Victoria Harbour (British Columbia)
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Victoria Harbour is a harbour, seaport, and
seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their technological characteri ...
airport in the Canadian city of Victoria,
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...
. It serves as a
cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as ...
and
ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water ta ...
destination for tourists and visitors to the city and
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 ...
. It is both a port of entry and an airport of entry for
general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
. Historically it was a
shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to bef ...
and
commercial fishing Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must oft ...
centre. While the Inner Harbour is fully within the City of Victoria, separating the city's downtown on its east side from the Victoria West neighbourhood, the Upper Harbour serves as the boundary between the City of Victoria and the district municipality of
Esquimalt The Township of Esquimalt is a municipality at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. It is bordered to the east by the provincial capital, Victoria, to the south by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, to the west by Esqui ...
. The inner reaches are also bordered by the district of Saanich and the town of
View Royal View Royal is a town in Greater Victoria and a member municipality of the Capital Regional District of British Columbia, Canada. View Royal has a population of 10,858 residents. With over of parkland, View Royal includes Thetis, McKenzie, Pik ...
. Victoria is a federal "public harbour" as defined by
Transport Canada Transport Canada (french: Transports Canada) is the department within the Government of Canada responsible for developing regulations, policies and services of road, rail, marine and air transportation in Canada. It is part of the Transporta ...
. Several port facilities in the harbour are overseen and developed by the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority, however the harbour master's position is with Transport Canada.


History

Before European development the Coast Salish Songhees people lived in settlements to the east of the harbour and the Esquimalt people lived to the west of it. They cultivated
camas root ''Camassia'' is a genus of plants in the asparagus family native to North America. Common names include camas, quamash, Indian hyacinth, camash, and wild hyacinth. It grows in the wild in great numbers in moist meadows. They are perennial p ...
and other crops in meadows lined with cultivated Garry oak trees along the harbour. Shell
midden A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and eco ...
s along the Gorge Waterway are evidence of human habitation dating back 4000 years. In the summer of 1790 Manuel Quimper, Gonzalo López de Haro, and Juan Carrasco aboard ''Princesa Real'' explored the Juan de Fuca Strait where they claimed Esquimalt Harbour for Spain, naming it Puerto de Córdova.


