The Cowichan Valley is a region around the

Cowichan River The Cowichan River is a Canadian Heritage River on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. Its headwater is Cowichan Lake. The river flows east over Skutz Falls and through Marie Canyon towards its mouth at Cowichan Bay. The river's ...

Cowichan Bay Cowichan Bay () is a bay and community located on the east coast of southern Vancouver Island near Duncan, in British Columbia, Canada. The mouth of the Cowichan River is near Cowichan Bay. Mount Tzouhalem with its hiking trails and ecologica ...

and

Cowichan Lake Cowichan Lake is a large freshwater lake located on southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. It is located along the Cowichan Valley in the Cowichan Valley Regional District, with its eastern shore about west of Duncan, British Colum ...

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 ...

, in

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada. There is some debate as to the origin of the name Cowichan, which many believe to be an anglicized form of the

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

tribal name

Quw'utsun Quamichan (or Kwʼamutsun) is a traditional nation of the Coast Salish people, commonly referred to by the English adaptation of ''Quʼwutsun'' ("warm place") as the Cowichan Indians, or First Nations, of the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island, ...

Communities

Communities that lie within the actual Cowichan River/Cowichan Bay watershed include

Duncan Duncan may refer to: People * Duncan (given name), various people * Duncan (surname), various people * Clan Duncan * Justice Duncan (disambiguation) Places * Duncan Creek (disambiguation) * Duncan River (disambiguation) * Duncan Lake (di ...

, Lake Cowichan, Cowichan Bay, Cowichan Station and Maple Bay. Other nearby communities are affiliated mainly through the

Cowichan Valley Regional District The Cowichan Valley Regional District is a regional district in the Canadian province of British Columbia that is on the southern part of Vancouver Island, bordered by the Nanaimo and Alberni-Clayoquot Regional Districts to the north and north ...

. Crofton and

Chemainus Chemainus is a community within the municipality of North Cowichan in the Chemainus River, Chemainus Valley on the east coast of southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Founded as an unincorporated logging town in 1858, Chemainu ...

, lie within the Chemainus River Valley, while Cobble Hill, Shawnigan Lake, Mill Bay, and Ladysmith inhabit a coastal plain that includes the Cowichan and Chemainus River deltas. The

Trans Canada Trail The Trans Canada Trail is a cross-Canada system of greenways, waterways, and roadways that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, Pacific to the Arctic Ocean, Arctic oceans. The trail extends over ; it is now the longe ...

goes through the Valley, and there are numerous options for hiking enthusiasts. On January 7, 2010 an air quality monitoring station was installed.

Agriculture

The Cowichan Valley is the home of a growing number of

vineyards A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

and

wineries A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the cultivation and production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feat ...

. They include Unsworth Vineyards, Cherry Point Vineyards, Blue Grouse, Glenterra, Vigneti Zanatta, Venturi-Schulze, and Averill Creek. The warm, dry summers and mild, moist winters make this area part of Canada's only maritime

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

, providing good growing conditions for many grape varietals.

References

Southern Vancouver Island Wine regions of British Columbia {{BritishColumbiaCoast-geo-stub