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Quick
Now! Why do they call British Columbia Super
Natural?
 The
BC Scene
is a
potpouri of natural and man made attractions and a
kaleidoscope of panoramic vistas, as we talked
about in our award winning theme "Many Worlds in
One." British Columbia combines the geography of
many lands, from desert to seacoast and alpine
meadows, plus a culture that goes back thousands of
years. The following section of our web site
provides capsules of various attractions
compliments of Tourism BC, whose staff and
members have assisted us on many occasions over
several decades in publishing.
Hell's
Gate Canyon is on
the Trans-Canada Highway as it follows the Fraser
Canyon inland from the coastal area at
Vancouver.
Through a deep gorge
that narrows to 34 m (110 feet), water from 233,000
square km (90,000 square miles) of land passes at a
rate of 15,000 cubic m (3.9 million US. gallons) a
second during high periods. Hell's Gate was a
barrier to all but the strongest salmon as they
journeyed inland to spawn. A fish-ladder built in
1945 gave them a way around the most treacherous
part. In recent years, river rafters have been
tempting fate by shooting the rapids on one of the
many commercial rafting outfits. For a safer view
of this awesome spectacle, an aerial tramway
descends 152 m (500 feet) from the highway to the
Fraser River where a viewing area has been built
just above this narrow, deep gorge.Cathedral
Grove:
In the centre of
Vancouver Island, between Parksville and Port
Alberni on Highway No.
4.
This stand of giant
Douglas fir and western red cedar is one of the few
remaining on the west coast. The tops of the tall
trees form a cathedral-like ceiling high above your
head while the thick tree trunks, some as old as
800 years, rise as pillars from a forest floor of
delicate fern.This is one of the best examples of
the virgin forests that greeted the first Europeans
to visit the west coast. It is awe-inspiring, so
much so that Indians regarded Cathedral Grove as a
sacred place. It is right along the highway that
takes you to Long Beach.
Long Beach: Location:
On the west coast of Vancouver Island between the
towns of Ucluelet and Tofino. There is only one
road to Pacific Rim National Park, scenic Highway
No. 4.
Of all the places where
the Pacific Ocean washes the shores of British
Columbia, Long Beach and Pacific Rim National Park
are arguably the most beautiful. Huge rolling waves
carry in a wealth of fascinating sealife and spread
it on a broad expanse of fine golden sand. The
waves whip up a fine mist that mixes with the
vapour rising from warming beaches and touches the
whole scene with a rugged magic. The receding tide
often leaves a wealth of small sealife temporarily
stranded in tidal pools. This is a destination for
thousands of visitors every year. Wickaninnish
Centre is located right next to Long Beach and
provides informative displays on the Pacific Ocean
(wall murals, Native whaling displays) and guided
nature tours of the beach.
Salmon Run on Adams
River:
Location: 65 km (40
miles) east of Kamloops off the Trans-Canada
Highway.
The Adams River is the
site of one of the biggest sockeye salmon runs in
the world. The river is protected as the Roderick
Haig-Brown Conservation Area , 11-km (7-mile) run
between Adams and Shuswap lakes. Salmon that have
fought their way up the Fraser and Thompson rivers
start arriving in Adams River in October. In a
dominant run on the Adams River, which occurs about
once every four years, up to 200,000 visitors come
to see as many as two million salmon jam into the
creek to spawn. It's a spectacle that is as awesome
on the surface as it is miraculous underneath the
surface, a river of writhing red fish. It's a
natural wonder that is also at the base of an
entire fishing industry. The salmon also run in
Goldstream Park northwest of Victoria, right next
to the Trans-Canada Highway. The run here is much
longer, as long as nine weeks of spawning, than on
the Adams River but the numbers are fewer.
Goldstream Park has an excellent nature house on
salmon spawning habits (open times vary with the
season) and beautiful hiking trails that meander
through 600-year-old Douglas fir and western red
cedar forests.
Mount
Robson:
Location: 750 km (466
miles) by highway and 520 air km (323 miles)
northeast of
Vancouver.
Mount Robson is visible
from the Yellowhead Highway near the Alberta
border. "The Monarch of the Canadian Rockies",
Mount Robson is one of the most magnificent sights
to be seen from any major highway in the world. At
3,932 m (12,900 feet), it is the highest point in
the Canadian Rockies. Hiking trails take you from
the highway through the Valley of the Thousand
Falls to the mountain's north face, visible only
from the vicinity of Berg Lake, where chunks of
Berg Glacier break off and dot its surface. For the
seasoned hiker, there's much more to see in this
park and breathtaking vistas almost at every
turn.
