: A loose grouping of many tribes with numerous distinct cultures and historically speak one of the Coast Salish languages . On Vancouver Island, Coast Salish peoples' territory traditionally spans from the northern limit of the Strait of Georgia on the east side of Vancouver Island and covers most of southern Vancouver Island. Distinct nations within the Coast Salish peoples on Vancouver Island include

438-457: 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

511-435: A request by 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 Bodega y 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. Bodega y Quadra wrote, however, that it

584-404: Is Nanaimo , which has a population of 115,459 as of 2021. There are also five census agglomeration areas ( Alberni Valley , Campbell River , Comox Valley , Cowichan Valley , and Oceanside ) as defined by Statistics Canada . [REDACTED] Nanaimo [REDACTED] Duncan Within the island's largest city, Victoria , there is a significant IT and technology industry. According to

657-568: Is a Northern Wakashan language , a grouping shared with Haisla, Heiltsuk and Wuikyala. Kwakwakaʼwakw centres of population on Vancouver Island include communities such as Fort Rupert , Alert Bay and Quatsino , the Kwakwakaʼwakw tradition of the potlatch was banned by the federal government of Canada in 1885, but has been revived in recent decades. The Nuu-chah-nulth (pronounced [nuːʧanˀuɬ]), are indigenous peoples in Canada. Their traditional home

730-527: Is considered invasive for its voracious appetite and scaring away of the Douglas squirrels. The island has the most concentrated population of cougars in North America. The Vancouver Island wolf , a subspecies of grey wolf , is found only on the north part of the island. Harbour seals and river otters are common. Resident orcas live in two major groups, one in the waters of the south island and one in

803-592: Is formed by a line between Cape Flattery and Tatoosh Island , Washington, and Carmanah Point (Vancouver Island), British Columbia. Its northern boundary follows the shoreline of Vancouver Island from Carmanah Point to Gonzales Point, then follows a continuous line east to Seabird Point ( Discovery Island ), British Columbia, Cattle Point ( San Juan Island ), Washington, Iceberg Point ( Lopez Island ), Point Colville (Lopez Island), and then to Rosario Head ( Fidalgo Island ). The eastern boundary runs south from Rosario Head across Deception Pass to Whidbey Island , then along

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876-409: 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

949-480: 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, characterized by its many fjords , bays, and inlets. The interior of the island has many lakes ( Kennedy Lake , north of Ucluelet , is the largest) and rivers. The 49th parallel north crosses the island just north of Ladysmith on

1022-446: Is separated from the mainland of British Columbia by Johnstone Strait and Queen Charlotte Strait on the north and 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. West of the island is the open Pacific Ocean, while to its north is Queen Charlotte Sound . The Straits of Georgia and Juan de Fuca are now officially part of

1095-447: Is similar to that found on the mainland coast, with some notable exceptions and additions. For example, mountain goats , moose , coyotes , porcupines , skunks , chipmunks , and numerous species of small mammals, while plentiful on the mainland, are absent from Vancouver Island. Grizzly bears are absent from the island, where black bears are prevalent, but in 2016, a pair of grizzlies were sighted swimming between smaller islands off

1168-597: Is some overlap, Kwakwakaʼwakw 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 Strait of Juan de Fuca . Their cultures are connected to the natural resources abundant in the area. The Kwakwakaʼwakw today number about 5,500, who live in British Columbia on northern Vancouver Island and

1241-474: 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 throughout the year. Vancouver Island is mostly made up of volcanic and sedimentary rock which were formed offshore on

1314-599: The Gulf of Maine boundary dispute . In this Atlantic Ocean context, Canada favours an outcome based on the principle of equidistance. In March 2008, the Chemainus First Nation proposed renaming the strait the " Salish Sea ", an idea that reportedly met with approval by British Columbia's Aboriginal Relations Minister Mike de Jong , who pledged to put it before the BC cabinet for discussion. Making Salish Sea official required