19th century

In 1843 James Douglas led the effort to construct an outpost on Vancouver Island for 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 ...
. He rejected Esquimalt Harbour due to dense tree growth and chose instead to site Fort Victoria overlooking the Victoria Harbour (at a location that is about 1 block east of today's Wharf Street). On 11 March 1850 was docked in the harbour to witness Richard Blanshard assume the Governorship of the newly formed Colony of Vancouver Island and issued a seventeen gun salute. In 1852 sailors from the British naval ship built a trail through the forest linking the Esquimalt Harbour with Victoria Harbour and Fort Victoria. The trail would eventually be paved and is now known as Old Esquimalt Road (it runs parallel to and just north of Esquimalt Road). The Fisgard Light and
Race Rocks Light Race Rocks Light is one of the first two lighthouses that were built on the west coast of Canada, financed by the British Government and illuminated in 1860. It is the only lighthouse on that coast built of rock, (granite) purportedly quarried ...
were built on islands outside of Esquimalt and Victoria harbours in the years 1859 and 1860. The former light was constructed by Joseph Despard Pemberton as supervising engineer, the latter light was constructed by the crew of . The two lighthouses were the first built on Canada's west coast and still serve as active aids to navigation. In 1858 the
Fraser Canyon Gold Rush The Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, (also Fraser Gold Rush and Fraser River Gold Rush) began in 1858 after gold was discovered on the Thompson River in British Columbia at its confluence with the Nicoamen River a few miles upstream from the Thompson's ...
took place. In 1861 and 1862 the Cariboo Gold Rush took place. Both of the
gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New ...
es swelled traffic through the harbour as a massive influx of people came to Fort Victoria to buy permits and supplies before setting out for the mainland. Victoria was incorporated as a city on 2 August 1862. In 1858 Captain William Moore moved from
San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. San Francisco Bay drains water f ...
to Victoria. He built several barges and steamships in Victoria and participated in trade associated with the gold rushes in British Columbia and eventually the Klondike Gold Rush in the
Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...
. Moore died in Victoria 29 March 1909. As a steamship captain Moore was a rival of both William and John Irving. In 1859 Captain William Irving (1816–1872) became a partner in the Victoria Steam Navigation Company that provided
ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water ta ...
service between New Westminster and Victoria. The Irving family lived for a time in Victoria then in New Westminster. In 1882 William's son Captain John Irving (1854–1936), then 28, ordered the construction of the sternwheeler to expand his fleet of the Pioneer Line. ''R.P. Rithet'' was constructed by Alexander Watson's shipbuilding company in Victoria. Later in 1882 Irving helped to form the Canadian Pacific Navigation Company (CPNC) and the Pioneer Line ceased to exist. The following year John Irving was made the general manager of the CPNC and he ordered the purchase of from California and brought it up to
Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...
to serve as a ferry from Vancouver to Victoria. In that first year of service ''Yosemite'' set a speed record of four hours and 20 minutes for the run from Vancouver to Victoria. The record stood until 1901 when the ocean liner ''Moana'' made the run in four hours and one minute. On 24 September 1860 a 14-year-old American named Charles Mitchell hid on board the – a ferry that was making its way from
Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat and largest city of Thurston County. It is southwest of the state's most populous city, Seattle, and is a cultural center of the southern Puget Sound region. Europea ...
to Victoria – when it was revealed to the crew on board that the young man was a
stowaway A stowaway or clandestine traveller is a person who secretly boards a vehicle, such as a ship, an aircraft, a train, cargo truck or bus. Sometimes, the purpose is to get from one place to another without paying for transportation. In other ...
and may have been a fugitive slave. Upon reaching Victoria Harbour Mitchell was held on board. Soon a group of local Victorians descended to the dock to protest Mitchell's confinement. Legal proceedings ensued and Mitchell was eventually released to become a free Canadian. In February 1863 carpenters in Victoria established one of British Columbia's first
trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...
s the Journeymen
Shipwright Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befo ...
s Association of Victoria & Vancouver Island. On 4 May 1863 Joseph Spratt and Johann Kriemler started the Albion Iron Works that would later become the Victoria Machinery Depot shipbuilding company on property adjacent to the Upper Harbour. In 1888 the company launched their first vessel, ''Princess'', a
tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...
built for the Department of Public Works. In 1865 the British
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...
relocated the headquarters of its Pacific fleet from
Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...
,
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...
, to the Esquimalt Royal Navy Dockyard in Esquimalt Harbour. The move meant Esquimalt's harbour took on more of a military character and allowed Victoria's to develop more commercially. Five years after the 1905 departure of the Royal Navy the Pacific base of the new
Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack subma ...
occupied Esquimalt in 1910 which operates today as CFB Esquimalt. A shipyard started operating in 1873 at Point Hope on the Upper Harbour. Over the years the shipyard had traded hands several times and by 1938 was known as Point Hope Shipyards Limited. Today the yard continues to operate as Point Hope Maritime. The prominent building at 1002 Wharf Street was constructed as a customs house overlooking the Inner Harbour in 1876. The building would house the naval training organization during a part of the 20th century and become known as the Malahat Building. On 29 March 1888 the first Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway service started over the first railway bridge to span the harbour. The successor to that line is the Victoria – Courtenay train operated by Via Rail over the
Johnson Street Bridge Four known bridges have spanned the narrows between the Inner Harbour and Upper Harbour of Victoria, British Columbia, connecting Johnson Street on the east shore with Esquimalt Road on the west shore. The current bridge is Canada's largest sin ...
(which opened in January 1924). The Victoria Yacht Club was founded on 8 June 1892 by a group of 46 yachtsmen and is the oldest sailing association in Western Canada. In 1911
King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...
recognized the club's success and granted permission to add a "Royal" prefix to the club's name thereby allowing for the change to the ''Royal Victoria Yacht Club''. On 13 July 1913 the club completed its move from an older clubhouse that was floating on pontoons in the Inner Harbour to a new clubhouse on the shore of Caboro Bay in the nearby community of Oak Bay. In 1912, William D'Oyly Rochfort designed the Victoria Yacht Club clubhouse on Ripon Road, Cadboro Bay. By moving out of the crowded harbour the club members could enjoy sailing with less concern for traffic. Construction of the provincial Parliament Buildings overlooking the south side of James Bay (Inner Harbour) began in 1893. They opened on 10 February 1898.


