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This is a list of geopolitical entities, geographical features, localities, and other places in Canada with names that originate from the Spanish language.
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This is a list of geopolitical entities, geographical features, localities, and other places in Canada with names that originate from the Spanish language.
| Place | Province/territory | English translation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alameda | Saskatchewan | "poplar grove" | |
| Alhambra | Alberta | N/A | Named for the Alhambra, [1] the palace/fortress in Granada |
| Aristazabal Island | British Columbia | N/A | Named for the Spanish capitain, Gabriel de Aristazábal |
| Casa Loma | Ontario | "hill house" | A mansion in Toronto that was originally the residence of financier Henry Pellatt and is now a museum. |
| Cordero Channel | British Columbia | N/A | Named after José Cardero |
| Corunna | Ontario | N/A | Named after the Battle of Corunna |
| Del Bonita | Alberta | "of the pretty" [2] | |
| Deloro | Ontario | "of gold" | Location of a gold mine. [3] |
| Eldorado | Ontario | "the golden" | Became the site of Ontario's first gold rush in August 1866. |
| Eldorado | Saskatchewan | "the golden" | Now a ghost town. |
| Espanola | Ontario | feminine form of "Spanish" | The story behind the town’s name is that in the mid-18th century, a local Ojibwe man married a white, Spanish-speaking woman and they taught their children to speak Spanish. When French explorers came to the area and heard the locals speaking Spanish, they remarked, "espagnole" (the French word for "Spanish"). This was later anglicized to "Espanola" and the nearby river was named the Spanish River. |
| Flores Island | British Columbia | "Flores" means "flowers". | Named in honour of Manuel Antonio Flórez, the 51st viceroy of New Spain. [4] |
| Galiano Island | British Columbia | N/A | Named for Spanish explorer Dionisio Alcalá Galiano. [5] |
| Granada | Alberta | N/A | [1] |
| Juan de Fuca Strait | British Columbia | N/A | Named for Ioánnis Fokás, a Greek explorer who sailed in the service of Spain, and whose name was translated into Spanish as "Juan de Fuca". Forms part of the boundary between the Canadian province of British Columbia and the American state of Washington. [6] [7] [8] |
| Lobo | Ontario | "wolf" | Township now amalgamated into Middlesex Centre. Named in 1821, one of several Spanish names given by General Sir Peregrine Maitland, Lt. Governor of Upper Canada (1818-28) and Lt. Governor of Nova Scotia (1828-34). He developed a fondness for Spanish during the Peninsula Campaign and gave Spanish names to several Canadian places. See also Mariposa, Orillia, Oro, Sombra, and Zorra. [3] |
| Mariposa | Ontario | "butterfly" | A former township, now part of the City of Kawartha Lakes, and a community within that former township. Named by Peregrine Maitland in 1820. [3] |
| Mariposa Beach | Ontario | "butterfly" | A community within the Township of Ramara. |
| Mariposa No. 350 | Saskatchewan | "butterfly" | A rural municipality in Saskatchewan. |
| Murillo | Ontario | N/A | Named for Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, a Spanish artist. [3] |
| Orillia | Ontario | "bank" or "shore" | Township named in 1822 by Peregrine Maitland; the city borrowed the name in 1835. [3] |
| Oro | Ontario | "gold" | Oro Township merged into Oro-Medonte in 1994. Named by Peregrine Maitland in 1820 after Río de Oro in the Spanish Sahara (now Western Sahara). [3] |
| Oso | Ontario | "bear" | Oso Township amalgamated into Central Frontenac in 1998. Named by Peregrine Maitland in 1823. [3] |
| Placentia | Newfoundland and Labrador | N/A | Named for either Soraluze-Placencia de las Armas, Spain or Plentzia, Spain |
| Port Alberni | British Columbia | N/A | Port Alberni was named for Captain Don Pedro de Alberni, a Spanish officer, who commanded Fort San Miguel at Nootka Sound on Vancouver Island's west coast from 1790 to 1792.Port Alberni |
| Ramara | Ontario | "Rama" means "branch" and "mara" means "sea". | A township formed in 1994 by the amalgamation of Rama Township and Mara Township. The origins of the names of these townships are unclear, and another possible explanation for the origins of their names is that they are named for places in the Bible: Ramah and Marah , respectively. |
| St-Alphonse-Rodriguez | Québec | N/A | Named for Alphonsus Rodriguez, a Spanish Catholic saint. [9] |
