Newcastle Island Marine Provincial Park

	Newcastle Island Marine Provincial Park IUCN Category II - National Park
	Aerial view of Nanaimo with the offshore island
location	British Columbia (Canada)
surface	3.63 km²
WDPA ID	13111
Geographical location	49 ° 11 ′ N , 123 ° 56 ′ W Coordinates: 49 ° 11 ′ 24 " N , 123 ° 56 ′ 11" W
Sea level	from 0 m to 20 m
Setup date	17th October 1961
administration	BC Parks and Snuneymuxw
particularities	Island park jointly managed by the province and First Nations

The Newcastle Iceland Marine Provincial Park is a 363 hectare large Provincial Park in the Canadian province of British Columbia . The park is located on the island of the same name, a few 100 meters as the crow flies east of Nanaimo in front of Vancouver Island and belongs to the Regional District of Nanaimo .

Since the park is on an island, it can only be reached by ferry or boat. The ferry runs from Maffeo-Sutton Park in Nanaimo, but only in the summer months.

investment

The park now encompasses the entire island of Newcastle Island, in the waters of the Strait of Georgia . In places the bank has a steep slope, in which there are caves and grottos. The park is rather flat with slight bumps and rises to the northwest to a height of about 20 meters. There is also a small lake on the island. In addition to the 334 hectares of land, the park also includes 29 hectares of tidal zone and surrounding water. The focus of the tourist infrastructure as well as the ferry and boat docks is in the southern part of the island.

The park is a category II protected area ( national park ).

history

The park was established in 1961 with a size of 745 acres , which corresponds to around 301.5 hectares. Over time, the park's status and size have changed several times. Its name goes back to the island on which the park is located. The island, in turn, got its name in 1849 when coal was found on it. Because of these finds, the name was reminiscent of the English "coal town" Newcastle upon Tyne .

However, as with almost all provincial parks in British Columbia, this one too, long before the area was settled by immigrants or became part of a park, it was the settlement and hunting / fishing area of various tribes of the First Nations , here mainly the Snuneymuxw people , was. In the time of the arrival of European explorers and settlers, two smaller settlements of these First Nations were found on the island. Originally these settlements were not inhabited all year round. The First Nations lived there only at certain times of the year, from fishing. The settlements have been abandoned, but there are still numerous sites of archaeological importance in the park.

The First Nations were also the first to mine coal on the island, but they were quickly ousted by the European and Chinese miners of the Hudson's Bay Company . This mined coal here from 1853 before they sold their rights to the Vancouver Coal Mining and Land Company . Overall, coal mining on the island lasted until 1883.

The extraction of sandstone on the island lasted longer than coal production . The building material was used in many buildings along the west coast and was dismantled from 1869 to 1932.

Newcastle Island also played a role in the province's fisheries. By 1910, the Japanese had dominated fishing here and established a small settlement on the west side of the island. They operated a small fish salting factory and a small shipyard here until 1941, but then, like all Japanese Canadians who lived along the coast, they were forcibly relocated to internment camps inland.

The island's career as a destination for excursions and recreation began around 1930. The Canadian Pacific Railway , with one of its subsidiaries, the British Columbia Coast Steamship Service , already operated such an excursion and recreation destination on another island in the Gulf Islands. With the trips to Newcastle Island, she expanded her offer and built the pavilion on the island that is still there today.

The era of the CPR lasted until about the mid-1950s. Then the railway company sold the island to the city of Nanaimo. However, the island only remained in their possession for a few years. In the late 1950s, the city sold the island to the province on the condition that a provincial park be built.

Flora and fauna

British Columbia's ecosystem is divided into different biogeoclimatic zones using the Biogeoclimatic Ecological Classification (BEC) Zoning System . Biogeoclimatic zones are characterized by a fundamentally identical or very similar climate and the same or very similar biological and geological conditions. This results in a very similar population of plants and animals in the respective zones. Within the British Columbia ecosystem, the park area is assigned to the Moist Maritime Subzone within the Coastal Douglas fir Zone .

The year-round mild and humid climate, with the months July and August deviating from it being rather dry and warm, leads to ideal growth conditions. A forestry use took place in the park for local needs. A number of plants can be found again in the secondary forest. The main trees are the Douglas fir , the giant arborvitae and the coastal fir, as well as the Oregon oak and the Oregon maple . This biodiversity continues in the undergrowth with numerous different plants. There are broom , Jacob's groundwort , common ivy and, unusually, the European holly .

According to the island location, mainly small mammals such as raccoons can be found here . There are also numerous birds, including bald eagles .

Neighboring parks

On Vancouver Iceland there are numerous other provincial parks, including many for its petroglyphs First Nations known Petroglyph Provincial Park .

activities

The park is of great tourist importance and attracts numerous visitors each year. In terms of tourism, it is a typical park for day visitors. However, it also offers 18 prepared areas for camping. The tourist focus is the southern island area with the picnic area and the associated shelters as well as the pavilion from 1931. The park has simple sanitary facilities. Various hiking trails have been laid out in the park, which also open up other interesting points on the island, such as the old mine shaft or the sandstone quarry.

The boat facility with berths for up to 42 boats of different sizes is also located at the ferry dock.

Web links

Newcastle Island Marine Provincial Park . In: BC Geographical Names (English)
Newcastle Island Marine Provincial Park . In: English language website of the park at BC Parks
Information park on britishcolumbia.com (Engl.)

Individual evidence

↑ World Database on Protected Areas - Newcastle Island Marine Park (English)
^ Walbran, John T. British Columbia Coast Names, 1592-1906: their origin and history. Ottawa, 1909
↑ Biogeoclimatic Zones of British Columbia. British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations , accessed May 19, 2016 .
↑ Master Plan. (PDF, 1.6 MB) British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks , April 1995, accessed February 7, 2013 .
^ Ecosystems of British Columbia. (PDF, 10.31 MB) British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, February 1991, accessed February 7, 2013 .

[1] World Database on Protected Areas - Newcastle Island Marine Park (English)

[2] Walbran, John T. British Columbia Coast Names, 1592-1906: their origin and history. Ottawa, 1909

[3] Biogeoclimatic Zones of British Columbia. British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations , accessed May 19, 2016 .

[4] Master Plan. (PDF, 1.6 MB) British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks , April 1995, accessed February 7, 2013 .

[5] Ecosystems of British Columbia. (PDF, 10.31 MB) British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, February 1991, accessed February 7, 2013 .