20th century

An 1861 map of Victoria by Joseph Despard Pemberton shows a small wooden piling bridge (built 1859) carrying Government Street over James Bay (named for James Douglas) when it had not yet been filled in. In 1869 a newer more substantial James Bay bridge was opened. The stone James Bay Causeway was constructed starting in 1901, it was finished and appearing in postcards by 1906. The Upper Causeway was built from stone quarried on Nelson Island. After purchasing the Canadian Pacific Navigation Company in 1901 to form the British Columbia Coast Steamships division, the
Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canad ...
company, through its Canadian Pacific Hotels division, then built the Empress Hotel overlooking James Bay in the Inner Harbour which opened in 1908. The
Canadian Pacific Steamship Company Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
operated ships out of Victoria on the so-called triangle route: Victoria, Vancouver,
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...
. From Vancouver passengers could then board an oceangoing ''Empress'' liner. The creation of BC Ferries in 1960 put the CP Ships passenger triangle route trade out of business and the ship terminal building was leased to become a wax museum by 1969. In 1901 Captain John Voss and
Norman Luxton Norman K. Luxton (November 2, 1876 – October 26, 1962) was a pioneer in the Canadian Rockies known as "Mr. Banff". With John Voss, he attempted to sail around the world in an old red cedar Indian dug-out canoe. On his return to Canada, he wor ...
set sail from Oak Bay to circumnavigate the world's oceans in the
dugout canoe A dugout canoe or simply dugout is a boat made from a hollowed tree. Other names for this type of boat are logboat and monoxylon. ''Monoxylon'' (''μονόξυλον'') (pl: ''monoxyla'') is Greek – ''mono-'' (single) + '' ξύλον xylon'' (t ...
. They stopped in Victoria before setting out across the Pacific Ocean and reached
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
in 1904. Nowadays ''Tilikum'' may be seen on exhibit at the Maritime Museum of British Columbia in Victoria. In 1905 the
British Columbia Electric Railway The British Columbia Electric Railway (BCER) was an historic railway which operated in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Originally the parent company for, and later a division of, BC Electric Company (now BC Hydro), the BCER assumed contr ...
opened Gorge Park along the Gorge Waterway. The electric streetcar system was abandoned in 1948 and the park was donated to Esquimalt in 1955. After the 1914 opening of the
Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...
the city of Victoria sought to increase ship traffic to the harbour and built the breakwater and Ogden Point piers in 1916 and 1918 respectively for $5 million. In 1925 the city and Panama Pacific Grain Terminal Elevator Co. Ltd. built a grain storage bin to ship Prairie Provinces grain worldwide. In 1928 the federal government granted control over Ogden Point to the
Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...
(CNR). Around 1928 the British Columbia Packers Ltd. (BC Packers) company built a fish processing and cold storage plant at Ogden Point. After passage of the 1917 Migratory Birds Convention Act of Victoria Harbour were designated a federal
Migratory Bird Sanctuary Migratory Bird Sanctuaries are created in Canada under the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994. They are administered by the Canadian Wildlife Service. The first sanctuary in North America, Last Mountain Lake Bird Sanctuary, was created by f ...
in 1923. The first floatplane landed in Victoria in 1919 when William Boeing and Eddie Hubbard beached their plane near Shoal Point as part of a new U.S. International Air Mail service that also stopped at Vancouver and Seattle. In the spring of 1931 the
Imperial Oil Imperial Oil Limited (French: ''Compagnie Pétrolière Impériale Ltée'') is a Canadian petroleum company. It is Canada's second-biggest integrated oil company. It is majority owned by American oil company ExxonMobil with around 69.6 percent o ...
Causeway Garage was opened at 812 Wharf Street. The
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...
building featured a tower that was used as an illuminated
aerodrome beacon An aerodrome beacon or rotating beacon or aeronautical beacon is a beacon installed at an airport or aerodrome to indicate its location to aircraft pilots at night. An aerodrome beacon is mounted on top of a towering structure, often a contro ...
for aviators to put into Victoria Harbour at night. The light was used until
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
when it was turned off. The garage was used until 1974 then it was acquired by the province in 1975 and lastly by the British Columbia
