Hornby Island
Encyclopedia
Hornby Island of British Columbia
, Canada
, is a Northern Gulf Island
parallel with Vancouver Island's Comox Valley
.
A small community of 1,074 residents (as of the 2006 census
) is distributed across the island. The island is culturally distinctive as it was the site of a large immigration of American draft dodgers during the Vietnam War
, and many of these people still live on the island. In recent years the island has become a major tourist destination and its population easily quadruples in size during the summer months. Though tourism is a primary source of income for Hornby, it has led to some water supply shortages. Most people reach the island by taking a BC Ferry
to Denman Island from Buckley Bay
on Vancouver Island
, and then a 30-car ferry to Hornby.
The primary destinations on Hornby are Tribune Bay Provincial Park
, Helliwell Provincial Park
, Ford's Cove, Heron Rocks and Whaling Station Bay. The island is also a popular mountain biking destination, with a variety of designated trails in Mount Geoffrey Regional Nature Park
, Mount Geoffrey Escarpment Provincial Park
and Crown Land. The total land area is 29.92 square kilometre.
with the retreat of the last ice age. Before the arrival of European settlers, the island was inhabited by the Pentlatch, a Coast Salish
First Nations
band. The island was found and named Isla de Lerena during the 1791 voyage of the Spanish ship Santa Saturnina, under Juan Carrasco
and José María Narváez
. The name honors the Spanish Finance Minister, Don Pedro López de Lerena, who supported the movement of Spanish Ships over there.
In 1850 the British renamed it after Rear Admiral Phipps Hornby
, then Commander of the Pacific Station
.
, Western red cedar, western hemlock
, grand fir
and lodgepole pine
are the other large conifers present. The smaller Pacific yew is scattered in the understorey. The arbutus
, a broadleaf evergreen species, is plentiful. Broadleaf deciduous trees include bigleaf maple
, red alder
, black cottonwood
, Pacific flowering dogwood, cascara
and several species of willow
. Populations of Garry oak
occur on the southern end of the island and at Helliwell Provincial Park. Only about 260 acres (1.1 km²) of undisturbed stands for older forest have been identified on Hornby Island, which amount to roughly 3.5% of the island's area. There are roughly 1330 acres (538.2 ha) of older second-growth stands on the island, which amount to 19% of the island.
The island's soils have developed from marine deposits of variable texture, except for the higher elevations and steeper slopes where weathered clastic sedimentary rock
provides the parent material. Most of Hornby's soils are sandy or gravelly, but some deep black loams occur in the northwestern part and many of the sands at the southern end have loam-textured topsoils. Podzols are common and the bleached sand grains associated with their eluvial (A2, Ae or E) horizons lend a salt-and-pepper appearance to many forest trails. In most cases, though, the E is not very thick and may be discontinuous. On this account, the soils were mostly classified as Brown Podzolic
in a soil survey published in 1959. All of the island's soils are strongly acidic in their natural state except for those which have developed on shoreline shell middens.
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...
, is a Northern Gulf Island
Gulf Islands
The Gulf Islands are the islands in the Strait of Georgia , between Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia, Canada....
parallel with Vancouver Island's Comox Valley
Comox Valley
The Comox Valley is a region on the east coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada that includes the city of Courtenay, the town of Comox, the village of Cumberland, and the unincorporated settlements of Royston, Union Bay, Fanny Bay, Black Creek and Merville. The communities of Denman...
.
A small community of 1,074 residents (as of the 2006 census
Canada 2006 Census
The Canada 2006 Census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. Census day was May 16, 2006. The next census following will be the 2011 Census. Canada's total population enumerated by the 2006 census was 31,612,897...
) is distributed across the island. The island is culturally distinctive as it was the site of a large immigration of American draft dodgers during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, and many of these people still live on the island. In recent years the island has become a major tourist destination and its population easily quadruples in size during the summer months. Though tourism is a primary source of income for Hornby, it has led to some water supply shortages. Most people reach the island by taking a BC Ferry
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...
to Denman Island from Buckley Bay
Buckley Bay, British Columbia
Buckley Bay is a geographical location on the east coast of Vancouver Island, located between Union Bay to the north and Fanny Bay to the south. It is the departure point for the BC Ferries crossing of Baynes Sound to Denman Island. It is accessible from both the Old Island Highway and from Exit...
on 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 then a 30-car ferry to Hornby.
The primary destinations on Hornby are Tribune Bay Provincial Park
Tribune Bay Provincial Park
Tribune Bay Provincial Park is a provincial park located on Hornby Island in British Columbia, Canada. It features a broad, crescent-shaped beach of white sand, Tribune Bay , and spring wildflowers. There are opportunities for canoeing, fishing, hiking, tennis, picnicking, and open water swimming...
, Helliwell Provincial Park
Helliwell Provincial Park
Helliwell Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada located on a headland at the southeast end of Hornby Island.The land, formerly a farm belonging to the Acton family, was donated by Mr. J. L. Helliwell. The park was established by Order in Council 2681 on September 16,...
, Ford's Cove, Heron Rocks and Whaling Station Bay. The island is also a popular mountain biking destination, with a variety of designated trails in Mount Geoffrey Regional Nature Park
Mount Geoffrey Regional Nature Park
Mount Geoffrey Regional Nature Park is regional park in British Columbia, Canada, located on Hornby Island. It covers an area of , including the summit of Mount Geoffrey, the highest point on the island....
, Mount Geoffrey Escarpment Provincial Park
Mount Geoffrey Escarpment Provincial Park
Mount Geoffrey Escarpment Provincial Park is a Class-A provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, located on the southwest coast of Hornby Island...
and Crown Land. The total land area is 29.92 square kilometre.
