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Vancouver Encyclopedia Britannica

VANCOUVER, George (c. 1758-1798), English navigator, was born about 1758. He entered the navy at the age of thirteen, and accompanied Cook in his second (1772-74) and third (1776-79) voyages of discovery. After serving for several years on the Jamaica station, Vancouver was appointed to command an expedition to the north-west coast of America, the object being to take over from the Spaniards their territory in that region, and to explore the coast from 30° N. lat. round to Cook’s Inlet (or river as it was then called), with a view to the discovery of an eastward passage to the great lakes in the British dominions. The special point which he had to ascertain was whether the Strait of Juan de Fuca really was a strait. Vancouver, accompanied by Lieutenant Broughton, left Falmouth on 1st April 1791, and, after spending some weeks at the Cape, made for the coast of Australia, where a very careful survey of the south-west coast was made, especially of King George’s Sound, the value of which as a harbour Vancouver pointed out. He next made for Dusky Bay, New Zealand. After a short stay, he proceeded north-east, discovered the little island of Oparo (27° 36' S. lat. and 144° 12' W. long.) by the way, and on 30th December reached Tahiti, where he was again joined by Lieutenant Broughton, who meanwhile had discovered Chatham Island. After staying about three weeks at Tahiti and several weeks at the Sandwich Islands, Vancouver on 18th April 1792 sighted the west coast of North America (California, then known as New Albion) in 39° 27' N. lat. Here he proceeded to examine the coast up to 52° 18' N. lat. with minute care, surveying all inlets and navigating the passage through Juan de Fuca which separates the Island of Vancouver from the mainland. Most of February and March ...

9th ed. Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. 24, p. 56
[683 words — estimated reading time: 4 minutes]

Vancouver island Encyclopedia Britannica

VANCOUVER ISLAND, which is included in the territory of British Columbia, lies in a north-west and south-east direction parallel with the coast. From Washington Territory (U.S.) on the south it is separated by Juan de Fuca Strait, which leads into the Gulf of Georgia and Johnstone’s Strait on the east of the island, Queen Charlotte Sound entering this last from the north-west. These channels vary from 5 to 80 miles in width. The island extends from 48° 20' to 51° N. lat. and from 123° to 128° 30' W. long. Its length is about 250 miles and its breadth varies from 10 to 70. The area is estimated at from 12,000 to 16,000 square miles: but the island has never been completely surveyed. The coast-line generally is precipitous. The west coast is much broken by bays and fringed with numerous reefs and islands, which render navigation somewhat dangerous. Barclay Sound on the south-west, Nootka Sound behind Nootka Island on the west, and Quatseenough Sound on the north-west send branches into the heart of the island. The east coast is much less broken, though the channel separating it from the mainland is studded with islands. Vancouver generally is mountainous, with peaks rising from 6000 to 9000 feet. There are some level areas on the south-east coast, while in the interior a few narrow well-watered valleys are suitable for agriculture. Short streams run down both coasts, and the island is dotted with lakes,—Buttle and Dickson in the centre, Cowichan in the south, and Niin-kish in the north. The mountains, much broken, run generally along the length of the island, the highest peaks (estimated at 9000 feet) being south-east of Nootka Sound, while farther to the north are Victoria Peak (7484 feet) and Mount Alston (6500 feet). To the south of Buttle Lake, Mount Albert ...

The island is essentially a mountain range composed of metamorphic and trappean rocks, fringed by a belt of Carboniferous limestones and other sedimentary deposits. Among the metamorphic and erupted rocks are gneiss and killas or clayslate, permeated by quartz veins, quartz and hornblende rocks, compact bituminous slate, highly crystalline felspathic traps, and semi-crystalline concretionary limestone. Among the sedimentary rocks are sandstones and stratified limestones, fine and coarse grits, conglomerates, and fossiliferous limestones, shales, &c., associated with seams of coal. The country is strewn with erratic boulders and other marks of Glacial action. So far as is known at present the chief mineral resource is coal, which is worked in large quantities at Nanaimo on the east coast, and in quality is reputed the best on the whole Pacific coast. While limited areas in the south-east of the island and in the inland valleys are well adapted to agriculture (about 300,000 acres in all), and while farming is carried on to some extent, the country is too mountainous ever to develop agriculture on any large scale. The mountains are, however, covered with forests, mainly the Douglas pine, yielding splendid supplies of timber. These forests, with its coal and its fisheries, may be regarded as the chief resources of the island. The climate of Vancouver, especially in the south, is wonderfully mild for the latitude, as mild as that of Great Britain, with drier summers. The mean temperature of December at Victoria, in the south of the island, is about 38° Fahr., while that of July is 53°. A rainfall of 35∙87 inches in the year has been recorded at Esquimault. In the northern parts and in the west the climate gets much more severe, and there the rainfall is greater than on the south and east coasts. Cereals of all kinds, all fruits of the temperate zone, pulse, and vegetables flourish on the patches suited to agriculture, while cattle and sheep can be easily reared in small numbers. The population of the island in 1881 was 9991, of whom 5925 lived in the city of Victoria. In 1887 the population was estimated at 25,000 (19,000 whites and Chinese, and 6000 Indians).

The capital of the island is Victoria (q.υ.). Three and a half miles to the west of Victoria is the town of Esquimault at the head of Parry Bay. There has been a British Admiralty station here for many years, the harbour having an average depth of from 6 to 8 fathoms. There are Government offices, two churches, a public school, and various other buildings. The Canadian Government has constructed a dry dock, 450 feet long, 26 feet deep, and 65 feet wide at the entrance. The completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway renders Esquimault of increasing importance. Seventy-three miles north of Victoria and connected with it by railway is the town of Nanaimo, the centre of the coal mining industry; the average output of coal in the five years ending 1887 was 250,000 tons per annum. The mines employ about 1100 men. There are a good harbour and wharves. The population in 1887 was estimated at 4000. There are smaller communities in the island, mainly in the south corner. Sixty miles north-west of Nanaimo is Comox, the chief centre of the lumber industry. On the mainland, opposite Nanaimo, on a peninsula to the south of Burrard’s Inlet, a city named Vancouver has recently been formed (incorporated 1886) at the terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway.

History.— Vancouver Island was discovered by Juan de Fuca in 1592. In 1778 Captain Cook roughly surveyed the coast, this work being extended by Captain Vancouver, who surveyed the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Gulf of Georgia. The first settlement on the island was made by the Hudson’s Bay Company on the site of Victoria in 1843. Six years later Vancouver Island was constituted a colony. Its union with British Columbia was effected in 1866∙.

9th ed. Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. 24, p. 57
[997 words — estimated reading time: 6 minutes]