Galiano Island
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Galiano Island is one of the Southern Gulf Islands between Vancouver Island and the mainland Pacific coast of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the Strait of Georgia, it is 27.5 kilometres long, 6 km at its widest point, and 1.6 km across at its narrowest point. On the western side of the island there are a series of sandstone caves. The island is northwest of Mayne Island, northeast of Saltspring Island and southeast of Valdes Island. It is part of the Capital Regional District Electoral Area G.
Named after the Spanish explorer Dionisio Alcalá-Galiano, who explored the area in 1792, the island is twinned with his home city - Cabra, Spain. Galiano was long inhabited by aboriginal people from a Coast Salish nation. Midden pits at Montague Harbour suggest 3000 years of inhabitance. According to the 2001 Canadian census, Galiano Island has 1,071 full-time residents. Industries of the past were logging and fishing, although today tourism and the arts are the most common methods of employment.
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[edit] Government
Government bodies that oversee the island include Federal, Provincial and Regional agencies 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 sharpend, 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.
[edit] Access
Galiano Island is accessible by vehicle via BC Ferries; 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) on Vancouver Island.
Moorage is available at several public wharfs for boat traffic. Harbour Air and SeaAir also operate scheduled sea planes to Montague Harbour.
Ferries from Swartz Bay (Victoria) and Tsawwassen (Vancouver) arrive at Sturdies Bay, the most densely populated part of the island.
Shops and restaurants on Galiano Island are mostly in the Sturdies Bay area. Galiano Island, like other Gulf Islands, is known for the work of its artists and craftspeople.
[edit] Montague Harbour Provincial Park
Montague Harbour is one of the most popular parks in the Gulf Islands, its campground is especially popular during the summer. The park includes a boat launch, nature house and hiking trails. The park is a haven for true British Columbian campers and tourists alike. 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.
Montague has a huge variety of animals and plants, including the arbutus tree, herons and cormorants. The island of Galiano alone has hundreds of different birds, many of which can be seen in Montague.
Montague Harbour is popular with the recreational boating community; the harbour is often crowded with yachts and sailboats during the warmer months June, July, and August. Kayaking is also a favourite activity in the waters off the park. It is not uncommon to paddle within metres of wildlife, such as seals and otters. And after a few hours paddling around one can visit a boat that sells fresh baked goods to boaters in the harbour.
[edit] Beaches
There are several beaches along the shorelines of the island. Pebble Beach is a beach with large pebbles in place of sand (not to be confused with the California community and golf course Pebble Beach). The pebbles, after sitting under the sun for hours, help not only warm up the water when the tide rises but warm the beach goers as they lie directly on them. Morning Beach is a beach on the north side of the island. The beach is the only one on the island to have pristine fine grey sand instead of coarse sand or shells. Cable Bay is small beach popular with locals for its seclusion.
[edit] People Born on Galiano Island
[edit] External links
