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93-503: Nanoose Bay is a community on the east coast of southern Vancouver Island , British Columbia, Canada. The location off BC Highway 19 is by road about 26 kilometres (16 mi) north of Nanaimo , and 16 kilometres (10 mi) south of Parksville . In 1862, John Enos (Joao Ignacio) became the first European settler on the Nanoose Bay Peninsula. The bay was spelled Noonooa on an 1864 map. The current anglicized spelling
186-546: A bureau for CIVI-DT ( CTV 2 Victoria, cable channel 12) and a satellite office for CHEK-DT ( Independent , cable channel 6). Nanaimo is also served by the Jim Pattison Group 's CHWF-FM (The Wolf) and CKWV-FM (The Wave), as well as CHLY-FM , an independent community campus radio station and Vista Radio 's CKAY-FM (ICON Radio). CBC Radio One is heard over CBU from Vancouver, with CBU-FM ( CBC Music ) and CBCV-FM available as HD Radio signals. In
279-404: A high speed passenger-only ferry service between downtown Nanaimo and downtown Vancouver. Travel time between the cities is 75 minutes. Highways 1 , 19 , and 19A traverse the city. Highway 19 (Nanaimo Parkway) acts as an expressway bypass to the west of Nanaimo while Highway 1, then Highway 19A traverses the length of Nanaimo as an arterial road within the city proper. Bus service in the city
372-564: A homestead in Sooke . Following the brief governorship of Richard Blanshard , James Douglas , Chief Factor of the Hudson's Bay post, assumed the role in 1851. The island's first legislative assembly was formed in 1856. Government buildings were built and were occupied in 1859; the replacement, today's Parliament Buildings , were opened in 1898. Fort Victoria had become an important base when prospectors, miners and merchants began arriving for
465-457: A major area for recreation. The northern, western, and most of the central portions of the island are home to the coniferous "big trees" associated with British Columbia's coast – western hemlock , western red cedar , Pacific silver fir , yellow cedar , Douglas fir , grand fir , Sitka spruce , and western white pine . It is also characterised by bigleaf maple , red alder , sword fern , and red huckleberry . The fauna of Vancouver Island
558-461: A settlement here in 1852, they named it Colvile Town after HBC governor Andrew Colvile . In 1858 it was renamed as Nanaimo, after the local indigenous people. The city has been called "The Harbour City" since the lead-up to Expo 86 . The HBC attempted to start a coal mine at Port Rupert but the project had been unsuccessful. In 1850 Snuneymuxw Chief Che-wich-i-kan, commonly known as "Coal Tyee", brought samples of coal to Victoria. A company clerk
651-697: A store on the hill in the Qualicum National Wildlife Area . The modern retail and commercial centre on Collins Cres is called the Red Gap Centre. A firehall, library, and elementary school are located nearby on Northwest Bay Road. Around 1910, the Nanoose Bay train station opened, and was a flag stop when Via Rail on Vancouver Island ceased in 2011. Adjacent stops were about 18 kilometres (11 mi) south to Wellington , and 11 kilometres (7 mi) north to Parksville. At
744-615: A temperate climate with mild, rainy winters and warm, dry summers. Due to its relatively dry summers, the Köppen climate classification places it at the northernmost limits of the Csb or warm-summer Mediterranean zone. Other climate classification systems, such as Trewartha , place it firmly in the Oceanic zone ( Do ). Nanaimo is usually shielded from the Aleutian Low 's influence by
837-404: Is Nanaimo , which has a population of 115,459 as of 2021. There are also five census agglomeration areas ( Alberni Valley , Campbell River , Comox Valley , Cowichan Valley , and Oceanside ) as defined by Statistics Canada . [REDACTED] Nanaimo [REDACTED] Duncan Within the island's largest city, Victoria , there is a significant IT and technology industry. According to
930-598: Is a JrK-grade 12 Independent (private) school accredited as an International Baccalaureate World School and offers the IB Primary Years, IB Middle Years and IB Diploma programme and received a 10 out of 10 by the IB Organization (IBO) in 2011. The Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique operates two Francophone schools, École Océane primary school and the École secondaire de Nanaimo . The main campus of Vancouver Island University
1023-539: Is considered invasive for its voracious appetite and scaring away of the Douglas squirrels. The island has the most concentrated population of cougars in North America. The Vancouver Island wolf , a subspecies of grey wolf , is found only on the north part of the island. Harbour seals and river otters are common. Resident orcas live in two major groups, one in the waters of the south island and one in
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#17327941727431116-599: Is higher than the national median at $ 341,556. The average (after-tax) household income in Nanaimo is $ 48,469, lower than the national median at $ 54,089. The median individual income is $ 34,702, which is also lower than the national median ($ 38,977). The unemployment rate was 7.7%. Nanaimo's population is predominantly Anglophone . As of the 2016 census 86.7% of residents claimed English as their mother tongue. Other common first languages were Chinese Languages (2.0%), French (1.3%), German (1.2%) and Punjabi (1.0%). According to