1387-753: The Coho carried 475,000 passengers and 130,000 vehicles in 2018. A passenger-only ferry on the same route, named the Victoria Express , operated from 1990 to 2011. Victoria is also the terminus of the Victoria Clipper , a passenger-only ferry from Seattle . Sidney, located northeast of Victoria, is served by a seasonal extension the Washington State Ferries system's route serving the San Juan Islands and Anacortes, Washington . This strait remains

1460-618: 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 Ring of Fire . The area has been known to host megathrust earthquakes in the past, the last being the Cascadia earthquake of 1700 . The Forbidden Plateau , in

1533-475: The Fraser Canyon Gold Rush in 1858. The Hudson's Bay lease expired in 1859 and the island reverted to Great Britain. The burgeoning town was incorporated as Victoria in 1862. Victoria became the capital of the colony of Vancouver Island, retaining this status when the island was amalgamated with the mainland in 1866. A British naval base, including Esquimalt Royal Navy Dockyard and a naval hospital,

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1606-708: The Lower Mainland . The capital was moved to Victoria in 1868. By 1867, Canada was established by the first of the British North America Acts , the Constitution Act, 1867 and the United Colonies joined Canada on 20 July 1871 through the British Columbia Terms of Union , following negotiations that secured the interests of the colonial elite in relation to a rail connection that would unite

1679-645: The Pacific Northwest . Vancouver Island is the world's 43rd largest island , Canada's 11th largest island , and Canada's second most populous island after the Island of Montreal . Vancouver Island has been the homeland of many indigenous peoples for thousands of years. The groupings, by language, are the Kwakwakaʼwakw (also known as the Kwakiutl ), Nuu-chah-nulth , and various Coast Salish peoples . While there

1752-538: The Salish Sea , which also includes Puget 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 m (7,201 ft). Located near the centre of Vancouver Island in 2,500 km (970 sq mi) Strathcona Provincial Park , it

1825-964: The Stz'uminus , the Kʼómoks of the Comox Valley 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. 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

1898-748: The United Colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia by the Act for the Union of the colonies, passed by the Imperial Parliament . Arthur Kennedy was appointed governor of the united entity. (He would leave office in 1866 and later became Governor of the West African Settlements, British West Africa .) Victoria became the capital but the legislative assembly was located in New Westminster on

1971-427: The gray whale , another cetacean with both residential and nomadic groups in the Strait. As migratory gray whales swim between Baja California and Alaska each year, they will often be seen in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, feeding on small marine creatures on the seafloor, and using the Strait as a sort of "rest stop" on their long journeys. They also socialize with and encounter the local, non-migratory gray whales in

2044-415: The 18th and 19th centuries, sea otters ( Enhydra lutris ) were protected by an 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 2005 , and their range on

2117-523: The Canadian province of British Columbia . The island is 456 km (283 mi) in length, 100 km (62 mi) in width at its widest point, and 32,100 km (12,400 sq mi) in total area, while 31,285 km (12,079 sq mi) are of land. The island is the largest by area and the most populous along the west coasts of the Americas . The southern part of Vancouver Island and some of

2190-624: 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

2263-707: 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

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2336-603: The Spanish force seized the Portuguese-flagged British ships. British naval captain George Vancouver was sent to Nootka Sound in 1792 in order to negotiate a settlement. 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

2409-562: The Spanish, Americans and British attempted to secure control of the 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 the Ditidaht . The Coast Salish are the largest of the southern groups. They are

2482-585: The Victoria Advanced Technology Council website, over 800 technology companies operate in the Victoria area, with combined annual revenues of $ 1.95 billion. 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

2555-529: The Washington State Board of Geographic Names approved the Salish Sea toponym , not to replace the names of the Strait of Georgia, Puget Sound, and Strait of Juan de Fuca, but instead as a collective term for all three. The British Columbia Geographical Names Office passed a resolution only recommending that the name be adopted by the Geographical Names Board of Canada , should its US counterpart approve

2628-468: 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 Great Britain. Maritime fur trader , John Meares arrived in 1786 and set up a single-building trading post near the native village of Yuquot (Friendly Cove), at the entrance to Nootka Sound in 1788. The fur trade began expanding into

