Where is Vancouver Island? Western Canada. Coordinates: 49°36'32" N, 125°38'52" W. This region is part of the province of British Columbia. This island is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. Many travelers want to visit there. Indeed, according to official data, of all the islands on Earth, Vancouver ranks third in the popularity rating. Such a love of tourists for him is not accidental. After all, these places have a very mild climate. In winter, there are practically no frosts. In summer, the average temperature is 20 °C. Thanks to this fortunate set of circumstances, Vancouver is open to golf all year round. This can't be done anywhere else in Canada.
A bit of history
Vancouver Island, the photo of which is given in the article, is part of the province called British Columbia, which became part of Canada in 1871. In the endIn the 18th century, British and Spanish expeditions were sent to the island at the same time. In the end, this led to quite logical disagreements. Each side pulled the blanket over itself. Two discoverers, George Vancouver and Juan Cuadra, wanted to give their name to the found land. By that time, relations between the parties had already heated up to the limit. The Spaniards set up a fortified settlement and attacked British ships. As a result, it was decided to hold peace talks in order to avoid an increase in the number of victims. Unfortunately, the meeting went nowhere. But after its completion, the lands received a peculiar name - "Vancouver Island and Quadra".
As time went on, and the influence of the Spaniards in those places became less and less significant. As a result, already in the next century, Vancouver Island received its modern name. Interestingly, during the conflict of the parties, the Spaniard, not interested in dividing the land, was able to completely go around this part of the land by sea.
In the middle of the 19th century, the island began to belong to Britain, a colony appeared there. Its capital was the city of Victoria. But closer to the 20th century, having lost its significance, the colony became part of British Columbia.
Characteristic
Vancouver Island, with an area of almost 32 thousand square meters. km, bordered by the Pacific Ocean. The entire western coast is under the influence of its waters. In many ways, the climate on the island is formed under the influence of currents and air masses of this area. The eastern side of the land is washed by the Strait of Georgia. But in the south - the waters of another area. This is the Strait of Juan de Fuca. It separates Washington State and Vancouver Island, and Johnstone Strait connects to the Pacific Ocean.
Once Vancouver was inhabited only by Indians living in small villages. Now about 800 thousand people live here. The largest settlement is the beautiful city of Victoria.
Eastern and western parts of the island
A tourist who decides to come to Vancouver Island (Canada) will discover a stunning array of amazing natural monuments along the west coast. It is very different from the east. At least the fact that in the east the area is much more densely populated. While in the west you can observe untouched virgin nature. Civilization ends there almost completely. It is on the west coast that the large Pacific Rim National Park is located. The coast, indented by fjords, became the last pier for many cargo ships. They crashed on the rocks trying to reach the ports.
National Park
The national park is now partly refurbished to make it easier to navigate the hiking trails. For example, stairs and even suspension bridges began to appear on the most popular hiking trail, making it possible to quickly move from one edge of the gorge to the other. Thanks to these innovations, the trail can now be covered faster. Such a trip will take a group of tourists about a week. The route is called the West Cost Trail. To get there, people sign up for a couple of years in advance. Such entertainment will not be an easy walk. Fromthose who dare to set foot on the trail require extensive experience in hiking of various categories and excellent physical fitness. But the views that will surround travelers are worth any effort expended. There will be an ancient forest, beaches and many marine animals around.
Offers for tourists
For those who do not like this kind of extreme, they can come to those parts for 2 or 3 days, staying at a hotel on the ocean. Tours on pleasure boats are organized for guests of the coast. From them, visitors will be able to watch a colony of humpback whales or killer whales. The migration route of marine mammals passes through this area. Special sensations are caused by the sun rolling down across the sky into the endless expanse of water. And somewhere out there, thousands of kilometers away, are the islands of Japan, the Kuril chain and Sakhalin.
Development of the economy on the island
Vancouver's economy is mainly based on the extraction of natural resources. Basically, it is, of course, logging. All of Canada is famous for its extensive forests. Vancouver Island is far from an exception to this rule. It is there that those ancient forests that were still in the original British Columbia are still preserved. They remained in the impassable corners of the island. Vancouver has the tallest Sitka spruce in Canada, reaching a height of 95 meters. She and her kindred trees were able to grow to such heights thanks to the surprisingly favorable climate for them.
In addition to forest products, the islandVancouver supplies fish to many regions of the country. Salmon is bred on special fish farms. Different types of marine life are caught right in the open ocean. After that, the catch is processed. They sell these products all over the country.
As already mentioned, tourism is also popular on the island. Vancouver receives a fairly large part of the budget from those who come there to travel and relax.
Briefly about the capital - the city of Victoria
The capital of British Columbia, the city of Victoria, makes its rather large contribution to the provision of the island. There is a well-developed high-tech industry - pharmaceuticals and microelectronics. Also, scientists of the city excelled in the field of oceanology. But despite all this, tourism is of great importance for Victoria. About 4 million people come to the city every year.
Victoria is interesting for tourists because it is considered the most British city. On its streets there are red double-decker buses that have become a symbol of London. The architecture of the center is exactly the style of old England. The city has a magnificent embankment, which is always decorated with flowers. The famous traditional English tea is even served in the central square at five o'clock.
Now about 80 thousand people live in Victoria. It owes its British nature to the many elderly Englishmen who flocked to this city year after year. Perhaps they were attracted by the climate of these places. Due to its location, it is the warmest city in Canada. In general, in the capitalabout 350 thousand people live in the region, while 760 thousand live on the whole island.
Summarize
Vancouver Island in general and the city of Victoria in particular will surprise and delight the adventurer and anyone just looking for a good place to stay. The experience of many generations shows that these places are also very good in order to have a calm and interesting time after retirement.