| Sombra | Ontario | "shade" | Named by Pregrine Maitland in 1822 because he found the place heavily wooded. [3] |
| Tofino | British Columbia | N/A | Named for nearby Tofino Inlet, [10] which was named in 1792 by Spanish explorers Dionisio Alcalá Galiano and Cayetano Valdés y Flores for Admiral Vicente Tofiño, [11] under whom Galiano had learned cartography. [12] |
| Zayas Island | British Columbia | N/A | Named after the second pilot of Jacinto Caamaño, Juan Zayas, during the 1792 expedition. |
| Zeballos | British Columbia | N/A | Named after Ciriaco Ceballos, a Spanish sailor, explorer and cartographer. |
| Zorra | Ontario | "vixen" | Named by Peregrine Maitland. [3] |
The Strait of Juan de Fuca is a body of water about 96 miles long that is the Salish Sea's main outlet to the Pacific Ocean. The international boundary between Canada and the United States runs down the centre of the Strait.
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.
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.
John Meares was an English navigator, explorer, and maritime fur trader, best known for his role in the Nootka Crisis, which brought Britain and Spain to the brink of war.
Nootka Sound is a sound of the Pacific Ocean on the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island, in the Pacific Northwest, historically known as King George's Sound. It separates Vancouver Island and Nootka Island, part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It played a historically important role in the maritime fur trade.
Juan de Fuca was a Greek pilot who served Philip II of Spain. He is best known for his claim to have explored the Strait of Anián—now known as the Strait of Juan de Fuca—between Vancouver Island and the Olympic Peninsula.
Dionisio Alcalá Galiano was a Spanish naval officer, cartographer, and explorer. He mapped various coastlines in Europe and the Americas with unprecedented accuracy using new technology such as chronometers. He commanded an expedition that explored and mapped the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Strait of Georgia, and made the first European circumnavigation of Vancouver Island. He reached the rank of brigadier and died during the Battle of Trafalgar.
Cayetano Valdés y Flores Bazán (1767–1835) was a commander of the Spanish Navy, explorer, and captain general who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, fighting for both sides at different times due to the changing fortunes of Spain in the conflict. He took part in a number of naval battles, including the Great Siege of Gibraltar, the Battle of Cape St Vincent, and the Battle of Trafalgar. He was an explorer, most notable in the Pacific Northwest, where he and Dionisio Alcalá Galiano conducted the first circumnavigation of Vancouver Island, in partial cooperation with George Vancouver. Over his long career he achieved the highest ranks in the Spanish Navy, eventually being named Captain General of Cadiz and Captain General of the Spanish Navy.
During the Age of Discovery, the Spanish Empire undertook several expeditions to the Pacific Northwest of North America. Spanish claims to the region date to the papal bull of 1493, and the Treaty of Tordesillas signed in 1494. In 1513, this claim was reinforced by Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa, the first European to sight the Pacific Ocean, when he claimed all lands adjoining this ocean for the Spanish Crown. Spain only started to colonize the claimed territory north of present-day Mexico in the 18th century, when it settled the northern coast of Las Californias.
Francisco de Eliza y Reventa was a Spanish naval officer, navigator, and explorer. He is remembered mainly for his work in the Pacific Northwest. He was the commandant of the Spanish post in Nootka Sound on Vancouver Island, and led or dispatched several exploration voyages in the region, including the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Strait of Georgia.
José María Narváez was a Spanish naval officer, explorer, and navigator notable for his work in the Gulf Islands and Lower Mainland of present-day British Columbia. In 1791, as commander of the schooner Santa Saturnina, he led the first European exploration of the Strait of Georgia, including a landing on present-day British Columbia's Sunshine Coast. He also entered Burrard Inlet, the site of present-day Vancouver, British Columbia.
Charles William Barkley was a ship captain and maritime fur trader. He was born in Hertford, England, son of Charles Barkley.