2701-580: The climate of the Strait is disputed, with the Köppen system classifying it as Mediterranean , but most regional climatologists preferring oceanic . While the climate is mostly oceanic in nature, the dry summers result in the Mediterranean classification in the Köppen system. Rainfall ranges from over 100 inches (250 cm) ( temperate rainforest ) conditions at the west end to as little as 16 inches (410 mm) at

2774-523: The coast near Port McNeill . Vancouver Island does support most of Canada's Roosevelt elk , however, and several mammal species and subspecies, such as the Vancouver Island marmot are unique to the island. Columbian black-tailed deer are plentiful, even in suburban areas such as in Greater Victoria , as well as the native Douglas squirrels . The Eastern grey squirrel is found in the south and

2847-418: The colonies with the rest of Canada, establish Indian lands policy that would effectively perpetuate BC's pre-Confederation practices, and enshrine colonial officials' security of position. Victoria was named the capital of the province of British Columbia . Three delegates were appointed to the federal government. Vancouver Island is located in the southwestern corner of the province of British Columbia. It

2920-526: The construction of several high-voltage power cables, both HVDC and AC, connecting to the Canadian Mainland . Strait of Juan de Fuca It was named in 1787 by the maritime fur trader Charles William Barkley , captain of Imperial Eagle , for Juan de Fuca , the Greek navigator who sailed in a Spanish expedition in 1592 to seek the fabled Strait of Anián . Barkley was the first recorded person to find

2993-426: The east and Ucluelet on the west. Southern Vancouver Island is typically considered to refer to the area south of Courtenay, while Northern Vancouver Island generally refers to the area north of Campbell River. Those cities and the area between them are sometimes described as "Mid-Island" or "Central Island". There are a number of rivers draining the island, some of which though short are large in volume. Among

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3066-712: The east end, near Sequim . Because it is exposed to the generally westerly winds and waves of the Pacific, seas and weather in Juan de Fuca Strait are, on average, rougher than in the more protected waters inland, thereby resulting in a number of small-craft advisories , gale warnings , and storm warnings . An international vehicle ferry, the MV ; Coho , crosses the Strait from Port Angeles, Washington , to Victoria, British Columbia , several times each day. It began operating in 1959, replacing an earlier ferry, and remains privately owned;

3139-488: The east of the Vancouver Island Ranges , was the epicentre of the 1946 Vancouver Island earthquake that registered 7.3 on the moment magnitude scale , the strongest ever recorded on land in Canada. Vancouver Island was the location of the observation of the episodic tremor and slip (ETS) seismic phenomenon. Vancouver Island lies in the temperate rainforest biome . On the southern and eastern portions of

3212-402: The end of the year. On October 26 of the same year, the lightkeepers departed the station, leaving it unstaffed. This change was not well received and was met with heavy criticism. This British Columbia lighthouse-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of

3285-562: The island be named after both: "Quadra and Vancouver Island", which became the original name. While we know this island today as "Vancouver Island", the British 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

3358-560: The island remained in dispute between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Spanish Empire in the early 1790s. The two countries nearly began a war over the issue; the confrontation became known as the Nootka Crisis . That was averted when both agreed to recognize the other's rights to the area in the first Nootka Convention in 1790, a first step to peace. Finally, the two countries signed

3431-519: The island's west coast expanded from Cape Scott in the north to Barkley Sound to the south. The majority of Vancouver Island's population lives in the Capital Regional District , more specifically in the primate city and the provincial capital of Victoria . With a population of 397,237 (2021), Greater Victoria is the island's largest population centre and one of its two census metropolitan areas . The island's other metropolitan area

3504-441: The island, eventually leading to permanent settlement. 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,

3577-452: 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 . Vancouver Island is also the location where some of the tallest Douglas fir were recorded. This southeastern portion of the island is the most heavily populated region of Vancouver Island and