Provincial Capital Commission The BC Provincial Capital Commission was a government-owned Crown Agency of the province of British Columbia, Canada. Its primary mandate was to "connect and celebrate the Capital with all British Columbians." The PCC owned several important heri ...
in 1978. The building serves as a visitor information centre and houses other retail outlets. During World War II the Victoria Machinery Depot launched 25 ships, including 5 warships for the Royal Canadian Navy, 14 dry cargo ships, 5 tankers, and a stores ship (hull numbers 14 through 39). To carry out the wartime work in 1941 VMD bought the Rithet piers at the Outer Wharf and of surrounding land. On 20 June 1942 the Victoria-built , which was based at Esquimalt, responded to a torpedo attack by the upon off of Cape Flattery in
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, US. The British coal-burning freighter ''Fort Camosun'' was on her maiden voyage carrying zinc, lead, and plywood from Victoria to Britain. ''Quesnel'' rescued the 31 man crew of ''Fort Camosun'' then escorted her as she was towed first to Neah Bay then to Esquimalt Harbour and Victoria Harbour. ''Fort Camosun'' was eventually towed to the Port of Seattle for repairs before returning to service. After the war
commercial fishing Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must oft ...
increased in Victoria. To accommodate the increase a $100,000 Fisherman's Wharf was built near Erie Street, opening 31 March 1948. The wharf could moor 60 fish packing ships along six finger float piers. From February 1954 to February 1964 the
Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack subma ...
reserve unit occupied the old
custom house A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting ...
at 1002 Wharf Street. As a result, the building has been nicknamed the ''Malahat Building'' and it is the oldest extant federal building in
Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada ...
. After February 1964 HMCS ''Malahat'' occupied building 61 at CFB Esquimalt before moving to the current location at 20 Huron Street overlooking Victoria Harbour on 14 March 1992. In 1968 Victoria Machinery Depot launched their last vessel MV ''Doris Yorke'' which was later named '' Seaspan Doris'', having completed the massive ''SEDCO 135-F''
oil platform An oil platform (or oil rig, offshore platform, oil production platform, and similar terms) is a large structure with facilities to extract and process petroleum and natural gas that lie in rock formations beneath the seabed. Many oil platfor ...
for Transocean the previous year. Following a 1969 dredging and expansion by CNR, Ogden Point became a sizable lumber shipping operation. On 8 August 1977 a large fire that was visible from
Port Angeles Port Angeles ( ) is a city and county seat of Clallam County, Washington, United States. With a population of 19,960 as of the 2020 census, it is the largest city in the county. The population was estimated at 20,134 in 2021. The city's har ...
destroyed many of the buildings at Ogden Point. The following year CNR ceded Ogden Point back to the federal government's Transport Canada. However, in 1984 the last of the Victoria Harbour lumber shipping companies, Sooke Forest Products, filed for bankruptcy. In 1883 Robert P. Rithet (after whom the sternwheeler ''R.P. Rithet'' was named) built a large dock facility near Shoal Point, known as the Outer Wharves, which was initially used for sugar warehousing. After the construction of the Empress Hotel in 1908 the Outer Wharves started to land more passenger vessels. In 1975 the Outer Wharves were demolished and construction began on a new Canadian Coast Guard station that opened in 1980. On 31 March 1990 the BC Packers' cold storage
fish factory A fish factory, also called a fish plant, fish processing facility, is a facility where fish processing is performed. Fish factories range in the size and range of species of fish they process. Some species of fish, such as mackerel and herring, ...
shut down due to the low catch in Victoria, and in 1993 the five storey plant was torn down. In 1997 students and faculty from
Lester B. Pearson College Lester B. Pearson United World College of the Pacific (Pearson College UWC) is one of eighteen schools and colleges around the world in the UWC (United World Colleges) movement. It is named after the late Canadian Prime Minister Lester Bowles Pea ...
took over the management of the
Race Rocks Light Race Rocks Light is one of the first two lighthouses that were built on the west coast of Canada, financed by the British Government and illuminated in 1860. It is the only lighthouse on that coast built of rock, (granite) purportedly quarried ...
house station.