Island geology and history
The island is geographically distinctive as it was formed by post-glacial reboundPost-glacial rebound
Post-glacial rebound is the rise of land masses that were depressed by the huge weight of ice sheets during the last glacial period, through a process known as isostasy...
with the retreat of the last ice age. Before the arrival of European settlers, the island was inhabited by the Pentlatch, a 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...
First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
band. The island was found and named Isla de Lerena during the 1791 voyage of the Spanish ship Santa Saturnina, under Juan Carrasco
Juan Carrasco (explorer)
Juan Carrasco was a Spanish naval officer, explorer, and navigator. He is remembered mainly for his work in the Pacific Northwest during the late 18th century. He was second in command of the 1791 voyage of José María Narváez, the first European exploration of the Strait of Georgia.Many details...
and José María Narváez
José María Narváez
José María Narváez was a Spanish naval officer, explorer, and navigator notable for his work in the Pacific Northwest of present-day Canada. In 1791, as commander of the schooner Santa Saturnina, he led the first European exploration of the Strait of Georgia, including a landing on present-day...
. The name honors the Spanish Finance Minister, Don Pedro López de Lerena, who supported the movement of Spanish Ships over there.
In 1850 the British renamed it after Rear Admiral Phipps Hornby
Geoffrey Thomas Phipps Hornby
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Geoffrey Thomas Phipps Hornby GCB , was a British naval officer.-Early life:...
, then Commander of the Pacific Station
Pacific Station
The Pacific Station, often referred to as the Pacific Squadron, was one of the geographical divisions into which the Royal Navy divided its worldwide responsibilities...
.
Vegetation and soils
Hornby Island is mostly covered by mixed forest dominated by Douglas-firDouglas-fir
Douglas-fir is one of the English common names for evergreen coniferous trees of the genus Pseudotsuga in the family Pinaceae. Other common names include Douglas tree, and Oregon pine. There are five species, two in western North America, one in Mexico, and two in eastern Asia...
, Western red cedar, western hemlock
Western Hemlock
Tsuga heterophylla. the Western Hemlock, is a species of hemlock native to the west coast of North America, with its northwestern limit on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, and its southeastern limit in northern Sonoma County, California.-Habitat:...
, grand fir
Grand Fir
Abies grandis is a fir native to the Pacific Northwest and Northern California of North America, occurring at altitudes of sea level to 1,800 m...
and lodgepole pine
Lodgepole Pine
Lodgepole Pine, Pinus contorta, also known as Shore Pine, is a common tree in western North America. Like all pines, it is evergreen.-Subspecies:...
are the other large conifers present. The smaller Pacific yew is scattered in the understorey. The arbutus
Pacific Madrone
Arbutus menziesii, commonly known as the Pacific Madrone, is a species of Arbutus found on the west coast of North America, from British Columbia to California...
, a broadleaf evergreen species, is plentiful. Broadleaf deciduous trees include bigleaf maple
Bigleaf Maple
Acer macrophyllum is a large deciduous tree in the genus Acer.It can grow to be up to 35 m tall, but more commonly grows 15 m to 20 m tall. It is native to western North America, mostly near the Pacific coast, from southernmost Alaska to southern California...
, red alder
Red Alder
Alnus rubra, the Red alder, is a deciduous broadleaf tree native to western North America.-Description:It is the largest species of alder in North America and one of the largest in the world, reaching heights of 20–35 m. The official tallest red alder stands 32 meters tall in Clatsop County, Oregon...
, black cottonwood
Balsam poplar
The balsam poplars — also known as Populus sect. Tacamahaca — are a group of about 10 species of poplars, indigenous to North America and eastern Asia, distinguished by the balsam scent of their buds, the whitish undersides of their leaves, and the leaf petiole being round in cross-section...
, Pacific flowering dogwood, cascara
Cascara
Cascara may refer to:*Rhamnus purshiana, a plant known for its laxative properties*Cascara, a fictional Caribbean island in the film Water*Cáscara, a rhythm found in some Cuban music*Coffee cherry tea, from Spanish cáscara, meaning "shell, husk"....
and several species of willow
Willow
Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...
. Populations of Garry oak
Garry Oak
Quercus garryana, the Garry Oak, Oregon White Oak or Oregon Oak, has a range from southern California to extreme southwestern British Columbia, particularly southeastern Vancouver Island and the adjacent Gulf Islands. It grows from sea level to 210 m altitude in the northern part of its range, and...
occur on the southern end of the island and at Helliwell Provincial Park. Only about 260 acres (1.1 km²) of undisturbed stands for older forest have been identified on Hornby Island, which amount to roughly 3.5% of the island's area. There are roughly 1330 acres (538.2 ha) of older second-growth stands on the island, which amount to 19% of the island.
The island's soils have developed from marine deposits of variable texture, except for the higher elevations and steeper slopes where weathered clastic sedimentary rock
Rock (geology)
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
provides the parent material. Most of Hornby's soils are sandy or gravelly, but some deep black loams occur in the northwestern part and many of the sands at the southern end have loam-textured topsoils. Podzols are common and the bleached sand grains associated with their eluvial (A2, Ae or E) horizons lend a salt-and-pepper appearance to many forest trails. In most cases, though, the E is not very thick and may be discontinuous. On this account, the soils were mostly classified as Brown Podzolic
Brown podzolic
Brown podzolic soils are a subdivision of the Podzolic soils in the British soil classification. Although classed with podzols because they have an iron-rich, or spodic horizon, they are, in fact intermediate between podzols and Brown earths...
in a soil survey published in 1959. All of the island's soils are strongly acidic in their natural state except for those which have developed on shoreline shell middens.