3650-558: The late 18th century. The Spanish and British conjointly named it Quadra's and Vancouver's Island in commemoration of the friendly negotiations held in 1792 between the Spanish commander of Fort San Miguel in Nootka Sound , Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra , and British naval captain George Vancouver , during the Nootka Crisis . (Bodega y Quadra's name was eventually dropped.) It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, who between 1791 and 1794 explored

3723-443: The line. Resolution of the issue should be simple, but has been hindered because it might influence other unresolved maritime boundary issues between Canada and the United States. In addition, the government of British Columbia has rejected both equidistant proposals, instead arguing that the Juan de Fuca submarine canyon is the appropriate "geomorphic and physiogeographic boundary". The proposed equidistant boundary currently marks

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3796-545: The mainland. They are also known as Kwakiutl in English, from one of their tribes, but they prefer their autonym Kwakwakaʼwakw . Their indigenous language, part of the Wakashan family, is Kwakʼwala . The name Kwakwakaʼwakw means "speakers of Kwakʼwala". The language is now spoken by less than 5% of the population—about 250 people. Today, 17 separate tribes make up the Kwakwakaʼwakw. Some Kwakwakaʼwakw groups are now extinct. Kwakʼwala

3869-452: The metropolitan area of Greater Victoria on the southern tip of the island, which includes Victoria , the capital of British Columbia. Other notable cities and towns on Vancouver Island include Nanaimo , Campbell River , Courtenay , Port Alberni and Parksville , all on or near the east coast. Indigenous peoples have inhabited Vancouver Island for thousands of years, long before the arrival of Spanish and British naval expeditions in

3942-447: The more notable rivers are the Somass River in the Alberni Valley , the Nimpkish River in the North Island region, the Englishman River up island from Nanaimo near Parksville , and the Cowichan River whose basin forms the Cowichan Valley region in the South Island region. The climate of Vancouver Island is the mildest in Canada, with temperatures on the coast even in January being usually above 0 °C (32 °F). In summer,

4015-457: The name-change. The United States Board on Geographic Names approved the name on November 12, 2009. Counties along the Strait of Juan de Fuca: Regional districts along the Strait of Juan de Fuca: Certain groups of seabirds called common murre migrate north by swimming. Some Pacific Coast murres paddle north to the sheltered bays of the Strait of Juan de Fuca to feed on herring and other small fish. Humpback whales can be observed near

4088-433: The naming of the city of Vancouver in 1885. By March 1843, James Douglas of the Hudson's Bay Company and a missionary had arrived and selected an area for settlement. Construction of the fort began in June of that year. This settlement was a fur trading post originally named Fort Albert (afterward Fort Victoria ). The fort was located at the Songhees settlement of Camosack (Camosun), 200 m (660 ft) northwest of

4161-431: The nearby Gulf Islands are the only parts of British Columbia or Western Canada to lie south of the 49th parallel . The southeast part of the island has one of the warmest climates in Canada, and since the mid-1990s has been mild enough in a few areas to grow Mediterranean crops such as olives and lemons . The population of Vancouver Island was 864,864 as of 2021. Nearly half of that population (~400,000) live in

4234-581: The north , while a third group of transient orcas roam much farther and avoid the resident orcas. Residents are watched from a distance and are numbered, with many being named as well. Humpback whales and gray whales are often seen on their migration between Alaskan waters where they feed in the summer and southern waters such as around California and Mexico where they give birth in the winter. The island's rivers, lakes, and coastal regions are renowned for their fisheries of trout , salmon , and steelhead . After near-total extirpation by fur traders in

4307-423: The northern boundary of the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary . British Columbia's position is based on the principle of natural prolongation which developed in international law . It poses a dilemma for the federal government of Canada. If Canada holds that the principle of natural prolongation applies to the Juan de Fuca Canyon on its Pacific Ocean coast, the assertion could undermine Canada's argument in

4380-419: The now disappeared Kula oceanic plate . Around 55 million years ago during the Paleogene Period , 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

4453-536: The period. But as Spanish interests in the region dwindled, so did the use of Bodega y 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. Period references to "Vancouver" referred to Vancouver Island until

