The Vancouver Island Ranges, formerly called the Vancouver Island Mountains, are a series of
mountain ranges extending along the length of
Vancouver Island which has an area of 31,788 km2 (12,273 sq mi). The Vancouver Island Ranges comprise the central and largest part of the island.[1] The
Geological Survey of Canada refers to Vancouver Island, Haida Gwaii, and the Alaska Panhandle as the
Insular Belt including the sea floor out to 100 km (62 mi) west of Vancouver Island.[2] The Vancouver Island Ranges are a sub-range of the
Insular Mountains.
Explorations
The first European sighting[3] of these ranges was likely
Sir Francis Drake. A sighting of land on June 5, 1579 was recorded by his crew aboard the vessel Golden Hind at a latitude of
48 degrees north but not finding safe harbour, they moved on southward. The highest peak of the Vancouver Island Ranges, the
Golden Hinde, is named for his vessel.
The first European explorer likely to have observed any of the mountains of the Vancouver Island Ranges would have been
Captain Juan José Pérez aboard the Spanish frigate Santiago. Although he anchored off
Estevan Point, on August 8, 1774 he did not land.
Captain James Cook entered
Nootka Sound March 29, 1778 and spent about a month refitting his ships
Discovery and
Resolution. His logs contain the first recorded reference to the mountains of Vancouver Island. In 1788 British Captain
John Meares began a small settlement at
Nootka Sound and the following year, the Spanish built a permanent fort at Friendly Cove (
Yuquot) in
Nuu-chah-nulth territory. The Spanish claimed sovereignty and a dispute arose which was resolved with the
Nootka Convention of the 1794. There was little further exploration until the
Hudson's Bay Company was granted rights to Vancouver Island on January 13, 1849 leading to the first attempt, by Captain Hamilton Moffat in 1852 to ascend a major peak on the Island when he attempted
Rugged Mountain.
Adam Grant Horne located a trail across the island from the
Qualicum River to the
Alberni Inlet in 1856 and
Joseph Despard Pemberton, Surveyor General of the
Colony of Vancouver Island explored much of the southern half of the Island in 1857. The southern Island was further explored by the
Vancouver Island Exploring Expedition in 1865. By the mid-1880s the southern half of the island had been explored and by 1890 the northern region had been explored as well. The central part of the island, the area now within
Strathcona Provincial Park, was explored by Reverend William Washington Bolton, Headmaster of the Victoria School for Boys, in 1894 and 1896.
Ranges
Only a few of the many subranges of the Vancouver Island Ranges have official names. These are:
Philip Stone (2003). Island Alpine, A Guide to the Mountains of Strathcona Park and Vancouver Island. Wild Isle Publications: Heriot Bay, BC.
ISBN0-9680766-5-3.
Lindsay Elms (1996). Beyond Nootka, A Historical Perspective of Vancouver Island Mountains. Misthorn Press: Courtenay, BC.
ISBN0-9680159-0-5.
References
^Guthrie, R.H. (2005). Geomorthology of Vancouver Island: Mass Wasting Potential (Report). BC Ministry of Environment.
doi:
10.13140/RG.2.1.3032.9848. p 1 (and see map at p 2 for area of Vancouver Island Ranges)
ISBN0-7726-5468-9
The Vancouver Island Ranges, formerly called the Vancouver Island Mountains, are a series of
mountain ranges extending along the length of
Vancouver Island which has an area of 31,788 km2 (12,273 sq mi). The Vancouver Island Ranges comprise the central and largest part of the island.[1] The
Geological Survey of Canada refers to Vancouver Island, Haida Gwaii, and the Alaska Panhandle as the
Insular Belt including the sea floor out to 100 km (62 mi) west of Vancouver Island.[2] The Vancouver Island Ranges are a sub-range of the
Insular Mountains.
Explorations
The first European sighting[3] of these ranges was likely
Sir Francis Drake. A sighting of land on June 5, 1579 was recorded by his crew aboard the vessel Golden Hind at a latitude of
48 degrees north but not finding safe harbour, they moved on southward. The highest peak of the Vancouver Island Ranges, the
Golden Hinde, is named for his vessel.
The first European explorer likely to have observed any of the mountains of the Vancouver Island Ranges would have been
Captain Juan José Pérez aboard the Spanish frigate Santiago. Although he anchored off
Estevan Point, on August 8, 1774 he did not land.
Captain James Cook entered
Nootka Sound March 29, 1778 and spent about a month refitting his ships
Discovery and
Resolution. His logs contain the first recorded reference to the mountains of Vancouver Island. In 1788 British Captain
John Meares began a small settlement at
Nootka Sound and the following year, the Spanish built a permanent fort at Friendly Cove (
Yuquot) in
Nuu-chah-nulth territory. The Spanish claimed sovereignty and a dispute arose which was resolved with the
Nootka Convention of the 1794. There was little further exploration until the
Hudson's Bay Company was granted rights to Vancouver Island on January 13, 1849 leading to the first attempt, by Captain Hamilton Moffat in 1852 to ascend a major peak on the Island when he attempted
Rugged Mountain.
Adam Grant Horne located a trail across the island from the
Qualicum River to the
Alberni Inlet in 1856 and
Joseph Despard Pemberton, Surveyor General of the
Colony of Vancouver Island explored much of the southern half of the Island in 1857. The southern Island was further explored by the
Vancouver Island Exploring Expedition in 1865. By the mid-1880s the southern half of the island had been explored and by 1890 the northern region had been explored as well. The central part of the island, the area now within
Strathcona Provincial Park, was explored by Reverend William Washington Bolton, Headmaster of the Victoria School for Boys, in 1894 and 1896.
Ranges
Only a few of the many subranges of the Vancouver Island Ranges have official names. These are:
Philip Stone (2003). Island Alpine, A Guide to the Mountains of Strathcona Park and Vancouver Island. Wild Isle Publications: Heriot Bay, BC.
ISBN0-9680766-5-3.
Lindsay Elms (1996). Beyond Nootka, A Historical Perspective of Vancouver Island Mountains. Misthorn Press: Courtenay, BC.
ISBN0-9680159-0-5.
References
^Guthrie, R.H. (2005). Geomorthology of Vancouver Island: Mass Wasting Potential (Report). BC Ministry of Environment.
doi:
10.13140/RG.2.1.3032.9848. p 1 (and see map at p 2 for area of Vancouver Island Ranges)
ISBN0-7726-5468-9