1209-474: Is now spoken by less than 5% of the population—about 250 people. Today, 17 separate tribes make up the Kwakwakaʼwakw. Some Kwakwakaʼwakw groups are now extinct. Kwakʼwala is a Northern Wakashan language , a grouping shared with Haisla, Heiltsuk and Wuikyala. Kwakwakaʼwakw centres of population on Vancouver Island include communities such as Fort Rupert , Alert Bay and Quatsino , the Kwakwakaʼwakw tradition of
1302-487: Is part of a group of peaks that include the only glaciers on the island, the largest of which is the Comox Glacier . The west coast shoreline is rugged and in many places mountainous, characterized by its many fjords , bays, and inlets. The interior of the island has many lakes ( Kennedy Lake , north of Ucluelet , is the largest) and rivers. The 49th parallel north crosses the island just north of Ladysmith on
1395-424: Is provided by Nanaimo Regional Transit and offers city-wide service as well as region service connecting Parksville and Qualicum Beach to the north, and Ladysmith and Duncan to the south. The Island Rail Corridor passes through Nanaimo and has a base of operations and yard in the downtown waterfront area. The Nanaimo Port Authority operates the inner Harbour Basin marina providing mooring for smaller vessels and
1488-561: Is separated from the mainland of British Columbia by Johnstone Strait and Queen Charlotte Strait on the north and northeast, and by the Strait of Georgia on the southeast, which along with the Strait of Juan de Fuca along its southwest separate it from the United States. West of the island is the open Pacific Ocean, while to its north is Queen Charlotte Sound . The Straits of Georgia and Juan de Fuca are now officially part of
1581-447: Is similar to that found on the mainland coast, with some notable exceptions and additions. For example, mountain goats , moose , coyotes , porcupines , skunks , chipmunks , and numerous species of small mammals, while plentiful on the mainland, are absent from Vancouver Island. Grizzly bears are absent from the island, where black bears are prevalent, but in 2016, a pair of grizzlies were sighted swimming between smaller islands off
1674-474: Is the extension of summer dryness to latitudes as high as 50 °N . Only in the extreme north of the island near Port Hardy is the rainfall of the driest summer month as much as one fifth that of the wettest months from November to March. West coasts of other continents at similar latitudes have a practically even distribution of rainfall throughout the year. Vancouver Island is mostly made up of volcanic and sedimentary rock which were formed offshore on
1767-602: Is the largest by area and the most populous along the west coasts of the Americas . The southern part of Vancouver Island and some of the nearby Gulf Islands are the only parts of British Columbia or Western Canada to lie south of the 49th parallel . The southeast part of the island has one of the warmest climates in Canada, and since the mid-1990s has been mild enough in a few areas to grow Mediterranean crops such as olives and lemons . The population of Vancouver Island
1860-520: The 2012 federal electoral redistribution . In the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia , Nanaimo is represented by the ridings of Nanaimo ( Sheila Malcolmson , BC NDP ), Nanaimo-North Cowichan ( Doug Routley , BC NDP ) and Parksville-Qualicum ( Adam Walker , BC NDP ). Leonard Krog resigned in 2018 to accept the position of Mayor of Nanaimo. In response, Sheila Malcolmson resigned from federal politics and successfully ran for
1953-414: The 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada , Nanaimo had a population of 99,863 living in 43,164 of its 45,138 total private dwellings, a change of 10.3% from its 2016 population of 90,504. With a land area of 90.45 km (34.92 sq mi), it had a population density of 1,104.1/km (2,859.5/sq mi) in 2021. At the census metropolitan area (CMA) level in the 2021 census,
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#17327941727432046-467: The 2021 census , religious groups in Nanaimo included: The original economic driver was coal mining; however, the forestry industry supplanted it in the early 1960s with the building of the MacMillan Bloedel pulp mill at Harmac in 1958, named after Harvey MacMillan . Today the pulp mill is owned by the employees and local investors and injects well over half a million dollars a day into
2139-638: The Farallon Plate , the Juan de Fuca Plate , are now subducting below the island. This process has led to Vancouver Island being one of the most seismically active regions in Canada. The subduction zone off the coast of the island forms a section of the Ring of Fire . The area has been known to host megathrust earthquakes in the past, the last being the Cascadia earthquake of 1700 . The Forbidden Plateau , in