21st century

In 2001 arrived from Seattle, becoming the first weekly cruise vessel to call on Ogden Point. The Greater Victoria Harbour Authority (GVHA) was incorporated as a
non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
in February 2002. In a 2005 report the provincial government noted that Victoria Harbour was still involved in the process of federal harbour divestiture. The GVHA is an associate (non-voting) member of the Association of Canadian Port Authorities. Victoria sponsored a boat in the 2005–2006 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race and the race boats put into the Causeway Floats facility in the Inner Harbour during one of the stops. A dock of the Inner Harbour was renamed the Jeanne Socrates Dock in November 2019, in honour of British yachtswoman
Jeanne Socrates Jeanne Socrates (born 17 August 1942) is a British yachtswoman. She is from Lymington. She holds the record as the oldest female to have circumnavigated the world single-handed, and she is the only woman to have circumnavigated solo nonstop from ...
who in September 2019 had become the oldest person to sail singlehanded and unsupported around the globe in a voyage starting and finishing there.


Hydrography

Victoria Harbour comprises the Outer Harbour, Middle Harbour, Inner Harbour, James Bay, Upper Harbour, Selkirk Water, Gorge Waters, and Portage Inlet. Just to the west of Victoria Harbour is the Esquimalt Harbour. The active portions of Victoria Harbour that can accommodate large and mid-sized vessels (Outer, Middle, Inner, and Upper) are spread along 4 km (2.5 mi; 2.2  nmi) of
estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...
. The width of the active harbour goes from 0.74 km (0.46 mi; 0.4 nmi) out at the Ogden Point
breakwater Breakwater may refer to: * Breakwater (structure), a structure for protecting a beach or harbour Places * Breakwater, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia * Breakwater Island, Antarctica * Breakwater Islands, Nunavut, Canada * Br ...
entrance down to 137 m (449 ft; 0.074 nmi) along the Middle Harbour then widens out in the Inner and Upper Harbour areas. Harbour depths vary from up to in the Inner Harbour.


Approach

The approach to the harbour from the Juan de Fuca Strait is through the Royal Roads strait or roadstead. On approach to the Outer Harbour the city of Victoria will lie to
starboard Port and starboard are nautical terms for watercraft and aircraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the bow (front). Vessels with bilateral symmetry have left and right halves which ar ...
and the town of Esquimalt to
port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...
. The
BC Geographical Names Information System The BC Geographical Names (formerly BC Geographical Names Information System or BCGNIS) is a geographic name web service and database for the Canadian province of British Columbia run by the Base Mapping and Geomatic Services Branch of the Integr ...
mentions that the former Ports & Harbours Authority of Navigation Canada defined the outer limits of Victoria Harbour extending to a line drawn from Albert Head to the Trial Islands but excluded Esquimalt Harbour. Large vessel operators should note that traffic on the approach to the Juan de Fuca Strait is handled by MCTS Tofino, within the Juan de Fuca Strait by Puget Sound Seattle Vessel Traffic Service, and north of
Race Rocks Race Rocks Ecological Reserve is a BC Parks ecological reserve off the southern tip of Vancouver Island in the Strait of Juan de Fuca in Metchosin, British Columbia, Canada. Description Located at a narrow part of the Strait, the area covers ...
, the Marine Communications and Traffic Services centre for the approach to Victoria Harbour is the MCTS Victoria station in
Patricia Bay Patricia Bay ("Pat Bay" to locals) is a body of salt water that extends east from Saanich Inlet and forms part of the shoreline of North Saanich, British Columbia. It lies due west of Victoria International Airport. A municipal park covers most of ...
.


Outer Harbour

The entrance line to the Outer Harbour extends from the breakwater just south of Pier A at Ogden Point in Victoria to Macaulay Point in Esquimalt. There is a large cruise ship and
cable laying ship A cable layer or cable ship is a deep-sea ship, vessel designed and used to lay underwater cables for Submarine communications cable, telecommunications, Submarine power cable, electric power transmission, military, or other purposes. Cable ship ...
docking facility at Ogden Point.


Middle Harbour

The Middle Harbour is entered between Shoal Point on the Victoria side and Colville Island on the Esquimalt side. It extends east to the Inner Harbour. The Victoria Canadian Coast Guard station lies on Shoal Point. The fisherman's wharf docks are in the Middle Harbour.


Inner Harbour

The Inner Harbour is entered between Laurel Point in Victoria and Songhees Point in Victoria West. It extends northeast to the
Johnson Street Bridge Four known bridges have spanned the narrows between the Inner Harbour and Upper Harbour of Victoria, British Columbia, connecting Johnson Street on the east shore with Esquimalt Road on the west shore. The current bridge is Canada's largest sin ...
. Within the Inner Harbour the area in front of the Empress Hotel was known as "James Bay" in the 19th century as well as in 21st century harbour traffic maps, however most tourists refer to the whole area as "Inner Harbour". Adjacent to the Causeway Floats marina in James Bay lies the Victoria neighbourhood of
James Bay James Bay (french: Baie James; cr, ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, Wînipekw, dirty water) is a large body of water located on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean, of which James Bay is the southernmost p ...
. Most regularly scheduled ferries and seaplanes dock within the Inner Harbour. There is a
Canada Border Services Agency The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA; french: Agence des services frontaliers du Canada, ''ASFC'') is a federal law enforcement agency that is responsible for border control (i.e. protection and surveillance), immigration enforcement, and c ...
office at Ogden Point and another adjacent to the Inner Harbour. Curiously, despite having offices in the city of Victoria the British Columbia Ferry Services crown corporation offers no scheduled service to Victoria Harbour. Instead, BC Ferries serves the transportation needs of the Capital Regional District via the
Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal The Swartz Bay ferry terminal is a major transportation facility at Swartz Bay in North Saanich, British Columbia. It is located north of Victoria on Vancouver Island. The terminal is part of the BC Ferries system, as well as part of Highwa ...
, which is further north along the Saanich Peninsula and provides service to the mainland, as well as with the which links Brentwood Bay to the town of Mill Bay across the
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 ...
. Other companies do provide ferry service to the harbour (''see table below''). The Inner Harbour is home to the boarding jetties for the Canadian and US airlines that use the
Victoria Inner Harbour Airport Victoria Inner Harbour Airport or Victoria Harbour Water Airport is located in Victoria Harbour, adjacent to Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The airport is classified as an airport of entry by Transport Canada and is staffed by the Canada ...
. In 2007 the seaplane link from Victoria to
Vancouver Harbour Water Airport Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre, Vancouver Harbour Water Aerodrome or Vancouver Coal Harbour Seaplane Base , is a registered aerodrome located at Coal Harbour in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The flight centre is within walking distance o ...
was, according to the Official Airline Guide, Canada's busiest air route by the number of weekly flights. The water runways and taxiways for the airport extend out through the Middle Harbour and Outer Harbour.


