Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 85,792, and the Greater Victoria Area has a population of 367,770. Victoria is the 7th most densely populated city in Canada with 4,405.8 people per square kilometre, which is a greater population density than Toronto.
Vancouver Island is in the northeastern Pacific Ocean, part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is 460 kilometres (290 mi) in length, 100 kilometres (62 mi) in width at its widest point, and 32,134 km2 (12,407 sq mi) in area. It is the largest island on the West Coast of the Americas.
Penticton is a city in the Okanagan Valley of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada, situated between Okanagan and Skaha lakes. In the 2016 Canadian Census, its population was 33,761, while its census agglomeration population was 43,432.
Greater Victoria is located in British Columbia, Canada, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island. It is a cultural rather than political entity, usually defined as the thirteen easternmost municipalities of the Capital Regional District (CRD) on Vancouver Island as well as some adjacent areas and nearby islands. The Capital Regional District administers some aspects of public administration for the whole metro region; other aspects are administered by the individual member municipalities of Greater Victoria. Roughly, Greater Victoria consists of all land and nearby islands east of a line drawn from the southern end of Finlayson Arm to the eastern shore of Sooke Harbour, along with some lands on the northern shore of Sooke Harbour.
There are many roads in the southwestern part of British Columbia and Vancouver Island that were designated as Highway 1A. These roads were sections of the original 1941 route of Highway 1 before its various re-alignments, and are used today as service routes and frontage roads. The "B.C. Highway 1A" designations were removed from these sections by the province between 2005 and 2010, although signage remains along some of the route and the designation on some maps.
Sooke is a district municipality on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, Canada, 38 kilometres by road from Victoria, the capital of British Columbia. Sooke, the westernmost of Greater Victoria's Western Communities, is to the north and west of the Sooke Basin.
The District of Highlands is a district municipality near Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. As one of the Western Communities or West Shore municipalities outside Victoria, Highlands has a population of 1,903 as of 2006. The region stretches along the Saanich Inlet shoreline from north of Goldstream to Mackenzie Bight. One of the more undeveloped areas of the Greater Victoria region, it is one of the newest Greater Victoria municipalities created within the Capital Regional District.
Langford is a city on southern Vancouver Island in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Langford is one of the 13 component municipalities of Greater Victoria and is within the Capital Regional District. Langford was incorporated in 1992 and has a population of over 40,000 people. Its municipal neighbours are Colwood to the southeast, Highlands to the north, Metchosin to the southwest, and View Royal to the northeast.
Colwood is a city located on Vancouver Island to the southwest of Victoria, capital of British Columbia. Colwood was incorporated in 1985 and has a population of approximately 17,000 people. Colwood lies within the boundaries of the Greater Victoria area or Capital Regional District, in a region called the West Shore, or the West Shore. It is one of the 13 component municipalities of Greater Victoria.
The Galloping Goose Regional Trail is a 55-kilometre (34 mi) rail trail between Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, and the ghost town of Leechtown, north of Sooke, where it meets the old Sooke Flowline. The trail forms part of the Trans-Canada Trail, and intersects the Lochside Regional Trail. It is maintained by the Capital Regional District (CRD).
Victoria Regional Transit System provides public transportation in the Greater Victoria region of British Columbia, Canada. Its operations are governed by the Victoria Regional Transit Commission in association with BC Transit. There were more than 25 million riders in 2010.
Goldstream Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. It is known for the annual fall salmon runs in the Goldstream River, and the large numbers of bald eagles that congregate to feed at that time. The total size of the park is 3.79 km2. It is located in the city of Langford, British Columbia. Recreational fishing is only accessible to indigenous cultures, and not local non-indigenous residents.
Leechtown is a ghost town on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada.
West Kelowna, formerly known as Westbank, is a city in British Columbia's Okanagan Valley. The city encompasses several distinct neighbourhoods, including Casa Loma, Gellatly, Glenrosa, Lakeview Heights, Shannon Lake, Smith Creek, Rose Valley, Westbank, and West Kelowna Estates. West Kelowna had an estimated population of 34,883 as of December 31, 2018.
Mount Finlayson is a 419 m (1,375 ft) mountain located on the border of Highlands and Langford, British Columbia, about 14 km northwest of Victoria. It is located within the Gowlland Range. It is bordered by Goldstream Provincial Park and Gowlland Tod Provincial Park and forms an imposing feature looming above Saanich Inlet for those travelling south on the Malahat Drive portion of Highway 1. A steep trail leading up to the summit is easily accessible from Goldstream Park. There are also trails that link up to the summit from Bear Mountain.
The Goldstream River is a river northwest of Victoria on southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The river's name derives from a small gold rush in its basin during the 1860s, and was originally Gold Stream.
Two different neighbourhoods located in Langford, British Columbia in Greater Victoria on southern Vancouver Island include the name Goldstream.
In 1864 the Vancouver Island Exploring Expedition explored areas of the Colony of Vancouver Island that were then unknown outside the capital of Victoria and settlements in Nanaimo and the Cowichan Valley. 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 E&N Rail Trail is a 17 kilometer paved bike and pedestrian trail designed to be a non-motorized recreation and commuter connection to downtown Victoria, British Columbia, and runs through Esquimalt, View Royal, and Langford. The E&N Rail Trail was also designed to connect with existing popular trail systems such as the Galloping Goose Regional Trail or Lochside Regional Trails. The trail lays alongside a suspended yet active rail line.
