Gowlland Tod Provincial Park
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Gowlland Tod Provincial Park
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.jpg) Saanich Inlet from a mountain in the park |
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| location | British Columbia (Canada) | |
| surface | 12.8 km² | |
| WDPA ID | 101646 | |
| Geographical location | 48 ° 33 ' N , 123 ° 31' W | |
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| Sea level | from 0 m to 434 m | |
| Setup date | June 13, 1993 | |
| administration | BC parks | |
| particularities | Park without camping facilities | |
The Gowlland Tod Provincial Park is a 1,280-hectare Provincial Park in the Canadian province of British Columbia . It is located about 20 kilometers northwest of Victoria on the east coast of Vancouver Island and can be reached via Highway 17A or alternatively via the Trans-Canada Highway . The park is in the Capital Regional District .
investment
The park is on Finlayson Arm and Tod Inlet , which both flow into Saanich Inlet and then into the Strait of Georgia . The main part of the park stretches along the Finlayson Arm as a strip about 1 to 2 kilometers wide and about 6 kilometers long. At the northern end of the park, a narrow strip connects this main part with the part of the park that largely and narrowly surrounds Tod Inlet. The park encompasses part of the Gowlland Range . The park area is made up of 955 hectares of land and 325 hectares of tidal zones .
The Jocelyn Hill with 434 meters the highest point in the park.
The park is a category II protected area ( national park ).
history
The park was established in 1993. The park was named after the Gowlland Range and Tod Inlet. The park was named after it because it is supposed to protect important parts of these relatively well-preserved ecosystems. Most recently, the park boundaries would be redrawn in 2012 and the park size changed.
As with almost all provincial parks in British Columbia, this one too was the hunting and fishing area of various First Nations tribes long before the area was settled by immigrants or it became part of a park . The name of the Saanich Peninsula , on the southern border of which the park is located, comes from the coastal Salish Indians living there, the Saanich . Archaeological artifacts of them can also be found in various places in the park.
Flora and fauna
The park is located in the temperate rainforest . Within the British Columbia ecosystem, it is assigned to the Dry Maritime Subzone of the Coastal Douglas-fir Zone . These biogeoclimatic zones are characterized by the same or a similar climate and the same or similar biological and geological conditions. This results in a very similar population of plants and animals in the respective zones.
After the last forestry use and afforestation, Douglas firs , West American hemlocks , giant arborvitae , Oregon oaks and coastal pines now mainly grow here . On this side of the bay, as in the Bamberton Provincial Park opposite, you will find some of the American strawberry trees . The forest here has an undergrowth of Mahonia , broom and bearberry . In the undergrowth you can also find Nuttall's flower dogwood, also called Pacific dogwood, the heraldic plant of British Columbia.
The tidal range of the Strait of Georgia continues into Saanich Inlet. Even at the end of the bay, at Finlayson Arm, it is usually about 3 meters. The resulting intertidal zone is rich in marine life. At low tide there is a chance to see mussel beds and other marine life on the beach. The fish attract ospreys and bald eagles . In the park you can watch numerous other birds in addition to the diademed jay (Stellar's Jay), the heraldic bird of British Columbia. The great blue heron is particularly numerous here and a subspecies of the peregrine falcon , the Falco peregrinus pealei, can also be observed. A wide variety of small mammals and rodents such as the rare North American otter or the common red squirrel are also represented .
According to the park administration, there are around 150 different animal and plant species in the area.
activities
Like all other parks close to the city, this one is also very popular with the population. The park's tourist attractions include McKenzie Bight Beach and its tidal zone in the north of the park area . There is also a diving area here . On the other hand, the Caleb Pike picnic zone in the southern park area is also very popular. North of Tod Inlet is Wallace Drive, the second picnic area .
Furthermore, the park is criss-crossed by a network of numerous paths more than 25 kilometers long, which makes it very popular with hikers and riders, some of which can be ridden.
The park does not have a camping area.
Web links
- Gowlland Tod Provincial Park . In: BC Geographical Names (English)
- Gowlland Tod Provincial Park . In: English language website of the park at BC Parks
- Information to the park on britishcolumbia.com (Engl.)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jocelyn Hill in the Internet version of the English-language Canadian Mountain Encyclopedia
- ↑ World Database on Protected Areas - Gowlland Tod Park (English)
- ^ Management Plan for Gowlland Tod Provincial Park. (PDF; 654.24 KB) British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks , February 1996, accessed March 8, 2013 .
- ^ Ecosystems of British Columbia. (PDF; 10.31 MB) British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations , February 1991, accessed on March 8, 2013 .
- ↑ Biogeoclimatic Zones of British Columbia. British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, accessed May 3, 2016 .
- ↑ TreeBook. Arbutus tree. British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations , accessed October 20, 2012 .
- ↑ Finlayson Arm (# 7284) Tidal Prediction. Fisheries and Oceans Canada , accessed October 20, 2012 .