Juan Carrasco was a Spanish naval officer, explorer, and navigator. He is remembered mainly for his work in the Pacific Northwest during the late 18th century. He was second in command of the 1791 voyage of José María Narváez, the first European exploration of the Strait of Georgia.
Princess Royal was a British merchant ship that sailed on fur trading ventures in the late 1780s, and was captured at Nootka Sound by Esteban José Martínez of Spain during the Nootka Crisis of 1789. Called Princesa Real while under the Spanish Navy, the vessel was one of the important issues of negotiation during the first Nootka Convention and the difficulties in carrying out the agreements. The vessel also played an important role in both British and Spanish exploration of the Pacific Northwest and the Hawaiian Islands. In 1790, while under Spanish control, Princesa Real carried out the first detailed examination of the Strait of Juan de Fuca by non-indigenous peoples, finding, among other places, the San Juan Islands, Haro Strait, Esquimalt Harbour near present-day Victoria, British Columbia, and Admiralty Inlet.
José Cardero was a Spanish draughtsman and artist. He is most remembered for his work on the expedition of Alejandro Malaspina and the related expedition of Dionisio Alcalá Galiano. During the Galiano voyage Cordero Channel was named in his honor. Other places in British Columbia were later named in his honor as well, including Dibuxante Point, "dibuxante" being Spanish for "draughtsman".
Sutil was a brig-rigged schooner built in 1791 by the Spanish Navy at San Blas, New Spain. It was nearly identical to Mexicana, also built at San Blas in 1791. Both vessels were built for exploring the newly discovered Strait of Georgia, carried out in 1792 under Dionisio Alcalá Galiano, on Sutil, and Cayetano Valdés y Flores, on Mexicana. During this voyage the two Spanish vessels encountered the two British vessels under George Vancouver, HMS Discovery and HMS Chatham, which were also engaged in exploring the Strait of Georgia. The two expeditions cooperated in surveying the complex channels between the Strait of Georgia and Queen Charlotte Strait, in the process proving the insularity of Vancouver Island. After this first voyage Sutil continued to serve the San Blas Naval Department, making various voyages to Alta California and the Pacific Northwest coast.
The Mexicana was a topsail schooner built in 1791 by the Spanish Navy at San Blas, New Spain. It was nearly identical to the Sutil, also built at San Blas later in 1791. Both vessels were built for exploring the newly discovered Strait of Georgia, carried out in 1792 under Dionisio Alcalá Galiano, on the Sutil, and Cayetano Valdés y Flores, on the Mexicana. During this voyage the two Spanish vessels encountered the two British vessels under George Vancouver, HMS Discovery and Chatham, which were also engaged in exploring the Strait of Georgia. The two expeditions cooperated in surveying the complex channels between the Strait of Georgia and Queen Charlotte Strait, in the process proving the insularity of Vancouver Island. After this first voyage the Mexicana continued to serve the San Blas Naval Department, making various voyages to Alta California and the Pacific Northwest coast.
Imperial Eagle, originally named Loudoun, was a 400-ton (bm) British merchant ship, launched in 1774 at Liverpool. By 1780 her master was S. Rains, her owner Robertson, and her trade a transport out of London. In 1786 she underwent refitting at Shadwell Dock, Thames, London. She then sailed on maritime fur trading ventures in the late 1780s. She was under the command of Captain Charles William Barkley until confiscated in India.
Santa Cruz de Nuca was a Spanish colonial fort and settlement and the first European colony in what is now known as British Columbia. The settlement was founded on Vancouver Island in 1789 and abandoned in 1795, with its far northerly position making it the "high-water mark" of verified northerly Spanish settlement along the North American west coast. The colony was established with the Spanish aim of securing the entire west coast of the continent from Alaska southwards, for the Spanish crown.
North West America was a British merchant ship that sailed on maritime fur trading ventures in the late 1780s. It was the first non-indigenous vessel built in the Pacific Northwest. In 1789 it was captured at Nootka Sound by Esteban José Martínez of Spain during the Nootka Crisis, after which it became part of the Spanish Navy and was renamed Santa Gertrudis la Magna and later Santa Saturnina.