British Columbia

British Columbia, or simply BC;
(French: la Colombie-Britannique) is
the westernmost of Canada's provinces.
It was the sixth province to join the
confederation of Canada (in 1871). As
of 2001, the population is 4,095,934
(British Columbians).

Its capital is Victoria, at the
extreme south east of Vancouver
Island. Its largest city is Vancouver,
which is in the southwest corner of
the mainland of Canada (the city is         Motto: Splendor Sine Occasu
near, but not on Vancouver Island).      (Splendour without diminishment)
Other major cities include Surrey,               [Provmap-bc.png]
Burnaby, Richmond, New Westminster in  Capital               Victoria
the Greater Vancouver Regional
District (GVRD), Nanaimo on Vancouver  Largest city          Vancouver
Island, and Kelowna, Kamloops, and                           5th largest
Prince George in the "interior" of the Area                  (3rd lgst
province.                                                    prov.)
                                       Ê- Total              944 735
British Columbia is located on the     Ê- % fresh water      km²
extreme west of Canada, on the Pacific                       2,1%
coast. It is bounded on the northwest
by the U.S. state of Alaska, on the    Population            Ranked 3rd
north by Yukon and the Northwest       Ê- Total (2001)       4 095 900
Territories, on the east by Alberta,   Ê- Density            4,34/km²
and on the south by the states of      Admittance into
Washington, Idaho, and Montana.        Confederation
                                       Ê- Date               1871
British Columbia started as two        Ê- Order              7
British colonies, Vancouver Island and Time zone             UTC -8 & -7
New Caledonia. The colony of Vancouver
Island was created in 1849; New        Postal information    Ê
Caledonia was created in 1858; and the Postal abbreviation   BC
two merged in 1866. The two colonies   Postal code prefix    V
agreed upon the name British Columbia  ISO 3166-2            CA-BC
for the newly created political        Parliamentary         Ê
region.                                representation
                                       ÊSeats in the House   34
The Cariboo region ("Central           ÊSeats in the Senate  6
Interior") of British Columbia, then
New Caledonia, experienced a gold rush                       Gordon
in the years of 1862-1865. This        Premier               Campbell
created a rapid influx of miners and                         (Lib.)
settlers, about 30,000 in all. This
period in the province's history is    Lieutenant-Governor   Iona
                                                             Campagnolo
acknowledged today in the Gold Rush
Trail: historic and other sites along     Government of British Columbia
the route from Lilloet to Barkerville and beyond. Some of the towns along
this route are numbered according to their distance from the end of the
navigable part of the Fraser River at Lilloet. Best known of these is the
town of 100 Mile House which, along with the residential hub of 108 Mile
Ranch, forms a substantial trading, tourism, and population centre for this
region.

Several factors played in the decision of British Columbia to join the
Dominion of Canada in 1871. These were the fear of annexation into the
United States, the overwhelming debt created by rapid population growth and
the need for government-funded services to support this population, and the
end of the gold rush creating a slight economic depression.

The decision to join Canada was made largely because the Canadian government
offered to link British Columbia to the more settled parts of Canada via the
Canadian Pacific Railway and offered to pay off the $1,000,000 British
Columbian debt. British Columbia itself is today served by BC Rail, Canada's
third largest railroad. On July 20, 1871, British Columbia became a member
of the Dominion of Canada.

British Columbia is renowned for its spectacular scenery which forms the
backdrop and context for a growing outdoor adventure and ecotourism
industry. The Okanagan region is one of the premier wine-growing regions in
Canada. Small rural towns Penticton, Oliver or Osoyoos provide hospitality
to visitors from around the world.

Much of Vancouver Island is covered by a temperate rain forest.