Denman Island
Denman Island is one of the Northern Gulf Islands in the Comox Valley Regional District of British Columbia, Canada, and is home to a small community of 1,016 year-round residents (2001 census). Regular ferry service links Denman Island to both Hornby Island from Gravelly Bay on the East side of Denman and Vancouver Island at Buckley Bay on the West side. Denman Island has long been a haven for people escaping from busy urban centers. The island's "Downtown" consists of one general store (containing the post office, gas station and government liquor store), a natural foods store, hardware store, bookstore, craft stores, a bakery/cafe, two real estate offices, an insurance brokerage, two community halls, a community school, and the museum. It is famous for its summer dances, the Martini Lounge Cabaret, quiet roads, beautiful scenery and tolerant lifestyle. Many artists have made Denman Island their home for decades, and as a result, the local community has a thriving artistic community. The island has a land area of 51.03 km² (19.7 sq mi), and is similar in size and shape to the island of Manhattan.
Denman and Hornby Islands are two outposts that have been described, with some justification, as the "undiscovered Gulf Islands." Big-name celebrities have recently bought property here, complementing a population made up of artists, craftspeople and a laid-back (if wary) mishmash of alternative types.
History
Denman Island was first found and mapped by Europeans during the 1791 voyage of the Spanish ship Santa Saturnina, under Juan Carrasco and José María Narváez. It was named by Captain Richards in 1864 for Rear Admiral Joseph Denman who was commander of the Pacific station from 1864 to 1866.[1]
Vegetation and soils
Much of the western part of Denman Island is covered by a luxuriant forest dominated by Douglas-fir, western hemlock and western red cedar on deep gravelly loam glacial till. Some areas have shallow soils over sandstone or shale. The eastern part has a loamy sand on which arbutus is frequently present. All of these soils were classed as brown podzolic in a 1959 soil survey. The northern part has been largely stripped of its tree cover and regeneration may be relatively slow on its sandy podzols, which are infertile and have classic eluvial horizon development in most cases.
Local media
Denman Island also has a community radio station at 89.1 FM.
External links
References
Other Sources
Day, J.H., L. Farstad, and D.G. Laird, 1959. Soil Survey of Southeast Vancouver Island and Gulf Islands, British Columbia. B.C. Soil Survey, Rept. No. 6, Can. Dept. Agric.
 | This article about a location on the Coast of British Columbia, Canada is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |