Exploring British Columbia
Exploring British Columbia
Exploring British Columbia
British Columbia has sophisticated cities, spectacular scenery, and a diverse geography that provides something something for everyone.
With mountains, rivers, beaches, forests, and lakes, there are adventures for everyone. Whether climbing, hiking, boating, strolling along trails, swimming in warm lakes, or lazing on the beach, there are activities to suit every taste.
BC also boasts some of the most cosmopolitan cities in Canada, featuring great shopping, fantastic dining, and international art exhibitions.
Located on the west coast of Canada, British Columbia is bounded by the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. Known generally for its temperate climate, BC's mountainous regions are famous for their world-class sking conditions. In 2010, the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games attracted many visitors to this gold medal destination.
A resource-based economy sustains the province, which has major ports enabling international trade. Transcontinental highways and railways end here. Tourism and outdoor recreation contribute to the economy, though logging, mining and other forms of resource extraction are the economic mainstay. Due to the mild climate BC's valleys, particularly the Fraser and Okanagan Valleys, are agriculturally rich, although less than 5% of the province's land is arable. Seventy-five percent of the province is mountainous, while forest covers 60%.
The 1846 Oregon Treaty established the current southern border of the province, although lands as far south as California are tied to its history. British Columbia is bordered on the east by the province of Alberta, on the west by the Pacific Ocean, on the northwest by the State of Alaska, and on the north by the Yukon and the Northwest Territories. On the south the province is bordered by the U.S. states of Montana, Idaho, and Washington.
British Columbia's Pacific coastline is more than 27,000 kilometres (17,000 mi) long. The coast features mountainous fjords and approximately 6,000 largely-uninhabited islands. The total land area of the province is 944,735 square kilometres (364,800 sq mi). Vancouver is BC's largest city by population. Vancouver is situated in the southwest corner of the mainland, referrred to as the Lower Mainland. Victoria is British Columbia's capital city, situated on southeastern Vancouver Island.
Some of BC's famous and awe-inspiring scenery is located where the Coast Mountains and the Inside Passage forms numerous inlets. The ecotourism and outdoor adventure industry thrive here. One of the more popular places to vacation is the Shuswap. One of the main reasons for this is because of the beautiful lake and the fact that Shuswap rentals can be very affordable.
The Okanagan Valley's vineyards are one of BC's premier attractions. Cider is also produced there. The Fraser Valley and Vancouver Island's Cowichan Valley also have wine-growing regions. Renowned for their warm weather, Penticton, Kamloops, and the small towns of Oliver and Osoyoos boast some of the warmest and longest summer seasons in the country. The Fraser Canyon towns of Lillooet and Lytton are even warmer; shade temperatures there can exceed 40 C (104 F) on summer days and have the advantage of low humidity.
The mainland climate ranges from sub-arctic prairie and boreal forest in the Northern Interior, to desert and semi-arid plateau, to the range and canyon districts of the Central and Southern Interior. Spectacular temperate rainforest covers much of the rest of the coast and the western part of Vancouver Island.
The inland climate is less moderate because of the distance from the Pacific Ocean. Short but cold winters with heavy but infrequent snowfalls are common in a few Southern Interior valleys. In the the southern part of the Central Interior, the Cariboo, latitude and altitude create colder winters, but the intensity and length of the cold season is generally less than at similar latitudes elsewhere in Canada. The northern two-thirds of the province are mostly mountainous and contain fewer people and less development. The exception is the Peace River District, east of the Rockies. This area located in the province's northeast forms part of the Canadian Prairies.
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