Gulf Islands
| Gulf Islands | ||
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| Waters | Pacific Ocean | |
| Geographical location | 48 ° 50 ′ N , 123 ° 29 ′ W | |
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The Gulf Islands are a group of islands in the Strait of Georgia , an inlet of the Pacific Ocean between Vancouver Island and the coast of British Columbia . Most of the islands are part of the Gulf Islands National Park . The name of the archipelago comes from the name "Gulf of Georgia" when the strait was thought to be a bay.
With regard to the assignment of which islands belong to the archipelago, there is no clear regulation or delimitation. BC Geographical Names originally only defined the islands on the southern end of Vancouver Island as the Gulf Islands. Due to the language used, however, the islands further north in the Strait of Georgia have also been seen as part of the group since around 1990.
Since the islands are now usually divided into the northern and southern Gulf Islands, there is a separation along the line Nanaimo on Vancouver Island to the mouth of the Fraser River on the mainland.
All major (larger) islands are served by BC Ferries .
Southern Gulf Islands
The southern Gulf Islands comprise several hundred islands and form part of an archipelago that also includes the San Juan Islands in the USA . The largest islands are Gabriola Island , Galiano Island , Mayne Island , North and South Pender Islands , Penelakut Island (formerly Kuper Island), Saltspring Island , Saturna Island , Thetis Island and Valdes Island .
The islands of the southern Gulf Island belong to either the Capital Regional District , the Cowichan Valley Regional District or the Regional District of Nanaimo .
Northern Gulf Islands
The larger northern Gulf Islands are Denman Island , Hornby Island , Lasqueti Island , Savary Island, and Texada Island .
The islands of northern Gulf Island are either part of the Comox Valley Regional District or the qathet Regional District .
Occasionally, Cortes Island and Quadra Island are also seen as part of the Gulf Islands. However, these are no longer in the Strait of Georgia, but already in the Discovery Passage and are part of the Discovery Islands .
Parks
On the islands of Gulf Island there are various state national parks or provincial parks , including Gulf Islands National Park , Newcastle Island Marine Provincial Park , Tribune Bay Provincial Park , Wakes Cove Provincial Park and Wallace Island Marine Provincial Park .
Web links
- The Gulf Islands Guide (English).
- Gulf Islands National Park - Parks Canada
- BC Parks - Provincial Parks in BC
Individual evidence
- ^ Origin Notes and History. Gulf Islands. GeoBC , accessed February 6, 2013 .