2232-485: The Fraser Canyon Gold Rush in 1858. The Hudson's Bay lease expired in 1859 and the island reverted to Great Britain. The burgeoning town was incorporated as Victoria in 1862. Victoria became the capital of the colony of Vancouver Island, retaining this status when the island was amalgamated with the mainland in 1866. A British naval base, including Esquimalt Royal Navy Dockyard and a naval hospital,
2325-620: The Gulf Islands . A private passenger ferry service connecting to Vancouver, named Hullo , began operating in August 2023. Buttertubs Marsh is a bird sanctuary located in the middle of the city. The marsh covers approximately 100 acres (40 ha). Within this is the 46-acre (19 ha) "Buttertubs Marsh Conservation Area", owned by the Nature Trust of British Columbia. Like much of coastal British Columbia, Nanaimo experiences
2418-551: The House of Commons of Canada , Nanaimo is represented by Lisa Marie Barron of the NDP , representing the riding of Nanaimo—Ladysmith since the 2021 election . The city was split into two separate ridings, Nanaimo—Cowichan ( Jean Crowder , New Democratic Party ), which includes South Nanaimo and Cassidy, and Nanaimo—Alberni ( James Lunney , Independent elected as a Conservative ), which includes North Nanaimo and Lantzville, until
2511-680: The Kwakwakaʼwakw (also known as the Kwakiutl ), Nuu-chah-nulth , and various Coast Salish peoples . While there is some overlap, Kwakwakaʼwakw territory includes northern and northwestern Vancouver Island and adjoining areas of the mainland, the Nuu-chah-nulth span most of the west coast, while the Coast Salish cover the southeastern Island and southernmost extremities along the Strait of Juan de Fuca . Their cultures are connected to
2604-751: The Lower Mainland . The capital was moved to Victoria in 1868. By 1867, Canada was established by the first of the British North America Acts , the Constitution Act, 1867 and the United Colonies joined Canada on 20 July 1871 through the British Columbia Terms of Union , following negotiations that secured the interests of the colonial elite in relation to a rail connection that would unite
2697-632: The Makah of the Olympic Peninsula , Washington state and the Ditidaht . The Coast Salish are the largest of the southern groups. They are a loose grouping of many tribes with numerous distinct cultures and historically speak one of the Coast Salish languages . On Vancouver Island, Coast Salish peoples' territory traditionally spans from the northern limit of the Strait of Georgia on
2790-550: The Salish Sea , which also includes Puget Sound . The Vancouver Island Ranges run most of the length of the island, dividing it into a wet and rugged west coast and a drier, more rolling east coast. The highest point in these ranges and on the island is the Golden Hinde , at 2,195 m (7,201 ft). Located near the centre of Vancouver Island in 2,500 km (970 sq mi) Strathcona Provincial Park , it
2883-547: The Snuneymuxw . An anglicized spelling and pronunciation of that word gave the city its current name. The first Europeans known to reach Nanaimo Harbour were members of the 1791 Spanish voyage of Juan Carrasco , under the command of Francisco de Eliza . They gave it the name Bocas de Winthuysen after naval officer Francisco Javier Winthuysen y Pineda . When the British Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) established
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2976-788: The United Colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia by the Act for the Union of the colonies, passed by the Imperial Parliament . Arthur Kennedy was appointed governor of the united entity. (He would leave office in 1866 and later became Governor of the West African Settlements, British West Africa .) Victoria became the capital but the legislative assembly was located in New Westminster on
3069-434: The potlatch was banned by the federal government of Canada in 1885, but has been revived in recent decades. The Nuu-chah-nulth (pronounced [nuːʧanˀuɬ]), are indigenous peoples in Canada. Their traditional home is on the west coast of Vancouver Island. In pre-contact and early post-contact times, the number of nations was much greater, but as in the rest of the region, smallpox and other consequences of contact resulted in
3162-415: The 18th and 19th centuries, sea otters ( Enhydra lutris ) were protected by an international treaty in 1911. Despite protection, the remnant population off Vancouver Island died out with the last sea otter taken near Kyuquot in 1929. From 1969 to 1972, 89 sea otters were flown or shipped from Alaska to the west coast of Vancouver Island. This population expanded to over 3,000 as of 2005 , and their range on
3255-542: The 1940s, lumber supplanted coal as the main business. Minetown Days have been celebrated in the neighbouring community of Lantzville to highlight some of the locale's history. In the late nineteenth century, numerous immigrants came from China and settled here. What was known as the first Chinatown in Nanaimo was founded during the gold rush years of the 1860s; it was the third largest in British Columbia. In 1884, because of mounting racial tensions related to
3348-526: The 1970s and 1980s, a protest camp along the highway targeted the facility. Vancouver Island 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 km (12,400 sq mi) in total area, while 31,285 km (12,079 sq mi) are of land. The island
