Vancouver Island is the largest island on the Pacific Coast of North America. It is an important part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. Vancouver Island extends for 285 miles (459 kilometers) along the southwestern coast of Canada. It is from 40 to 80 miles (64 to 130 kilometers) wide. Victoria, the largest city on the island, is the capital of British Columbia. The other chief cities are Nanaimo and Port Alberni. About 860,000 people live on the island.
Location, size, and surface features.
Vancouver Island is separated from the mainland of British Columbia by Queen Charlotte Strait, Johnstone Strait, and the Strait of Georgia. The Strait of Juan de Fuca lies south of the island.
Vancouver Island covers 12,079 square miles (31,284 square kilometers). It is the southern end of a partly sunken mountain chain called the Island, or Vancouver, Range. The tops of the range rise sharply from the Pacific Ocean to heights of 5,000 to 7,000 feet (1,500 to 2,100 meters). Dangerous reefs and small, rocky islands are common along the western shore. The valleys of the sunken range form many winding, fiordlike bays. Quatsino, Nootka, and Barkley sounds reach into the heart of the island. Pacific Rim National Park Reserve is on the western coast. The eastern shore is less rugged and broken. 
Vancouver Island has the mildest climate in Canada because of the Kuroshio (Japan Current). However, the winters are often severe in the northern and western mountains. The western coast receives heavy rainfall.
The island’s resources.
The slopes of the mountains on Vancouver Island are covered with fir, cedar, and hemlock forests. The forest industry is important to the island’s economy. Vancouver Island has several large pulp mills, sawmills, and plywood plants. Farming is concentrated in the southeastern part of the island. Excellent game fishing attracts many tourists.
History.
First Nations—original peoples of the land that is now Canada—probably lived on Vancouver Island more than 10,000 years ago. In 1774, the Spanish explorer Juan Pérez became the first European to sight the island. In 1778, the British navigator James Cook became the first European to land on Vancouver Island. George Vancouver, a member of Cook’s expedition, returned to the island in 1792 and sailed around it. The island is named for him. See Vancouver, George.
During the 1800’s, the United States claimed the island and nearby territory on the mainland. But the United States surrendered these claims to the United Kingdom in 1846. The first European settlement on the island was made in 1843, when the Hudson’s Bay Company, a fur-trading company, built Fort Victoria. In 1849, Vancouver Island became a British colony. In 1866, it was united with mainland settlements to form British Columbia, which became a Canadian province in 1871.