Mount Assiniboine:
Location: Approximately 550 air km (340 miles)
east of Vancouver.
This is an isolated
provincial park that cannot be penetrated by
wheeled vehicle. Still, Mount Assiniboine and the
park around it exemplify the magnificence of the
Canadian Rocky Mountains. Its majestic craggy peak
rises to 3561 m (11,680 feet), standing alone among
the neighbouring mountains. The park is a scenic
masterpiece. While it is totally within British
Columbia, a main access to it is from the
neighbouring province of Alberta. A gravel road
from the Trans-Canada Highway north of Banff,
Alberta takes you close to the park through the ski
resort of Sunshine Village in Banff National Park.
From the west in BC., two hiking trails start from
near Highway 93 in Kootenay National
Park.
Cathedral Provincial
Park:
Location: Approximately
356 km (221 miles) east of Vancouver, off Highway 3
and along the American border.Cathedral Park is
33,000 hectares (81,500 acres) of alpine meadows,
jagged peaks, azure lakes and curious rock
formations carved by time and the wind, and given
apt names such as Stone City, Giant Cleft, the
Devil's Woodpile and Smokey the Bear. Mule deer,
mountain goat and California bighorn sheep are just
a few of the wildlife species that are invariably
seen by park visitors. Vehicle access to the park's
facilities is restricted. It is a six-hour hike
into the park's main features. A private resort
operates a lodge in the centre of the park and will
also provide transport in by four-wheel-drive for a
fee. Arrangements must be made ahead of
time.
Mount Maxwell
Park:
Location: On Saltspring
Island, north from Victoria, reached by ferry
between Swartz Bay and Fulford Harbour on
Saltspring.
At 589 m (1,932 feet),
Baynes Peak in Mount Maxwell Park is no match for
the high mountains of the British Columbia coastal
mainland and interior. Still, it is the highest
point on Saltspring Island and mountain-climbing
was never so easy. You can drive right to the top.
Be warned, the road is no freeway but it gets you
there in a bumpy sort of way. At the top, an
observation point at the edge of a vertical
precipice provides breathtaking views of Vancouver
Island and the Olympic Mountains in the United
States to the south. Saltspring Island is a
pleasant day-trip out of Victoria.
Waterfalls
in British Columbia
In such a mountainous
area, there are bound to be waterfalls. British
Columbia has many in both isolated and easily
accessed locations.
Della Falls: In
Strathcona Provincial Park on Vancouver Island,
Della Falls are the highest in Canada, cascading
440 m (1,440 feet) down a mountain side. You won't
have to line up to see them either. The rugged hike
necessary to get to them weeds out the casual
thrill seekers.
Takakkaw Falls: In
Yoho National Park, accessible by vehicle via a
side road off the Trans-Canada Highway. Glacial
melt water drops an unbroken distance of 366 m
(1,200 feet) over Takakkaw Falls. Some contend that
when a higher portion is taken into account, the
falls actually cascade more than 500 m, which would
make them the highest in Canada. Decide for
yourself; see them both.
Helmcken Falls: 469
air km (291 miles) northeast of Vancouver in Wells
Gray Park. Helmcken Falls are the most impressive
of six other major waterfalls on the Murtle River.
In winter, a massive ice cone builds up almost to
the brink 137 m (450 feet) above the basin but few
brave the cold elements to see it. Other falls in
the park are Majerus Falls, Meadow Falls, Horseshoe
Falls, McDougall Falls and Rainbow
Falls.
Bridal Veil Falls:
Along Trans-Canada Highway 114 km (71 miles) east
of Vancouver. These falls live up to their name as
they cascade down the face of a mountain. Easily
accessed from the Trans-Canada Highway and a
pleasant stroll through a forest of cedar and
fir.
Little Qualicum
Falls: Twenty km (12 miles) west of Parksville
along Highway 4. Little Qualicum River crashes into
a deeply cut bowl and then even further down a
gorge carved by the river itself.
Brandywine Falls:
About 87 km (55 miles) north of Vancouver near
Garibaldi Park. The scenery around here is as
spectacular as the 70-m waterfall, as the massive
snow-peaked mountains of Garibaldi Provincial Park
rise to the east above Daisy Lake.
Caves in
British Columbia
Caves are hardly an
attraction for most people with even a hint of
claustrophobia. But they are certainly a phenomenon
of geological interest and, for the seasoned
spelunker, they're irresistible. There are several
areas in British Columbia with caves, two of which
are extensively explored.
