Galiano Island

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Galiano Island
View from Mount Galiano
View from Mount Galiano
Waters Strait of Georgia , (Pacific Ocean)
Archipelago Gulf Islands
Geographical location 48 ° 56 ′  N , 123 ° 27 ′  W Coordinates: 48 ° 56 ′  N , 123 ° 27 ′  W
Galiano Island (British Columbia)
Galiano Island
length 27.5 km
width 6 km
Highest elevation Mount Galiano
312  m
Residents 1138 (2011)
main place Sturdies Bay
Bodega Ridge, overlooking the Trincomali Channel
Bodega Ridge, overlooking the Trincomali Channel

Island map

Galiano Island is an island that lies on the west coast of Canada between the mainland and Vancouver Island . The island in the Strait of Georgia is 27.5 km long and 1.6 to 6 km wide and belongs to the southern Gulf Islands . The highest mountain on the island is Mount Galiano, 342 m high .

The 2011 census showed the island had a population of 1,138. Administratively, the island belongs to the Capital Regional District and forms there, u. a. together with Saturna Island , Mayne Island , North and South Pender Island , the Capital G district .

history

The island was named after the explorer Dionisio Alcalá-Galiano (1762-1805), who visited the island in 1792. Therefore the island maintains a partnership with his native city Cabra in Andalusia . The island was named after Alcalá-Galiano in 1859 by the British captain George H. Richards. Galiano was inhabited by coastal Salish at that time . Piles of clamshells and other food waste at Montague Harbor go as far as 1000 BC. BC back. Such clams can also be found at Dionisio Point. These clam piles go back to the island being used as a settlement and fishing area by various First Nations , mainly by the Penelakut people .

In 1951, the timber company MacMillan Bloedel bought almost half of the island. In 1974 a plan was put in place to prevent excessive immigration to the island, which would have destroyed rural life far from the city.

Parks

The first marine park among the Provincial Parks in British Columbia was established on the island . Montague Harbor Marine Provincial Park is the most visited park on the island. A little quieter is Dionisio Point Provincial Park in the north with a long beach called Coon Bay on the island. The Bellhouse Provincial Park and the Bodega Ridge Provincial Park are also well developed . Protected by the parks, there are numerous migratory birds on and around the island, but also eagles, turkey vultures and cormorants . The island is home to around 130 species of birds. Also, there are killer whales , seals, otters, mink and sea lions.

traffic

Galiano Island can be reached by ferries (at Sturdies Bay in the southeast) from the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal on the mainland and from the Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal on Vancouver Island.
In terms of traffic, the Active Pass is also important. This is a strait which is formed by Galiano Island and Mayne Island and through which one of the ferry connections from the mainland to Vancouver Island runs.

Personalities

  • Author Jane Rule lived on Galiano Island from 1976 until her death in 2007 .
  • The anthropologist Robin Ridington's residence for decades .

Web links

Remarks

  1. ^ Galiano Island Trust Area Profile. Census 2011. In: Statistics Canada . December 12, 2012, accessed January 30, 2013 .
  2. ↑ His report was published in 1802. See Alcalá-Galiano (1792) , Library and Archives Canada.
  3. ^ Andrew Scott: The Encyclopedia Of Raincoast Places Names: A Complete Reference to Coastal British Columbia . Habour Publishing, Madeira Park (BC) 2009, ISBN 978-1-55017-484-7 , pp. 213 (English).
  4. ^ Homepage of Galiano Island