British Columbia is the westernmost province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, forests, lakes, mountains, inland deserts and grassy plains. British Columbia borders the province of Alberta to the east; the territories of Yukon and Northwest Territories to the north; the U.S. states of Washington, Idaho and Montana to the south, and Alaska to the northwest. With an estimated population of over 5.6 million as of 2024, it is Canada's third-most populous province. The capital of British Columbia is Victoria, while the province's largest city is Vancouver. Vancouver and its suburbs together make up the third-largest metropolitan area in Canada, with the 2021 census recording 2.6 million people in Metro Vancouver. British Columbia is Canada's third-largest province in terms of total area, after Quebec and Ontario.
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.
Mount Seymour is a mountain located in Mount Seymour Provincial Park in the District of North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is a part of the North Shore Mountains, rising to the north from the shores of Burrard Inlet and Indian Arm to a summit of 1,449 m (4,754 ft) above the Indian River and Deep Cove neighbourhoods. Mount Seymour is most commonly identified for its ski area of the same name, and as a popular hiking area. It is named in honour of Frederick Seymour, second governor of the Colony of British Columbia. The name is used to refer to the ridge although the main summit is one of several, and is also known as Third Peak.
Gulf Islands National Park Reserve is a national park located on and around the Gulf Islands in British Columbia, Canada. In the National Parks System Plan, this park provides representation of the Strait of Georgia Lowlands natural region, the only place in Canada with a Mediterranean climate of dry, sunny summers and mild, wet winters, the result of a rain shadow effect from surrounding mountains between the region and the ocean. It has similar dominant vegetation as the Pacific Northwest, such as coastal Douglas-fir, western red cedar, shore pine, Pacific dogwood, bigleaf maple, and red alder, but also contains the northern extent of some of the more drought tolerant trees such as Garry oak and Arbutus. The park was created in 2003 as the fortieth national park. It covers 36 square kilometres (14 sq mi) of area on 16 islands and more than 30 islets, reefs and surrounding waters, making it the sixth smallest national park in Canada.
Galiano Island is one of the Southern Gulf Islands located between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Located on the west side of the Strait of Georgia, the island is bordered by Mayne Island to the southeast, Salt Spring Island to the west and Valdes Island to the northwest. Galiano is part of the Capital Regional District Electoral Area G, and has a permanent population of 1,396 inhabitants as of 2021.
North Cowichan is a district municipality established in 1873 on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. The municipality is part of the Cowichan Valley Regional District. North Cowichan is noted for a landscape including forests, beaches, rivers, and lakes. The municipality encompasses the communities of Chemainus; Westholme; Crofton; Maple Bay; and "the South End". The latter is an informal name for a built-up area which is essentially a suburb of the City of Duncan, a separate municipality.
Cowichan Bay is a bay and community located on the east coast of southern Vancouver Island near Duncan, in British Columbia, Canada. The mouth of the Cowichan River is near Cowichan Bay. Mount Tzouhalem with its hiking trails and ecological reserve stands to the north. The bay is known for its fishing and scenic value. The area's main industries are fishing and tourism.
Gold River is a village municipality located close to the geographic centre of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. In terms of the Island's human geography it is considered to be part of the "North Island", even though it technically is on the Island's west coast.
Mount Bishop is a mountain located on the northern border of Mount Seymour Provincial Park in the District of North Vancouver, British Columbia. It is a part of the North Shore Mountains, rising from the shores of Indian Arm to a summit of 1,509 metres (4,951 ft). Mount Bishop is a rocky summit with bluffs and old growth on its lower slopes.
The North Shore Mountains are a mountain range overlooking Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. Their southernmost peaks are visible from most areas in Vancouver and form a distinctive backdrop for the city.
Parts of this article have been adapted from the BC Parks website.
Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park, originally Carmanah Pacific Provincial Park, is a remote wilderness park located inside traditional Ditidaht First Nation ancestral territory. The park covers a land area of 16,450 ha (63.5 sq mi) immediately adjacent to Pacific Rim National Park Reserve's West Coast Trail on the south-western, coastal terrain of Vancouver Island. The provincial park comprises the entire drainage of Carmanah Creek, and a good portion of the lower Walbran River drainage, both of which independently empty into the Pacific Ocean. The park is named after the Anglicized diitiid?aatx word kwaabaaduw7aa7tx, or Carmanah, meaning "as far up as a canoe can go" and John Thomas Walbran, a colonial explorer and ship's captain. Access to the park is by gravel logging road from Port Alberni, Lake Cowichan, or Port Renfrew.
Mount Maxwell Provincial Park is a provincial park in the Gulf Islands of British Columbia, Canada. It is located on Burgoyne Bay and the Sansum Narrows on the western shores of Saltspring Island.
Port Renfrew is a small unincorporated community located on the south shore of Port San Juan, an inlet on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. Port Renfrew has a population of 262 and has been touted as "the Tall Tree Capital of Canada".
Cheam Peak or Mount Cheam.
Buntzen Lake is a 4.8 kilometres (3 mi) long lake in Anmore, British Columbia, Canada, in the Greater Vancouver area. It is named after the first general manager of the B.C. Electric Co., Johannes Buntzen. There is a smaller lake just to the north named McCombe Lake.
Graham Preston Bruce is a former Canadian politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, representing the electoral district of Cowichan-Malahat from 1986 to 1991 as part of the Social Credit Party (Socred), and the district of Cowichan-Ladysmith from 2001 to 2005 as a BC Liberal. He was a cabinet minister under premiers Rita Johnston and Gordon Campbell.
Wells Gray Provincial Park is a large wilderness park located in east-central British Columbia, Canada. The park protects most of the southern, and highest, regions of the Cariboo Mountains and covers 5,415 square kilometres. It is British Columbia's fifth largest provincial park, after Tweedsmuir, Tatshenshini, Spatsizi and Northern Rocky Mountains.
Mount Tzouhalem is a mountain on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, 4 kilometres east-northeast of Duncan in the municipality of North Cowichan. It is situated between Quamichan Lake, Maple Bay and Cowichan Bay.
