Vancouver Island Ranges
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The Vancouver Island Ranges, formerly called the Vancouver Island Mountains, are a series of
mountain ranges A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...
extending along the length of
Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest by ...
which has an area of . The Vancouver Island Ranges comprise the central and largest part of the island. The
Geological Survey of Canada The Geological Survey of Canada (GSC; french: Commission géologique du Canada (CGC)) is a Canadian federal government agency responsible for performing geological surveys of the country, developing Canada's natural resources and protecting the e ...
refers to Vancouver Island, Haida Gwaii, and the Alaska Panhandle as the
Insular Belt The Insular Belt is a physiogeological region on the north western North American coast. It consists of three major island groups and many smaller islands and stretches from southern British Columbia into Alaska and the Yukon. It represents the L ...
including the sea floor out to 100 km (62 mi) west of Vancouver Island. The Vancouver Island Ranges are a sub-range of the Insular Mountains.


Explorations

The first European sighting of these ranges was likely
Sir Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( – 28 January 1596) was an English explorer, sea captain, privateer, slave trader, naval officer, and politician. Drake is best known for his circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition, from 1577 to 158 ...
. A sighting of land on June 5, 1579 was recorded by his crew aboard the vessel '' Golden Hind'' at a latitude of 48 degrees north but not finding safe harbour, they moved on southward. The highest peak of the Vancouver Island Ranges, the Golden Hinde, is named for his vessel. The first European explorer likely to have observed any of the mountains of the Vancouver Island Ranges would have been Captain Juan José Pérez aboard the Spanish frigate Santiago. Although he anchored off
Estevan Point Estevan Point is a lighthouse located on the headland of the same name on the Hesquiat Peninsula on the west coast of Vancouver Island, Canada. During World War II, in 1942, the Estevan Point lighthouse was fired upon by the Japanese submarin ...
, on August 8, 1774 he did not land. Captain James Cook entered Nootka Sound March 29, 1778 and spent about a month refitting his ships
Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discove ...
and Resolution. His logs contain the first recorded reference to the mountains of Vancouver Island. In 1788 British Captain John Meares began a small settlement at Nootka Sound and the following year, the Spanish built a permanent fort at Friendly Cove ( Yuquot) in
Nuu-chah-nulth The Nuu-chah-nulth (; Nuučaan̓uł: ), also formerly referred to as the Nootka, Nutka, Aht, Nuuchahnulth or Tahkaht, are one of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast in Canada. The term Nuu-chah-nulth is used to describe fifte ...
territory. The Spanish claimed sovereignty and a dispute arose which was resolved with the Nootka Convention of the 1794. There was little further exploration until the
Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business di ...
was granted rights to Vancouver Island on January 13, 1849 leading to the first attempt, by Captain Hamilton Moffat in 1852 to ascend a major peak on the Island when he attempted Rugged Mountain.
Adam Grant Horne Adam Grant Horne (1829 – 10 August 1901) was a Hudson's Bay Company employee at the Colony of Vancouver Island, a municipal politician and a businessman. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland and died at Nanaimo, British Columbia. He married Eliz ...
located a trail across the island from the
Qualicum River The Qualicum River or Big Qualicum River ("Where the Dog Salmon Run" in the Pentlatch language) is a river on the east coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, flowing northeast from its headwaters in Horne Lake into the Strait of ...
to the Alberni Inlet in 1856 and Joseph Despard Pemberton, Surveyor General of the
Colony of Vancouver Island The Colony of Vancouver Island, officially known as the Island of Vancouver and its Dependencies, was a Crown colony of British North America from 1849 to 1866, after which it was united with the mainland to form the Colony of British Columbia ...
explored much of the southern half of the Island in 1857. The southern Island was further explored by the
Vancouver Island Exploring Expedition In 1864 the Vancouver Island Exploring Expedition explored areas of the Colony of Vancouver Island outside the capital of Victoria and settlements in Nanaimo and the Cowichan Valley that were then unknown. The expedition went as far north as the ...
in 1865. By the mid-1880s the southern half of the island had been explored and by 1890 the northern region had been explored as well. The central part of the island, the area now within
Strathcona Provincial Park Strathcona Provincial Park is the oldest provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, and the largest on Vancouver Island. Founded in 1911, the park was named for Donald Alexander Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal, a wealthy philanthro ...
, was explored by Reverend William Washington Bolton, Headmaster of the Victoria School for Boys, in 1894 and 1896.