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4526-412: The present-day Empress Hotel on Victoria's Inner Harbour . In 1846, the Oregon Treaty , which ended the Oregon boundary dispute , was signed by the British and the United States to settle the question of the U.S. Oregon Country borders. The Treaty made the 49th parallel latitude north the official border between the two countries. In order to ensure that Britain retained all of Vancouver Island and

4599-430: The second Nootka Convention in 1793 and the third Convention in 1794. As per that final agreement, the Spanish dismantled their fort at Nootka and left the area, giving the British sovereignty over Vancouver Island and the adjoining islands (including the Gulf Islands ). For decades, Quadra's and Vancouver's Island was the most prominent name on maps of the coast, and appeared on most British, French and Spanish maps of

4672-432: The southern Gulf Islands, however, it was agreed that the border would swing south around that area. In 1849, the Colony of Vancouver Island was established. The Colony was leased to the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) for an annual fee of seven shillings; the company's responsibility in return was to increase the population by promoting colonization. The first independent settler arrived that year: Captain Walter Grant started

4745-438: The southernmost harbours frequented by American fur traders at 51 degrees north and 128 degrees west . He relates that since Captain Robert Gray of Tiverton, Rhode Island , had 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". A settlement was not successfully negotiated and ownership of

4818-534: The strait, unless Juan de Fuca's story was true. The strait was explored in detail between 1789 and 1791 by Manuel Quimper , José María Narváez , Juan Carrasco , Gonzalo López de Haro , and Francisco de Eliza . The United States Geological Survey defines the Strait of Juan de Fuca as a channel . It extends east from the Pacific Ocean between Vancouver Island , British Columbia, and the Olympic Peninsula , Washington, to Haro Strait , San Juan Channel, Rosario Strait , and Puget Sound . The Pacific Ocean boundary

4891-422: The subject of a maritime boundary dispute between Canada and the United States. The dispute is only over the seaward boundary extending 200 nautical miles (370 km) west from the mouth of the strait. The maritime boundary within the strait is not in dispute. Both governments have proposed a boundary based on the principle of equidistance , but with different basepoint selections, resulting in small differences in

4964-502: The warmest days usually have a maximum of 28–33 °C (82–91 °F). The southeastern part of the island notably has a warm summer (Csb) Mediterranean climate with numerous vineyards . 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 mm (262 in) at Hucuktlis Lake on

5037-475: The west coast (making it the wettest place in North America) to only 608 mm (23.9 in) at Victoria Gonzales, the driest recording station in the provincial capital of Victoria . Precipitation is heaviest in the autumn and winter. Snow is rare at low altitudes, but is common on the island's mountaintops in winter. Skiing is popular at Mount Washington in the mid-island, with an elevation of 1,588 m (5,210 ft). A notable feature of Vancouver Island

5110-431: The western coast of Whidbey Island to Point Partridge , then across Admiralty Inlet to Point Wilson ( Quimper Peninsula ). The northern coast of the Olympic Peninsula forms the southern boundary of the strait. In the eastern entrance to the Strait, the Race Rocks Archipelago is in the high current zone halfway between Port Angeles, Washington, and Victoria, BC. Like the rest of the Salish Sea and surrounding regions,

5183-420: The western end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, mostly from June to November, especially in areas near Neah Bay and La Push . There is a resident (non-nomadic) population of killer whale in the Strait and surrounding waters, where they feed on spawning Chinook salmon . The migrating, so-called "transient" populations of killer whale often prey on the California sea lion and Steller's sea lion , in addition to

5256-549: Was Vancouver who made the suggestion of combining their names to designate some geographical feature. 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 Nahwitti (Newettee), a small inlet in the northwestern promontory of Vancouver's Island. The captain described Newettee as one of

5329-684: Was established at Esquimalt in 1865 and eventually taken over by the Canadian military . Today, as CFB Esquimalt , it is the home port of the Maritime Forces Pacific and parts are designated as National Historic Sites of Canada . 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 two colonies were merged in 1866 into

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