Strait of Georgia

The Strait of Georgia is a body of water separating VANCOUVER ISLAND and mainland British Columbia south of QUADRA ISLAND. Part of a basin between 2 mountain ranges, the floor of the strait was deepened in the ice age by south-flowing glaciers. The Strait of Georgia is the northwest arm of the inland SALISH SEA.

History

Coastal Salish have occupied the strait for between 5000 and 10 000 years. In 1791, 2 Spanish navy ships under Francisco de Eliza explored its coast. Captain George VANCOUVER followed in 1792, naming it the Gulf of Georgia, after George III, the British monarch. "Gulf" was changed to "strait" in 1865.

Present Day

Most of BC's population is clustered around the Strait of Georgia, especially in metropolitan VANCOUVER. It has year-round deep-sea shipping ports in Burrard Inlet, on the Fraser River estuary, at Roberts Bank, on Vancouver Island's east coast, on Howe Sound and at POWELL RIVER. These are typically linked with railheads, and with forest-products mills or other manufacturing plants. The strait is also the main centre of the PACIFIC SALMON fishery, and its mild, rain-shadow climate makes it a popular marine recreation area in summer.

Author PETER GRANT

Links to Other Sites
Geodynamics
A well-illustrated online guide to natural geological processes related to plate tectonics, earthquakes, and related events. From Natural Resources Canada.

The Colonial Despatches
View digitized copies of correspondence (dated 1846 - 1859) between the British Colonial Office and the "colonies" of Vancouver Island and British Columbia. Search or browse this site for references to specific individuals, communities, companies, or industries in the province. Also includes digitized images of maps of various locations. From the website for the University of Victoria.

GSC Pacific - Sidney
The website for the Sidney Pacific Geoscience Centre. Offers an overview of local research inititatives. From Natural Resources Canada.

Glossary: Marine Ecology
A glossary of terms related to marine ecology. From the website for the Galveston Bay National Estuary Program in the US.

Salish Sea
A CBC News story about the adoption of the name Salish Sea for the inland waters that stretch from Olympia north to Canada's Desolation Sound.

VENUS
Check out the image galleries and multimedia archives for amazing views of the undersea environment around southern Vancouver Island. From the Victoria Experimental Network Under the Sea website, the University of Victoria.

Juan de Fuca Provincial Park
The official website for the Juan de Fuca Provincial Park, located on the west coast of southern Vancouver Island. Check out the full range of recreational opportunities and the latest travel notices for this area. A Government of British Columbia website.

Oceanography of the British Columbia coast
The full text, with illustrations, of a book that provides detailed descriptions of the natural forces and properties of the ocean, sea floor, and beaches along the west coast of Canada. From the Fisheries and Oceans Canada website.