3441-659: The British Admiralty, Captain Vancouver reveals that his decision here was rather meant to honour a request by Bodega y Quadra that Vancouver: would name some port or island after us both in commemoration of our meeting and friendly intercourse that on that occasion had taken place (Vancouver had previously feted Bodega y Quadra on his ship); ...and conceiving no place more eligible than the place of our meeting, I have therefore named this land ... The Island of Quadra and Vancouver. Bodega y Quadra wrote, however, that it
3534-538: The Duke Point terminal to the Tsawwassen ferry terminal in Tsawwassen . As the site of the main ferry terminal, Nanaimo is the gateway to many other destinations both on the northern part of the island— Tofino , Comox Valley , Parksville , Campbell River , Port Alberni , Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park —and off its coast— Saysutshun , Protection Island , Gabriola Island , Valdes Island , and many other of
3627-489: The Dunsmuir coal company's hiring of Chinese strikebreakers, the company helped move Chinatown to a location outside city limits. In 1908, when two Chinese entrepreneurs bought the site and tried to raise rents, the community and 4,000 shareholders from across Canada combined forces and bought a site for the third Chinatown, at a new location focused on Pine Street. That third Chinatown burned down on 30 September 1960 but it
3720-601: The Fairwinds Schooner Cove Marina has 360 berths . The ghost town of Red Gap , which was the site of the Straits Lumber Mill 1912–1942, is southeast along the highway. The Canadian Forces Maritime Experimental Test Range (CFMETR) is in a restricted area at the wharf terminus of Powder Point Rd. The joint Canadian-American testing facility for torpedoes and other naval warfare and listening equipment has operated since 1965. During
3813-610: The Giant Powder Company established a plant, community, and a 4.8-kilometre (3 mi) narrow gauge railway that connected the complex. In 1918, an explosion caused extensive damage, and the plant relocated in 1925. Near the point, at Brickyard Cove, a brick plant existed in 1911. Clay came from the grounds of the present golf course. Bricks intertwine the roots of giant trees in Brickyard Park. At Dolphin Beach,
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3906-650: The Kula plate, leading to the formation of the distorted Insular Mountains . Much of the central mountainous region around Strathcona Park is part of the Karmutsen Formation , which is a sequence of tholeiitic pillow basalts and breccias . Since Vancouver Island has become an accretionary wedge on the North American continent, the Kula Plate has fully subducted beneath it and the remnants of
3999-633: The Nanaimo CMA had a population of 115,459 living in 49,348 of its 51,568 total private dwellings, a change of 10% from its 2016 population of 104,936 . With a land area of 1,279.28 km (493.93 sq mi), it had a population density of 90.3/km (233.8/sq mi) in 2021. In 2016, the average age of a Nanaimoite is 45.5 years old, higher than the national median at 41.2. In Nanaimo, there are 40,885 private dwellings, 39,165 which are occupied by usual residents (95.8% occupancy rate). The median value of these dwellings are $ 359,760, which
4092-655: The Victoria Advanced Technology Council website, over 800 technology companies operate in the Victoria area, with combined annual revenues of $ 1.95 billion. High-speed internet is delivered to the island by Shaw Communications , Telus , and various local providers with their own networks. Wireless Internet connections can be found all over the island, many free for public use. While the island does generate much of its own power at several hydroelectric stations, increased demand required
4185-495: The W. E. Mills Landing and Marina providing mooring for larger vessels. The Port Authority also operates two terminal facilities one at Assembly Wharf (near the downtown core) and the second at Duke Point for cargo operations. In 2011, the Authority completed the addition of a $ 22 million cruise ship terminal at Assembly Wharf capable of handling large cruise ships including providing Canada Border Services Agency clearance. In
4278-666: The arrival of Spanish and British naval expeditions in the late 18th century. The Spanish and British conjointly named it Quadra's and Vancouver's Island in commemoration of the friendly negotiations held in 1792 between the Spanish commander of Fort San Miguel in Nootka Sound , Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra , and British naval captain George Vancouver , during the Nootka Crisis . (Bodega y Quadra's name
4371-490: The city fed it a wealth of information about its buildings, property lines, utilities and streets. The result is earth.nanaimo.ca, a wealth of city data viewed through the Google Earth 3D mapping program. Their Open Data Catalogue is available at data.nanaimo.ca. Nanaimo has over 30 elementary and secondary schools, most of which are public and are operated by School District 68 Nanaimo-Ladysmith . Aspengrove School
