Galiano Island
Encyclopedia
Galiano Island is one of the Southern Gulf Islands
Gulf Islands
The Gulf Islands are the islands in the Strait of Georgia , between Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia, Canada....
between Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
and the Lower Mainland
Lower Mainland
The Lower Mainland is a name commonly applied to the region surrounding and including Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. As of 2007, 2,524,113 people live in the region; sixteen of the province's thirty most populous municipalities are located there.While the term Lower Mainland has been...
of British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Located on the west side of the Strait of Georgia
Strait of Georgia
The Strait of Georgia or the Georgia Strait is a strait between Vancouver Island and the mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada. It is approximately long and varies in width from...
, it is 27.5 km long, 6 km at its widest point, and 1.6 km across at its narrowest point and is separated from Saltspring Island
Saltspring Island
Saltspring Island is one of the Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia between mainland British Columbia, Canada and Vancouver Island. It is the largest, the most populous, and the most frequently visited of the Gulf Islands...
by Trincomali Channel
Trincomali Channel
Trincomali Channel is a channel or strait in the Gulf Islands of British Columbia, Canada, located between Saltspring Island and Galiano Island . It is named for HMS Trincomalee which was assigned to the Royal Navy's Pacific Station at Esquimalt in the 19th Century....
. On the western side of the island there are a series of sandstone caves. The island is northwest of Mayne Island
Mayne Island
Mayne Island is a rustic 21-km² island in the southern Gulf Islands chain of British Columbia. It is situated midway between the Lower Mainland of BC and Vancouver Island, and has a population of around eleven hundred.-History:...
, northeast of Saltspring Island
Saltspring Island
Saltspring Island is one of the Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia between mainland British Columbia, Canada and Vancouver Island. It is the largest, the most populous, and the most frequently visited of the Gulf Islands...
and southeast of Valdes Island
Valdes Island
Valdes Island is one of the Gulf Islands located in the Strait of Georgia, British Columbia, Canada. It is across Porlier Pass from Galiano Island, which lies to the southeast. It has an area of 23 km2, and is 1.6 km wide by 16 km in length...
. It is part of the Capital Regional District Electoral Area G
Capital G, British Columbia
The Southern Gulf Islands Electoral Area of the Capital Regional District of the Canadian Province of British Columbia consists of unincorporated districts in the CRD located on Galiano, Saturna, Mayne, and North and South Pender Islands, as well as many smaller islands located in the Gulf of...
, and has a population of 1258 inhabitants.
Named after the Spanish explorer Dionisio Alcalá Galiano
Dionisio Alcalá Galiano
Dionisio Alcalá Galiano was a Spanish naval officer, cartographer, and explorer. He mapped various coastlines in Europe and the Americas with unprecedented accuracy, using new technology such as chronometers...
, who explored the area in 1792, (the island is twinned with his home city - Cabra
Cabra, Spain
Cabra is a municipality in the province of Córdoba, Andalusia, Spain. It is also the name of the former ruling family of that area. As of 2005 the municipality had a population of 20,940 while its seat, the town of Cabra had 19,523 .-Geography:...
in Córdoba province, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
). Galiano was long inhabited by aboriginal people from the Penelakut
Penelakut
The Penelakut are a small Hul'qumi'num-speaking First Nation. They live primarily at the south end of Vancouver Island and Kuper Island, Tent Island and Galiano Island....
First Nation and used by other Coast Salish
Coast Salish
Coast Salish languages are a subgroup of the Salishan language family. These languages are spoken by First Nations or Native American peoples inhabiting the territory that is now the southwest coast of British Columbia around the Strait of Georgia and Washington state around Puget Sound...
nations. Midden pits at Montague Harbour suggest 3000 years of habitation. Today there is only one Indian Reserve on the island, Galiano Indian Reserve No. 9, located at the northern tip of the island and under Penelakut administration. Industries of the past were logging, fishing and charcoal-burning, although today tourism and the arts are the most common methods of employment.