Upper Harbour

The Upper Harbour extends north from the Johnson Street Bridge to the Point Ellice Bridge (also known as the
Bay Street Bay Street is a major thoroughfare in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the centre of Toronto's Financial District and is often used by metonymy to refer to Canada's financial services industry since succeeding Montreal's St. James ...
Bridge). The small area of water in the northeast of the Upper Harbour is known as "Rock Bay". Adjacent to the Rock Bay body of water is the Rock Bay neighbourhood. The Upper Harbour is home to the
Sail and Life Training Society The Sail and Life Training Society (SALTS), founded in 1974, is a non-profit Christian organization based in Victoria, British Columbia. SALTS provides sail training and life lessons for 1,700 young people each year on tall ships and provides a ...
and their topsail schooner ''
Pacific Swift The Pacific swift or fork-tailed swift (''Apus pacificus'') is a species of bird that is part of the Swift family. It breeds in eastern Asia. It is strongly migratory, spending the northern hemisphere's winter in Southeast Asia and Australia ...
''. In 1896 a predecessor of the Bay Street Bridge was the site of a streetcar bridge collapse disaster that was one of the worst in BC history.


Selkirk Water

Selkirk Water extends northwest from the Point Ellice Bridge to Chapman Point. The Galloping Goose Regional Trail traverses Selkirk Water on a bridge known as the Selkirk Trestle that was originally built by the
Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...
.


Gorge Waters

Gorge Waters extends northwest from Chapman Point to Maple Point and the Craigflower Bridge. The shore of Gorge Waters is home to the Gorge Waterway Discovery Centre and the Craigflower Manor and Schoolhouse. The Victoria Canoe and Kayak Club and GO Rowing and Paddling Club are along Gorge Waters as well. Some charts split the Gorge Waters into a "Lower Gorge Waterway" and an "Upper Gorge Waterway" with the split being the fixed Tillicum Road Bridge between them. The Craigflower Bridge, which carries Highway 1A (locally "Admiral's Road") over the Harbour was, in 1997, the site of the
murder of Reena Virk Reena Virk (March 10, 1983 – November 14, 1997) was a resident of Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Her status as a bullied murder victim attracted substantial media scrutiny in Canada. Virk was beaten and killed by a group of teenagers, one ...
. The Gorge was for many years the primary swimming location for Victoria including a tall diving platform at Curtis Point. By the 1930s the pollution levels were too high to allow for swimming. In recent years the work to clean the waterway has led to a return to swimming in the waterway.


Portage Inlet

The inner most portion of the harbour is called Portage Inlet and it extends north and west of Craigflower Bridge. The most noticeable feature of Portage Inlet seen from above is the Craigowan Road peninsula that extends into the water body north of the Shoreline Community School. Just south of Portage Inlet is the Portage Park in View Royal that runs north from Thetis Cove in Esquimalt Harbour. Flowing into Portage Inlet's northeast side is Colquitz Creek which drains Elk Lake which in turn drains O'Donnel Creek. The Victoria City Rowing Club rows at Elk Lake along with local University and High School crews.