4464-539: The coast near Port McNeill . Vancouver Island does support most of Canada's Roosevelt elk , however, and several mammal species and subspecies, such as the Vancouver Island marmot are unique to the island. Columbian black-tailed deer are plentiful, even in suburban areas such as in Greater Victoria , as well as the native Douglas squirrels . The Eastern grey squirrel is found in the south and
4557-418: The colonies with the rest of Canada, establish Indian lands policy that would effectively perpetuate BC's pre-Confederation practices, and enshrine colonial officials' security of position. Victoria was named the capital of the province of British Columbia . Three delegates were appointed to the federal government. Vancouver Island is located in the southwestern corner of the province of British Columbia. It
4650-566: The construction of several high-voltage power cables, both HVDC and AC, connecting to the Canadian Mainland . Nanaimo Nanaimo ( / n ə ˈ n aɪ m oʊ / nə- NY -moh ) is a city of about 100,000 on the east coast of Vancouver Island , in British Columbia , Canada. "The Harbour City" was previously known as the "Hub City", which was attributed to its original layout design with streets radiating from
4743-517: The disappearance of some groups and the absorption of others into neighbouring groups. They were among the first Pacific peoples north of California to come into contact with Europeans, as the Spanish, Americans and British attempted to secure control of the Pacific Northwest and the trade in otter pelts, with Nootka Sound becoming a focus of these rivalries. The Nuu-chah-nulth speak a Southern Wakashan language and are closely related to
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#17327941727434836-426: The east and Ucluelet on the west. Southern Vancouver Island is typically considered to refer to the area south of Courtenay, while Northern Vancouver Island generally refers to the area north of Campbell River. Those cities and the area between them are sometimes described as "Mid-Island" or "Central Island". There are a number of rivers draining the island, some of which though short are large in volume. Among
4929-498: The east of the Vancouver Island Ranges , was the epicentre of the 1946 Vancouver Island earthquake that registered 7.3 on the moment magnitude scale , the strongest ever recorded on land in Canada. Vancouver Island was the location of the observation of the episodic tremor and slip (ETS) seismic phenomenon. Vancouver Island lies in the temperate rainforest biome . On the southern and eastern portions of
5022-927: The east side of Vancouver Island and covers most of southern Vancouver Island. Distinct nations within the Coast Salish peoples on Vancouver Island include the Stz'uminus , the Kʼómoks of the Comox Valley area, the Cowichan of the Cowichan Valley , the Esquimalt , the Saanich of the Saanich Peninsula , the Songhees of the Victoria area and Snuneymuxw in the Nanaimo area. Europeans began to explore
5115-502: The entire matter back to their respective governments. The friendly meeting between Bodega y Quadra and Vancouver led the former to propose that the island be named after both: "Quadra and Vancouver Island", which became the original name. While we know this island today as "Vancouver Island", the British explorer had not intentionally meant to name such a large body of land solely after himself. In his September 1792 dispatch log report for
5208-632: The island in 1774 when rumours of Russian fur traders caused Spain to send a number of expeditions to assert its long-held claims to the Pacific Northwest . The first expedition was that of the Santiago , under the command of Juan José Pérez Hernández . In 1775, a second Spanish expedition under the Spanish Peruvian captain Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra was sent. By 1776, Spanish exploration had reached Bucareli Bay including
5301-400: The island remained in dispute between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Spanish Empire in the early 1790s. The two countries nearly began a war over the issue; the confrontation became known as the Nootka Crisis . That was averted when both agreed to recognize the other's rights to the area in the first Nootka Convention in 1790, a first step to peace. Finally, the two countries signed
5394-452: The island's west coast expanded from Cape Scott in the north to Barkley Sound to the south. The majority of Vancouver Island's population lives in the Capital Regional District , more specifically in the primate city and the provincial capital of Victoria . With a population of 397,237 (2021), Greater Victoria is the island's largest population centre and one of its two census metropolitan areas . The island's other metropolitan area
5487-452: The island, this is characterized by Douglas fir , western red cedar , arbutus (or madrone), Garry oak , salal , Oregon grape , and manzanita ; moreover, Vancouver Island is the location where the Douglas fir was first recorded by Archibald Menzies . Vancouver Island is also the location where some of the tallest Douglas fir were recorded. This southeastern portion of the island is the most heavily populated region of Vancouver Island and