Government
Government bodies that oversee the island include FederalGovernment of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...
, Provincial
Executive Council of British Columbia
The Executive Council of British Columbia is the cabinet of that Canadian province....
and the Capital Regional District as well as the Islands Trust whose mandate is to establish land-use bylaws to "preserve and protect" the island, most notably in terms of development. For most of the twentieth century roughly half of the land on Galiano was owned by the logging firm MacMillan Bloedel. As a result, Galiano was not as extensively developed as neighboring islands. When the firm sold its holdings on Galiano, debate about development issues sharpened, and the Islands Trust set minimum lot sizes to limit development.
Local elections are held every three years to determine who will be the island's 2 Trustees.
Access
BC Ferries
British Columbia Ferry Services Inc. or BC Ferries is a de facto Crown Corporation that provides all major passenger and vehicle ferry services for coastal and island communities in the Canadian province of British Columbia...
; the terminal is situated at Sturdies Bay, in the southeast corner of the island. This vehicle and passenger scheduled ferry service runs from Tsawwassen (Vancouver) on the mainland and Swartz Bay (Victoria
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
) on Vancouver Island.
Moorage is available at several public wharves for boat traffic: Sturdies Bay, (walking distance to the Village), Montague Harbour, Whalers Bay and Retreat Cove.
Daily, regularly Scheduled floatplane service is offered from Downtown Vancouver and the Vancouver International Airport through Seair Seaplanes
Seair Seaplanes
Seair Seaplanes is a scheduled and charter Canadian airline based in Richmond, British Columbia. The airline flies routes between the Vancouver International Water Airport and the Nanaimo Harbour Water Airport, as well as other Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia, primarily with float...
and Salt Spring Air
Salt Spring Air
Salt Spring Air is the only floatplane company based on Saltspring Island, British Columbia, Canada. It operates scheduled flights, charter air service and tours based in Ganges and specializes in routes between the Gulf Islands and Vancouver Island...
to Montague Harbour. New in 2009, there is now regularly scheduled floatplane service from Seattle daily through Kenmore Air
Kenmore Air
Kenmore Air Harbor, Inc., doing business as Kenmore Air, is an American airline with its headquarters on the grounds of Kenmore Air Harbor in Kenmore, Washington, USA, north of Seattle...
, either through Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Kenmore Air Harbor and Seattle Lake Union.
Parks and Wildlife
Heron
The herons are long-legged freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae. There are 64 recognised species in this family. Some are called "egrets" or "bitterns" instead of "heron"....
s and cormorant
Cormorant
The bird family Phalacrocoracidae is represented by some 40 species of cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed recently, and the number of genera is disputed.- Names :...
s. Off its shores are resident orca whales, seals, otters, sea lions and many varieties of sea life.
Montague Harbour Marine Provincial Park
Montague Harbour Marine Provincial Park
Montague Harbour Marine Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, located on Galiano Island, one of the Gulf Islands off BC's South Coast in Canada. It is accessible by BC ferries from Swartz Bay on Vancouver Island or Tsawwassen on the Mainland...
is one of the most popular parks in the Gulf Islands. It is unique for its Shell Beach, which is a west-facing beach with worn shells covering the whole expanse of the beach instead of sand. For thousands of years, it was the location of a midden used by Coast Salish people.
Montague Harbour is popular with the recreational boating community; the harbour is often crowded with yacht
Yacht
A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
s and sailboat
Sailboat
A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails. The term covers a variety of boats, larger than small vessels such as sailboards and smaller than sailing ships, but distinctions in the size are not strictly defined and what constitutes a sailing ship, sailboat, or a...
s during the warmer months of June, July, and August. The Park's mooring buoys are in limited supply and cannot be reserved, but the harbour is well sheltered if one chooses to anchor. A marina with moorage, gas dock, several small stores, and a cafe (summer only) is located at the southern end of the harbour. A public dock is near the marina.