Ranges

Only a few of the many subranges of the Vancouver Island Ranges have official names. These are: #
Refugium Range The Refugium Range is a low, small mountain range comprising the mountains/hills of the Brooks Peninsula on northern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. It has an area of and is a subrange of the Vancouver Island Ranges which in turn for ...
: On the Brooks Peninsula. #
Sophia Range The Sophia Range is a low, small mountain range on southern Nootka Island, forming a peninsula west of Tahsis Inlet, between Esperanza Inlet and Nuchatlitz Inlet, British Columbia, Canada. It is made up of hills and has an area of 150  ...
: On Nootka Island, on the peninsula between Esperanza Inlet and Nuchatlitz Inlet. # Genevieve Range: Nootka Island. # Karmutzen Range: Between Nimpkish Lake, Tlakwa Creek and Karmuzten Creek. # Hankin Range: Between Nimpkish Lake and Bonanza Lake. # Franklin Range: Near Robson Bight on the Johnstone Strait between the Tsitika River and Kokish River. # Bonanza Range: Between the Nimpkish River and the Tsitika River by Bonanza Lake. #
Sutton Range The Sutton Range is a mountain range on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, located in the area between the headwaters of the Nimpkish River and those of the White River. It has an area of 448 km2 and is a subrange of the Vancou ...
: Between Nimpkish River, White River, ktwanch River, Gold River. # Newcastle Ridge: Johnstone Strait, west of Sayward-Kelsey Bay and east/north of Adams River # Prince of Wales Range: East coast of Vancouver Island 40 km (25 mi) north of Campbell River. # Halifax Range: Along Johnstone Strait between Amor de Cosmos Creek and Pye Creek. # Beaufort Range: North of
Port Alberni Port Alberni () is a city located on Vancouver Island in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The city lies within the Alberni Valley at the head of the Alberni Inlet, Vancouver Island's longest inlet. It is the location of the head offices ...
and west of
Qualicum Beach :''"Qualicum" re-directs here. For the neighbourhood in Ottawa, see Qualicum, Ottawa'' Qualicum Beach () is a town located on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. In the 2021 census, it had a population of 9,303. It is situated at the ...
. # Pelham Range: Between the Sarita River and Alberni Inlet. # Somerset Range: Between The Pacheena-Sarita River basins and the Klanawa River (between Nitinat Lake and Imperial Eagle channel) # Seymour Range: Between the valley of Cowichan Lake, San Juan River and Gordon River. # Gowlland Range: Near Victoria between
Saanich Inlet , image = Saanich Inlet from Gowlland Tod Provincial Park, Vancouver Island, Canada 13.jpg , image_size = 260px , caption = Saanich Inlet from Gowlland Tod Provincial Park , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = Northwest o ...
and Brentwood Bay. Includes Mount Work Regional Park. #
Pierce Range The Pierce Range is a small very steep-sided mountain range on central Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. It has an area of 94 km2 and is a subrange of the Vancouver Island Ranges which in turn form part of the Insular Mountains ...
: South of Gold River between the Jacklah River and the Burman River. # Haihte Range: Between Tashsis River, the Nomash River, Zeballos Lake and Woss Lake. The Elk River Mountains, located in
Strathcona Provincial Park Strathcona Provincial Park is the oldest provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, and the largest on Vancouver Island. Founded in 1911, the park was named for Donald Alexander Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal, a wealthy philanthro ...
, are considered a range by some sources.Stone


Peaks of the Vancouver Island Ranges

*


See also

* Queen Charlotte Mountains


Sources

* *


References


External links


Canadian Mountain Encyclopedia, Vancouver Island Ranges
*{{BCGNIS, 25720, Vancouver Island Ranges Insular Mountains