5580-559: The local economy and makes the entire area smell like sulfur multiple times a year. The largest employer is the provincial government. The service, retail and tourism industries are also big contributors to the local economy. Technological development on Nanaimo has been growing with companies such as "Inuktun" and the establishment of government-funded Innovation Island as a site to help Nanaimo-based technological start ups by giving them access to tools, education and venture capital. The average sale price of houses in Nanaimo for 2011
5673-447: The more notable rivers are the Somass River in the Alberni Valley , the Nimpkish River in the North Island region, the Englishman River up island from Nanaimo near Parksville , and the Cowichan River whose basin forms the Cowichan Valley region in the South Island region. The climate of Vancouver Island is the mildest in Canada, with temperatures on the coast even in January being usually above 0 °C (32 °F). In summer,
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#17327941727435766-478: The mountains of central Vancouver Island, so that summers are unusually dry for its latitude and location—though summer drying as a trend is found in the immediate lee of the coastal ranges as far north as Skagway, Alaska . Heavy snowfall does occasionally occur during winter, with a record daily total of 74 centimetres (29.13 in) on 12 February 1975, but the mean maximum cover is only 20 centimetres (7.9 in). The highest temperature ever recorded in Nanaimo
5859-407: The mouth of the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington , and Sitka Sound . Vancouver Island came to the attention of Britain after the third voyage of Captain James Cook , who spent a month during 1778 at Nootka Sound , on the island's western coast. Cook claimed it for Great Britain. Maritime fur trader , John Meares arrived in 1786 and set up a single-building trading post near
5952-433: The naming of the city of Vancouver in 1885. By March 1843, James Douglas of the Hudson's Bay Company and a missionary had arrived and selected an area for settlement. Construction of the fort began in June of that year. This settlement was a fur trading post originally named Fort Albert (afterward Fort Victoria ). The fort was located at the Songhees settlement of Camosack (Camosun), 200 m (660 ft) northwest of
6045-427: The native village of Yuquot (Friendly Cove), at the entrance to Nootka Sound in 1788. The fur trade began expanding into the island, eventually leading to permanent settlement. The island was further explored by Spain in 1789 with Esteban José Martínez , who established the settlement of Yuquot and the artillery battery of Fort San Miguel at Friendly Cove , which Spain called Puerto de San Lorenzo de Nuca. This
6138-427: The natural resources abundant in the area. The Kwakwakaʼwakw today number about 5,500, who live in British Columbia on northern Vancouver Island and the mainland. They are also known as Kwakiutl in English, from one of their tribes, but they prefer their autonym Kwakwakaʼwakw . Their indigenous language, part of the Wakashan family, is Kwakʼwala . The name Kwakwakaʼwakw means "speakers of Kwakʼwala". The language
6231-581: The north , while a third group of transient orcas roam much farther and avoid the resident orcas. Residents are watched from a distance and are numbered, with many being named as well. Humpback whales and gray whales are often seen on their migration between Alaskan waters where they feed in the summer and southern waters such as around California and Mexico where they give birth in the winter. The island's rivers, lakes, and coastal regions are renowned for their fisheries of trout , salmon , and steelhead . After near-total extirpation by fur traders in
6324-419: The now disappeared Kula oceanic plate . Around 55 million years ago during the Paleogene Period , a microplate of the Kula Plate subducted below the North American continental margin with great strain. A volcanic arc on the surface of the Kula Plate was thus accreted and fused onto the western edge of North America. These terranes were subjected to extreme warping from continued subduction of
6417-536: The period. But as Spanish interests in the region dwindled, so did the use of Bodega y Quadra's name. The Hudson's Bay Company played a major part in the transition; by 1824 'Vancouver's Island' had become the usual designation in its correspondence for the island. A quarter of a century later, Vancouver Island had become such a well-known geographical feature that the founding of the Colony of Vancouver Island in 1849 gave this name full official status. Period references to "Vancouver" referred to Vancouver Island until
6510-412: The present-day Empress Hotel on Victoria's Inner Harbour . In 1846, the Oregon Treaty , which ended the Oregon boundary dispute , was signed by the British and the United States to settle the question of the U.S. Oregon Country borders. The Treaty made the 49th parallel latitude north the official border between the two countries. In order to ensure that Britain retained all of Vancouver Island and
