 |
|
|
|
Information regarding Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is located off Canada's Pacific coast and is part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is 460 km (285 miles) long and up to 80 km (50 miles) wide. The largest island on the western side of the Americas at 32,134 square kilometers (12,407 square miles), it is the world's 42nd largest island and Canada's 11th largest island. The island is named in honour of George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific northwest coast between 1791 and 1794.
As of 2002, Vancouver Island had an estimated population of 750,000. Slightly less than half of these (326,000) live in Victoria, British Columbia. Other major cities on Vancouver Island include Nanaimo, Port Alberni, Parksville, Courtenay, and Campbell River.
Vancouver Island's economy outside Victoria is largely dominated by the forestry industry, with tourism and fishing also playing a large role. Many of the logging operations are for paper pulp, in "2nd growth" tree farms that are harvested approximately every 30 years. In recent years the government of British Columbia has engaged in an advertising program to draw more tourists to beach resorts such as Tofino. |
|
|