Cody
Caves:
Location: 697 kilometres
(433 miles) east of Vancouver, north of Nelson on
Highway 3A and Highway
31.
Cody Caves resulted from
the action of water over millions of years in
layers of limestone on the eastern slopes of the
Selkirk Mountains, near the community of Ainsworth.
There are a system of tunnels and galleries
containing stalacites, stalagmites, soda straws and
other cave features. These caves are a provincial
park. An interpretive display near the cave
entrance explains the formations and illustrates
the cave interior. A local firm offers several
types of tours of the caves, suitable for everyone
from the casually curious to the subterranean
explorer. While it may be a scorcher outside when
you visit, bring warm, rugged clothing for the
6° C (42° F) temperatures
inside.
Horne Lake
Caves:
Location: On Vancouver
Island, 176 km (109 miles) north of Victoria, at
the west end of Horne
Lake.
These caves are also a
provincial park. Several of the caves are open at
all times and vary in length and size from spacious
chambers to small crawl-ways. Riverbend Cave has a
total of 383 m (1,259 feet) of mapped passages but
only guided access is allowed and must be arranged
ahead of time. The upper third is spacious and
accessible but lower sections require ladders,
ropes and some agility. Tours through Riverbend
Cave are conducted by the experienced guides of a
private company that runs the government-owned
park. The caves are undeveloped and the road to it
is an active logging road, so be careful. Tours can
be self-guided, family-oriented or high
adventure.
Inside
Passage:
Location: Along the
north coast of British
Columbia.
The Inside Passage is a
440 km (274 miles) ferry route plied by BC.
Ferries' Queen of the North between Port Hardy on
the north end of Vancouver Island and Prince Rupert
on the northern mainland, and by luxury cruise
ships charting a course to Alaska from American
ports, and Vancouver and Victoria. The narrow
channels are protected from the open ocean, making
it possible to sail almost the entire length of the
coast without ocean swells to rock the boat. The
Queen of the North carries 750 passengers and 157
vehicles. The 15-hour voyage takes you dramatically
close to virgin wilderness and its diversity of
wildlife in water and on land. The Coast Mountain
scenery is breathtaking.
Queen Charlotte
Islands:
Location: Off the
northwest coast of British
Columbia.
This archipelago was
once considered remote but now can be easily
accessed by ferry from Prince Rupert. The `Misty
Islands', the traditional home of the Haida
Indians, live up to their nickname. Local mountains
and shores are often shrouded in fog and rain-laden
cloud. The rugged and rocky west coast of the
island faces the ocean. The east coast has many
broad sandy beaches. Naikoon Provincial Park in the
northeast corner of the islands preserves a large
section of this unique wilderness. Isolation from
the mainland has given rise to subspecies of
wildlife that are unique to the Queen
Charlottes.
Fraser
Canyon:
Location: East of
Vancouver between Hope and Cache
Creek.
The Trans-Canada Highway
follows the Fraser Canyon as it cuts its way from
the high interior plateau of British Columbia,
through the Coast Mountains to the coast. It has
cut deepest in a 38-km (24-mile) section between
Yale and Boston Bar. Railway tracks run along each
side of the canyon, clinging to its edges close to
the water. The highway is high above the river
through most of the canyon. At one point, Alexandra
Bridge carries the highway across the canyon high
above the water. Gold was found in the canyon
during the 1850s at the beginning of the Cariboo
gold rush in B.Sc.'s central interior.
Whale
Watching:
Location: In Johnstone
Strait and off the west coast of Vancouver
Island.
Several pods (families)
of orcas (killer whales) inhabit the waters of the
west coast around Vancouver Island year-round and
are routinely seen from ferries between the
mainland and Vancouver Island. They frequent
Johnstone Strait and in one area, Robson Bight,
they like using the beaches to rub against. For
this reason, Robson Bight has been made into an
ecological reserve: whales must not be disturbed by
human observers in this area. There are plenty of
opportunities to see whales in the immediate
vicinity. Several companies operate whale-watching
excursions out of Victoria specifically to see
orcas. Gray
whales migrate between Baja California and Alaska,
travelling north in spring and south in fall.
Companies take visitors out from the communities of
Ucluelet and Tofino on small boats to see this
migration spectacle firsthand, truly the thrill of
a lifetime. A few whales remain all summer near
Vancouver Island but for certain results, you have
to go in season.
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BC
Views
ny given day, the waterfront
area where we live, is a passing parade of ships
large and small.
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