6603-400: The railway crossing on Nanoose Beach Rd, not even a signpost marked the flag stop location in its final years. Along NW Bay Rd, was the community of Brynmarl (south of Sanders Rd intersection), which had a post office (1886–1935), stage stop, and train station. The Rocking Horse Pub lies among rural holdings. In 1911, along today's Powder Point Rd, the peninsula was called "Powder Point" when
6696-611: The resource for a while, but gradually lost them due to other tribes and miners from the failed Port Rupert project. By 1852, the first shipment of Nanaimo coal was loaded on the Cadboro . Construction of the Nanaimo Bastion began in 1853 and was finished in 1855. On 27 November 1854, 24 coal miners and their families from England arrived at the settlement aboard the Beaver and Recovery . They had travelled seven months on
6789-430: The second Nootka Convention in 1793 and the third Convention in 1794. As per that final agreement, the Spanish dismantled their fort at Nootka and left the area, giving the British sovereignty over Vancouver Island and the adjoining islands (including the Gulf Islands ). For decades, Quadra's and Vancouver's Island was the most prominent name on maps of the coast, and appeared on most British, French and Spanish maps of
6882-425: The ship Princess Royal arriving at Esquimalt two days earlier. They transferred to the two smaller vessels for the trip to Colvile Town. They were greeted by Joseph William McKay and 21 Scottish miners. During World War I, the provincial government established an Internment camp for Ukrainian detainees, many of them local, at a Provincial jail in Nanaimo. It operated from September 1914 to September 1915. In
6975-605: The shoreline like the spokes of a wagon wheel, and to its relatively central location on Vancouver Island. Nanaimo is the headquarters of the Regional District of Nanaimo . Nanaimo is served by the Island Highway along the east coast, the BC Ferries system, and its regional airport . It is also on the dormant Island Rail Corridor . The Indigenous peoples of the area that is now known as Nanaimo are
7068-545: The southern Gulf Islands, however, it was agreed that the border would swing south around that area. In 1849, the Colony of Vancouver Island was established. The Colony was leased to the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) for an annual fee of seven shillings; the company's responsibility in return was to increase the population by promoting colonization. The first independent settler arrived that year: Captain Walter Grant started
7161-560: The southernmost harbours frequented by American fur traders at 51 degrees north and 128 degrees west . He relates that since Captain Robert Gray of Tiverton, Rhode Island , had sailed the Columbia River in 1792, the trade of the northwest coast had been almost entirely in the hands of Boston merchants, so much so that the natives called all traders "Boston Men". A settlement was not successfully negotiated and ownership of
7254-403: The vacated position. The mayor of Nanaimo is currently Leonard Krog , who replaced Bill Mackay in 2018. The most well-known mayor Nanaimo ever had was Frank J. Ney , who instigated Nanaimo's well-known bathtub races, which he regularly attended dressed as a pirate. There is a statue to commemorate Ney—dressed in his pirate costume—at Swy-a-Lana Lagoon, which is on the Nanaimo waterfront. Ney
7347-502: The warmest days usually have a maximum of 28–33 °C (82–91 °F). The southeastern part of the island notably has a warm summer (Csb) Mediterranean climate with numerous vineyards . The rain shadow effect of the island's mountains, as well as the mountains of Washington's Olympic Peninsula , creates wide variation in precipitation. The west coast is considerably wetter than the east coast. Average annual precipitation ranges from 6,650 mm (262 in) at Hucuktlis Lake on
7440-536: The waterfront conference centre's construction running over its proposed budget. Nanaimo has also been experiencing job growth in the technology sector. Nanaimo is served by one newspaper: the Nanaimo News Bulletin (33,000 copies twice a week—audited), which is owned by Black Press . The Harbour City Star , also owned by publisher Black Press, was closed in 2016. On 29 January 2016, the 141-year-old Nanaimo Daily News , shut down. Nanaimo also hosts
7533-538: The west coast (making it the wettest place in North America) to only 608 mm (23.9 in) at Victoria Gonzales, the driest recording station in the provincial capital of Victoria . Precipitation is heaviest in the autumn and winter. Snow is rare at low altitudes, but is common on the island's mountaintops in winter. Skiing is popular at Mount Washington in the mid-island, with an elevation of 1,588 m (5,210 ft). A notable feature of Vancouver Island
7626-887: Was 40.6 °C (105 °F) on 16 July 1941. The coldest temperature ever recorded was −20.0 °C (−4 °F) on 30 December 1968. Nanaimo is served by two airports: Nanaimo Airport (YCD) with services to Vancouver (YVR), Toronto (YYZ), and Calgary (YYC) and Nanaimo Harbour Water Aerodrome (ZNA) with services to Vancouver Harbour (CXH), Vancouver Airport (YVR South Terminal), and Sechelt (YHS); . Nanaimo also has three BC Ferry terminals located at Departure Bay , Duke Point , and downtown . The downtown terminal services Gabriola Island while Departure Bay and Duke Point service Horseshoe Bay and Tsawwassen respectively. A private passenger ferry operates between Nanaimo Harbour and Protection Island. A seasonal passenger ferry operates between Swy-a-Lana Lagoon and Saysutshun (Newcastle Island Marine) Park. Since 2023 Hullo has operated