Dionisio Point Provincial Park
Dionisio Point Provincial Park is a provincial park in the southern Gulf Islands of British Columbia, Canada. It is located at the northwestern tip of Galiano Island, across Porlier Pass from Valdes Island.-External links:**...
is a rugged natural park at the north end of the island with beautiful beaches that the local islanders call Coon Bay. Here you will find a unique shoreline with artistically sculpted sandstone formations, a sand beach for swimming, tidal pools, and colourful wildflowers and forests that fill this beautiful provincial park.
Bluffs Park is Galiano's oldest wilderness park, established by community subscription in 1948. With 130 hectares, it extends far inland into virgin forest, as well having high cliffs and a long sandy beach.
Mount Galiano is Galiano’s highest point of land. The top will provide hikers with views over the Gulf Islands, the U.S. San Juan Islands and the distant mainland mountains.
Collinson Point Provincial Park
Collinson Point Provincial Park
Collinson Point Provincial Park is a provincial park on Galiano Island, British Columbia, Canada. It is located between Mount Galiano and the western approaches to Active Pass. The area is 24 hectares, with c. 500 metres of waterfront.-History:...
is essentially the shoreline of Mount Galiano, and is important in protecting the marine life of the approaches to Active Pass.
Bodega Ridge Provincial Park
Bodega Ridge Provincial Park
Bodega Ridge Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. It is on Galiano Island and comprises 233 hectares...
consists of a ridge rising several hundred metres above sea level, with views over many of the Gulf Islands' hundreds of islands and islets and beyond to the mountains of the Olympic Peninsula. High cliffs are home to raptors like peregrine falcons and bald eagles, as well as trees like cedar
Cedar
Cedrus is a genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae. They are native to the mountains of the western Himalaya and the Mediterranean region, occurring at altitudes of 1,500–3,200 m in the Himalaya and 1,000–2,200 m in the Mediterranean.-Description:Cedars are trees up to...
s and Douglas fir.
Infrastructure
The powerline HVDC Vancouver-Island crosses Galiano Island in southwestly direction as overhead powerline section, which ends at a cable terminal on Parker IslandParker Island
Parker Island is a roughly island in the Southern Gulf Islands of British Columbia, Canada. It forms the western side of Montague Harbour, sheltering it from the strong wind gusts of Trincomali Channel...
.
People on Galiano Island
- Judy BacaJudy BacaJudith Francisca Baca is an American artist, activist, and University of California, Los Angeles professor of fine arts...
(Summer) - Senator Larry CampbellLarry CampbellLarry W. Campbell was the 37th Mayor of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently a member of the Canadian Senate. Starting in 1969 Campbell worked for the RCMP in Vancouver and then in 1973 as a member of the Drug Squad...
- Iona CampagnoloIona CampagnoloIona Campagnolo, is a Canadian politician, and was the first woman and 27th Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia. Prior to becoming Lieutenant Governor she was a Canadian politician and cabinet member in the Liberal government of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.-Career:Born Iona Victoria Hardy...
(born on Galiano) - Tamara Nile (born on Galiano)
- Svend RobinsonSvend RobinsonSvend Robinson is a former Canadian politician. He was a Member of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons from 1979 to 2004, representing the suburban Vancouver-area constituency of Burnaby for the New Democratic Party...
- Jane RuleJane RuleJane Vance Rule, CM, OBC was a Canadian writer of lesbian-themed novels and non-fiction.-Biography:Born in Plainfield, New Jersey, Jane Vance Rule was the oldest daughter of Carlotta Jane and Arthur Richards Rule. She claimed she was a tomboy growing up and felt like an outsider for reaching six...
- Audrey ThomasAudrey ThomasAudrey Grace Thomas, OC is a Canadian novelist and short story writer who lives on Galiano Island, British Columbia.-Biography:...