Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of 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 km2 (12,400 sq mi) in total area, while 31,285 km2 (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.
Campbell River is a city in British Columbia, Canada, on the east coast of Vancouver Island at the south end of Discovery Passage, which lies along the 50th parallel north along the important Inside Passage shipping route. Campbell River has a population of 32,588 and has long been touted as the "salmon capital of the world." Campbell River and Region are near the communities of Quadra and the Discovery Islands, Sayward, Oyster River, Gold River, Tahsis and Zeballos.
Highway 19A, known locally as the Oceanside Route or the Old Island Highway, is a provincial highway in British Columbia, Canada. It runs along two former sections of Highway 19 on Vancouver Island, within Nanaimo and between Craig's Crossing and Campbell River. The section of Highway 19A between Craig's Crossing and Campbell River is 136.89 km (85.06 mi) long, and the Nanaimo alignment covers 10.64 km (6.61 mi). The highway was established after Highway 19 was realigned to a new road between 1996 and 2001.
Comox is a town on the southern coast of the Comox Peninsula in the Strait of Georgia on the eastern coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Thousands of years ago, the warm dry summers, mild winters, fertile soil, and abundant sea life attracted First Nations, who called the area kw'umuxws.
The Strait of Georgia or the Georgia Strait is an arm of the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the extreme southwestern mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada, and the extreme northwestern mainland coast of Washington, United States. It is approximately 240 kilometres (150 mi) long and varies in width from 20 to 58 kilometres. Along with the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound, it is a constituent part of the Salish Sea.
Powell River is a city on the northern Sunshine Coast of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Most of its population lives near the eastern shores of Malaspina Strait, which is part of the larger Georgia Strait between Vancouver Island and the Mainland. With two intervening long, steep-sided fjords inhibiting the construction of a contiguous road connection with Vancouver to the south, geographical surroundings explain Powell River's remoteness as a community, despite relative proximity to Vancouver and other populous areas of the BC Coast. The city is the location of the head office of the qathet Regional District.
Courtenay is a city of about 26,000 on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is the largest community and only city in the area commonly known as the Comox Valley, and the seat of the Comox Valley Regional District, which replaced the Comox-Strathcona Regional District. Courtenay is 4 km (2.5 mi) west of the town of Comox, 7 km (4.3 mi) northeast of the village of Cumberland, 5 km (3.1 mi) northwest of the unincorporated settlement of Royston, and 108 km (67 mi) northwest of Nanaimo. Along with Nanaimo and Victoria, it is home to The Canadian Scottish Regiment, a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Armed Forces.
Pacific Coastal Airlines is a Canadian regional airline that operates scheduled, charter and cargo services to destinations in British Columbia. Its head office is located in the South Terminal of Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, British Columbia. Its main base is Vancouver International Airport.
The Regional District of Comox-Strathcona was a regional district of British Columbia, Canada, from 1967 to 2008. On February 15, 2008, the regional district was abolished and replaced by two successor regional districts, Comox Valley and Strathcona.
The Comox Valley is a region on the east coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, that includes the city of Courtenay, the town of Comox, the village of Cumberland, and the unincorporated settlements of Royston, Union Bay, Fanny Bay, Black Creek, and Merville. The communities of Denman Island and Hornby Island are also considered part of the Comox Valley. The Comox Valley contains the 47th largest metropolitan area in Canada with a population of about 76,000 as of 2022.
Union Bay is an unincorporated community located south of Hart Creek on the east coast of central Vancouver Island, British Columbia. This Comox Valley community on BC Highway 19A is by road about 93 kilometres (58 mi) north of Nanaimo, and 14 kilometres (9 mi) south of Courtenay.
Baynes Sound is the channel between Denman Island and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The sound is a narrow western offshoot of the Strait of Georgia that separates Vancouver Island from the mainland of British Columbia. The area is actively harvested by the local oyster industry, as is apparent by an abundance of oyster farms. It produces 39% of the oysters and 55% of the manila clams farmed in British Columbia. The sound is 40 km (25 mi) long and is 3.5 km (2.2 mi) wide at its widest point, although the average width is less than 2 km (1.2 mi). The southern boundary lies around Chrome Island, a small island off Boyle Point, the southern tip of Denman. The northern boundary is less defined, but lies between Tree Island at the northern end of Denman and the Comox harbour. The sound is dotted with the small communities of Royston, Union Bay, Buckley Bay, Mud Bay, Fanny Bay, and Deep Bay on Vancouver Island. The crossing is served by the British Columbia Ferry Services Inc. ship MV Baynes Sound Connector, between Buckley Bay and Denman Island. Baynes Sound is named after British Rear Admiral Robert L. Baynes, who commanded the Pacific Squadron from 1857 to 1860. Baynes Sound is the home of Vancouver Island University Center for Shellfish Research's Deep Bay Marine Field Station.
Sointula is an isolated village on Malcolm Island in British Columbia, Canada. Lying between Vancouver Island and the British Columbia mainland, northeast of Port McNeill and not far from Alert Bay, the island is part of the historic and present territory of the ‘Namgis First Nation. At the 2011 census, the village had a population of 576, down 3.0% from the 2006 census.
Denman Island,, is one of the Northern Gulf Islands and part of the Comox Valley Regional District of British Columbia, Canada. It is a member of the Islands Trust group of islands and is home to a small community of 1391 year-round residents.
Deep Bay is an unincorporated area on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada across Baynes Sound from Denman Island which has a government marina in a naturally protected harbour. It is situated on Highway 19A north of Qualicum Beach between Fanny Bay and Bowser.
The Comox Valley Regional District is a regional district in British Columbia, Canada. It was created on February 15, 2008, encompassing the southeastern portions of the former Regional District of Comox-Strathcona, and centred about the Comox Valley. The partition left the new Comox Valley Regional District with only 8.4 percent of the former Comox-Strathcona's land area, but 57.9 percent of its population. The CVRD covers an area of 2,425 square kilometres, of which 1,725 square kilometres is land, and serves a population of 72,445 according to the 2023 Census. The district borders the Strathcona Regional District to the northwest, the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District to the southwest, and the Regional District of Nanaimo to the southeast, as well as the qathet Regional District along the Strait of Georgia to the east.
In 1864 the Vancouver Island Exploring Expedition explored areas of the Colony of Vancouver Island outside the capital of Victoria and settlements in Nanaimo and the Cowichan Valley that were then unknown. The expedition went as far north as the Comox Valley over four and one half months during the summer and fall of 1864. The result was the discovery of gold in one location leading to a minor gold rush, the discovery of coal in the Comox Valley, an historical record of contact with the existing native population, the naming of many geographic features and a series of sketches recording images of the time.
The Deep Bay Marine Field Station is a marine biological research facility operated by Vancouver Island University's Centre for Shellfish Research. It is located at Deep Bay, British Columbia on Vancouver Island, off the waters of Baynes Sound, 78 kilometres (48 mi) north-west of the main university campus at Nanaimo, British Columbia.
Nanaimo Harbour, also known as the Port of Nanaimo, is a natural harbour on the east coast of Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The city of Nanaimo runs along the west side of the harbour. Three islands, Newcastle, Protection, and Gabriola, along with Duke Point, form the eastern edge. The Port of Nanaimo includes the Inner Harbour, Nanaimo River estuary, Departure Bay, the waters on the east side of Newcastle and Protection Islands, and Northumberland Channel. The port is under the management of the Nanaimo Port Authority.
The Qualicum National Wildlife Area (NWA) was officially established in 1977, under the Canada Wildlife Act (1973). The primary objective of the Qualicum NWA was to conserve crucial habitats for migratory birds and various other species.
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