Facilities

The Greater Victoria Harbour Authority operates several docks and marinas in the harbour, including: * Ogden Point - has cruise ship and
break bulk cargo In shipping, break-bulk, breakbulk, or break bulk cargo, also called general cargo, refers to goods that are stowed on board ship in individually counted units. Traditionally, the large numbers of items are recorded on distinct bills of ladin ...
docks in the Outer Harbour. Vessels up to can be accommodated. * Fisherman's Wharf - is a long term and fishing vessel dock in the Middle Harbour with no transient docking. There is a GVHA fuel dock. * Causeway Floats - in the Inner Harbour can handle vessels up to . * Ship Point - can accommodate vessels up to and is often used for floatplanes. * Wharf Street Marina - in the Inner Harbour is for transient mooring. * Mermaid's Wharf Marina - in the Inner Harbour is for transient mooring. * Johnson Street Floats - in the Inner Harbour is for transient mooring. In addition to the facilities owned and operated by the GVHA there are others: * Westbay Marine Village - marina is in the Outer Harbour. *Hidden Harbour Marine Centre Ltd. - marine centre with 35 berths in West Bay of Outer Harbour * Victoria Coast Guard Station - is on Shoal Point. * - is on Shoal Point. * Coast Harbourside Floats - 42 slip marina is part of a hotel between Raymur Point and Laurel Point in the Middle Harbour. * International Ferry Dock - is in the Inner Harbour. * Black Ball Ferry Dock - is in the Inner Harbour. *
Pacific Undersea Gardens The Pacific Undersea Gardens was located at the Inner Harbour in the heart of downtown Victoria. The Gardens were owned and operated by the Oak Bay Marine Group. Features The Pacific Undersea Gardens was a vessel that was towed from the Oak Bay ...
- is in the Inner Harbour (at former CP Ships dock). * Ocean Pointe Floats - are on the western side of the Inner Harbour in Victoria West. * Point Hope Shipyards - are along the west bank of the Upper Harbour. * Village Marina - is along the east bank of the Upper Harbour. * Canoe Marina - is on the east bank of the Upper Harbour. * Island Asphalt Company Barge Dock - is at Rock Bay in the Upper Harbour. * Butler Brothers Barge Dock - is at Rock Bay in the Upper Harbour. * Lafarge Barge Dock - is near Rock Bay in the Upper Harbour. * At one time a car float went to Ogden Point. The graving dock at adjacent Esquimalt Harbour can drydock a Panamax sized vessel. Operated by the James Bay Anglers at Ogden Point there is a
boat ramp A slipway, also known as boat ramp or launch or boat deployer, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats, and for launching and retrieving small ...
for trailerable boats and is open to the public for use.


Sailing events

Victoria Harbour is home port for a number of sailing and boating events: * The
Swiftsure Yacht Race The Swiftsure International Yacht Race is the premier long distance sailing race in the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia area. Starting and ending in Victoria, BC, Canada, the Swiftsure is international because the midpoint markers for th ...
out into the Juan de Fuca Strait and back has been held yearly since 1930 and is sponsored by the Royal Victoria Yacht Club. * The Vic-Maui Yacht Race between Victoria and Lahaina, Hawaii has been held in even numbered years since 1968. * The Victoria Symphony holds its annual Symphony Splash concert on BC Day staged on a barge docked in the Inner Harbour, and has been doing so since 1991. Many spectators view the concert from canoes or kayaks, as well as from boats docked at the "Causeway Floats" and "Ship Point"
marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or ...
s. * The Victoria
Dragon Boat A dragon boat is a human-powered watercraft originating from the Pearl River Delta region of China's southern Guangdong Province. These were made of teak, but in other parts of China, different kinds of wood are used. It is one of a family of ...
Festival has been held in the Inner Harbour annually since 1994. * A Gorge Canada Day Picnic is held by the Gorge Tillicum Community Association and has brought more than 5,000 visitors to the parks along the Gorge Waterway on 1 July each year since 1999. * The Victoria Tall Ships Festival has been held every third year since 2005, although the 2011 event was cancelled due to high costs of staging the festival. The festival is part of the Tall Ships Challenge event. * Since 2000, the Gorge Rowing and Paddling Centre (GRPC) has hosted the Brotchie Reach Outrigger Canoe Races. This is a race for OC6 (six-person outrigger canoe) and small boats (OC1, canoe-kayak, surf-ski). The race hosts up to 200 paddling racers each year - the race course starts at GRPC on the Gorge Waterway then transits through Victoria's Inner, Middle, and Outer Harbours out to the Brotchie Navigational marker and back.