7719-471: Was 864,864 as of 2021. Nearly half of that population (~400,000) live in the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria on the southern tip of the island, which includes Victoria , the capital of British Columbia. Other notable cities and towns on Vancouver Island include Nanaimo , Campbell River , Courtenay , Port Alberni and Parksville , all on or near the east coast. Indigenous peoples have inhabited Vancouver Island for thousands of years, long before
7812-557: Was Vancouver who made the suggestion of combining their names to designate some geographical feature. In 1792, the Spanish explorer Dionisio Alcalá Galiano and his crew were the first Europeans to circumnavigate Vancouver Island. On April 8, 1806, Captain John D'Wolf of Bristol, Rhode Island , sailed the Juno to Nahwitti (Newettee), a small inlet in the northwestern promontory of Vancouver's Island. The captain described Newettee as one of
7905-487: Was adopted by the early 1870s. The Nanoose First Nation called the peninsula Berry Point. In the early 1800s, a rival tribe massacred many members, who were berry picking. A child survivor was later known as "Nanoose Bob". The Nanoose Bay community was formerly called Arlington after the Arlington Hotel, the post office name from 1906, until adopting Nanoose Bay in 1916. In 1957, Yvonne and John Ruggles opened
7998-561: Was also an MLA for the Social Credit party while he was also mayor. An elementary school has been named in his honour. Mark Bate became Nanaimo's first mayor in 1875. He served an additional 15 one-year terms as mayor (1875–1879, 1881–1886, 1888–1889, and 1898–1900). The city's planning department has steadily produced enough municipal data to warrant a Time magazine article on open-government . Nanaimo has been dubbed "the capital of Google Earth". Working directly with Google ,
8091-490: Was approximately $ 350,000. A recent surge of higher-density real estate development, centred in the Old City / Downtown area, as well as construction of a city-funded waterfront conference centre, has proven controversial. Proponents of these developments argue that they will bolster the city's economy, while critics worry that they will block waterfront views and increase traffic congestion. Concerns have also been raised about
8184-601: Was by then mostly derelict and abandoned. A fourth Chinatown, also called Lower Chinatown or "new town", boomed for a while in the 1920s on Machleary Street. Located on the east coast of Vancouver Island, Nanaimo is about 111 kilometres (69 mi) north-west of Victoria , and 55 kilometres (34 mi) west of Vancouver , separated by the Strait of Georgia , and linked to Vancouver via the Horseshoe Bay BC Ferries terminal in West Vancouver and
8277-419: Was commandant of Santa Cruz de Nuca in 1792. Vancouver had sailed as a midshipman with Cook. The negotiations between Vancouver and Bodega y Quadra ended in a deadlock with nothing resolved. Vancouver insisted the entire Spanish establishment be turned over, but Bodega y Quadra held that there were no buildings seized in 1789, and the only possible land was a tiny and useless cove nearby. The two decided to refer
8370-470: Was dispatched and eventually the governor James Douglas visited the future site of Nanaimo. While open to selling coal, the Snuneymuxw wished to retain control of it and retain the exclusive right to mine it. Chief Wun-wun-shum offered to sell coal for five barrels in exchange for one blanket. The HBC representative Joseph William McKay deemed this "impertinent". The Snuneymuxw retained their rights to
8463-707: Was established at Esquimalt in 1865 and eventually taken over by the Canadian military . Today, as CFB Esquimalt , it is the home port of the Maritime Forces Pacific and parts are designated as National Historic Sites of Canada . The economic situation of the colony declined following the Cariboo Gold Rush of 1861–1862, and pressure grew for amalgamation of the colony with the mainland colony of British Columbia (which had been established in 1858). The two colonies were merged in 1866 into
8556-572: Was eventually dropped.) It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, who between 1791 and 1794 explored the Pacific Northwest . Vancouver Island is the world's 43rd largest island , Canada's 11th largest island , and Canada's second most populous island after the Island of Montreal . Vancouver Island has been the homeland of many indigenous peoples for thousands of years. The groupings, by language, are
8649-485: Was to be the only Spanish settlement in what would later be Canada. Asserting their claim of exclusive sovereignty and navigation rights, the Spanish force seized the Portuguese-flagged British ships. British naval captain George Vancouver was sent to Nootka Sound in 1792 in order to negotiate a settlement. His Spanish counterpart in the negotiations was Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra, who
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