Ecology

Despite the small size of the
watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...
land area of the Victoria and Saanich Peninsulas, Victoria Harbour is an
estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...
. Some of the
fresh water Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does incl ...
tributaries of the harbour include: * Colquitz Creek ** Beaver Lake *** Elk Lake **** O'Donnel Creek ** Durrell Creek ** Swan Lake Creek ***
Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...
**** Blenkinsop Lake * Craigflower Creek **
Thetis Lake Thetis Lake is a name that refers to two freshwater lakes (Upper and Lower Thetis) connected by a narrow culvert in the Thetis Lake Regional Park outside Victoria, British Columbia, about from the city centre. It was established as Canada's fir ...
s (Upper and Lower) * Cecelia Creek * James Bay Creek (this tributary now runs in
culvert A culvert is a structure that channels water past an obstacle or to a subterranean waterway. Typically embedded so as to be surrounded by soil, a culvert may be made from a pipe, reinforced concrete or other material. In the United Kingdo ...
s under landfill, see also
Beacon Hill Park Beacon Hill Park is a 75 ha (200 acre) park located along the shore of Juan de Fuca Strait in Victoria, British Columbia. The park is popular both with tourists and locals, and contains a number of amenities including woodland and shoreline trai ...
) In Portage Inlet there are of eelgrass growing under water. Portage Inlet and the Gorge Waterway may also be home to the largest colony of Pacific oysters on the west coast. Craigflower Creek and Colquitz Creek are spawning grounds primarily for
Coho salmon The coho salmon (''Oncorhynchus kisutch;'' Karuk: achvuun) is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family (biology), family and one of the five Pacific salmon species. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon or "silvers". The scientif ...
.http://victoriavision.blogspot.ca/p/colquitz-river-fish-counts.html Pacific herring also use Portage Inlet and the Gorge Waterway for spawning. Victoria Harbour was recognized as a Migratory Bird Sanctuary in 1923. The Upper and Lower Thetis Lakes, which discharge into Portage Inlet, were Canada's first nature sanctuary in 1958. In 1965 the city of Victoria started using the former Mud Bay on the south shore of Victoria West as a garbage dump. When Mud Bay was filled in it was superseded by the Hartland landfill. In 1998 the Cecelia Creek Clean Up Committee was formed to work on restoring the environment in and around the Cecelia Creek that flows into Selkirk Water. Between 2002 and 2006 Transport Canada spent over $4 million to clean up properties in the harbour to stricter environmental standards. BC Hydro and the
Federal Government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-gover ...
have undertaken a $2 million clean-up of the eastern shore of Rock Bay which was once the site of a
coal gasification Coal gasification is the process of producing syngas—a mixture consisting primarily of carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen (H2), carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and water vapour (H2O)—from coal and water, air and/or oxygen. Historically, coal ...
plant. The plant had been the last run by the Victoria Gas Company which had started in 1860 and was one of the forerunners of BC Hydro. Through the coordination and services of the Capital Regional District (CRD) the municipalities of Colwood, Esquimalt, Langford, Oak Bay, Saanich, Victoria, and View Royal discharged an average of of filtered but untreated sewage into the ocean every day in 2006. At two filtration facilities (Clover Point in Victoria and Macauley Point in Esquimalt) sewage is screened to exclude objects larger than 6 millimetres before being released into the Juan de Fuca Strait via marine outfalls. Solid matter that is filtered out of the effluent is trucked to the Hartland landfill. In 2006
Barry Penner Barry Penner, is a Canadian licensed lawyer and former politician in the province of British Columbia. He served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia (MLA) for Chilliwack-Hope for 16 years. He also served as Attorney Gene ...
, BC Minister of Environment at the time, concluded that wastewater treatment should be taking place in Victoria and surrounding communities. The CRD has started planning the construction of wastewater treatment plants.


See also

* Discovery Island Light


Maps

* Albert Head - * Trial Islands - * Tillicum Road Bridge - * Craigflower Bridge - * Ogden Point Pier B - * Fisherman's Wharf - * Causeway Floats - James Bay - * Ship Point - * Wharf Street Marina - * Mermaid's Wharf - * Johnson Street Floats - * Westbay Marina - * Victoria Coast Guard Station - * HMCS Malahat - * Coast Harbourside Floats - * International Ferry Dock - * Black Ball Ferry Dock - * Pacific Undersea Gardens - * Ocean Point Floats - * Point Hope Shipyards - * Village Marina - * Canoe Marina - * Island Asphalt Barge Dock - * Butler Brothers Barge Dock - * Lafarge Barge Dock -


References


External links


Greater Vancouver Harbour Authority
* *
Save Victoria Harbour
{{Authority control Transport in Victoria, British Columbia Ports and harbours of British Columbia Bays of British Columbia Marinas in Canada Estuaries of Canada Transport buildings and structures in British Columbia Juxtaposed border controls