Saltspring Island

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Saltspring Island
Saltspring Island

Saltspring Island (also known as Salt Spring Island) is the largest, most populated, and most visited of the southern Gulf Islands of British Columbia, Canada. It was named by officers of the Hudson's Bay Company for the cold and briny saltwater springs on the north end of the island.

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[edit] History

Map showing the location of the Southern Gulf Islands
Map showing the location of the Southern Gulf Islands

Saltspring Island has been a seasonal home of the First Nations of the Coast Salish language group since the time of European settlement, and evidence suggests that permanent settlements existed for centuries before that, on the south coast of the island where the Tsawout Band Reserve is today. The WSANEC people of the Saanich Peninsula and the Cowichan people from the Cowichan Valley frequented the island's shores and harvested its resources.

The island was explored by the Spanish and British in the 1790s, and settled in the 1850s by early pioneers who had abandoned their Fraser River gold rush hopes. A group of 9 African-American slaves, who had purchased their liberty in the United States, arrived at Vesuvius in 1857.

Further black settlers, mainly from California, were followed by immigrants from Portugal and Scandinavia, and British and Hawaiian (Kanakas) settlers originally recruited by the Hudson's Bay Company. As well, from the 1890s onwards many Japanese settlers arrived on the island to fish. There are still descendants of all of these groups living on Saltspring Island.

Legend has it that during World War II a Japanese Zero fighter plane crash landed in this area and the wreckage lies on the peak of one of the many mountains on this island.

In the 1960s and 1970s many young people moved to the island attracted by the carefree artisan lifestyle and the mild climate. During the Vietnam war, the "hippie" lifestyle attracted many draft dodgers and those opposed to the US-led war.

In 2001, Saltspring began a new initiative to promote the island. Salt Spring Dollars were first issued on September 15. Purchased from select stores on the island at par with the Canadian Dollar, they are valued only on the island. A new .999 fine, 1/2 oz (14 g) silver coin was minted in November 2006.

Today Saltspring is home to many. This includes retired people from all over the world who seek the quiet life and mild winters, and artisans who enjoy the creative environment on the island, fostered by the many galleries and artists.

[edit] The name Saltspring Island or Salt Spring Island

The Government of British Columbia notes (with references) that Hudson's Bay Company officers named the island Saltspring Island, as shown on maps in 1855 and 1856, although today half the residents prefer the "Salt Spring" spelling. [1] The Oxford Dictionary of Canadian Place Names indicates it was called Salt Spring Island by the Hudson's Bay Company in the early 1800s. In 1910 the name was verified as Saltspring by the Geographic Board of Canada, which often fused multiple-word place names. Canada Post accepts both spellings of the name.

[edit] Other names on the island

The town of Ganges was named for HMS Ganges, which was stationed there between 1857 and 1861. HMS Ganges was a 2nd rate, 2,284 tons, 84 gun warship of the British Royal Navy. Similarly the village of Vesuvius Bay was named for HMS Vesuvius. Baynes Peak, more commonly referred to as Mount Maxwell, is in the central part of Saltspring. It is named for Rear Admiral Baynes, the commanding military officer during the Governancy of James Douglas, formerly of the Royal Navy base in Callao, Peru.

"Captain Richards when surveying here evidently wished to associate the island with Rear Admiral Baynes, commanding at the time, the Pacific station, his flagship, staff and officers etc. He therefore named the second highest mountain Baynes, after the Admiral; Ganges Harbour after the flagship; Fulford Harbour after the captain; Burgoyne Bay after the commander; Southey Point after the Admiral's secretary; Mount Bruce after the previous commander in chief; and Cape Keppel after a friend of Admiral Baynes." from British Columbia Coast Names, by John T. Walbran.

[edit] Geography and terrain

View of Fulford Harbour from Mount Maxwell
View of Fulford Harbour from Mount Maxwell

Saltspring Island, in the Capital Regional District is the most densely populated of the Gulf Islands and is also home to the largest Gulf Island provincial campground, Ruckle Provincial Park. The island's shoreline is varied and beautiful, offering rocky shores, tidal pools to explore, shell beaches for beachcombing, and a wide variety of sandy beaches. Of the 22 ocean beaches, 4 are designated for swimming.

Many of the beaches which developed thousands of years ago now lie well above sea level and have left Saltspring Island with thick deposits of sand which is often gravelly. Finer-textured soils are more scattered, except in the Fulford Valley, where they are dominant. Shallow, stony loams are common over sedimentary rock. Stony sandy loam is the usual soil cover on more mountainous terrain. Brown podzolic soils dominate the well-drained areas; gleysols and mucks occupy poorly drained sites.

The rugged and mountainous southern end of the island is dominated by Mount Tuam and Mount Bruce, separated from the equally mountainous mid-island region by the Fulford Valley, between Fulford Harbour and Burgoyne Bay. The central part of the island is dominated by Mt. Maxwell (Baynes Peak) and Mount Erskine. The north end of the island has much lower elevations, with rolling pastures, deciduous forests and the majority of residential developments, mainly around the village of Ganges.

The island is home to 8 freshwater lakes, distinguishing itself from the rest of the Gulf Islands, 5 of them with public beaches. St Mary's is the largest, though Stowell Lake, Weston Lake, and Cusheon Lake may be more favourable for warm freshwater swimming.

Saltspring Island is 29 km (18 miles) long and up to 14 km (9 miles) wide, with 133 km (83 miles) of shoreline and 182.27 km² (70.37 sq mi) of land area. The island attracts visitors and prospective residents with its mild climate and annual sunshine in excess of 2,000 hours. The population of the island was 9,279 as of the 2001 census.

Saltspring Island is home to the Crow's Nest Ecological Research Area, a 73 acre (30 ha) ecological preserve owned by Trinity Western University. The research area, used for natural science study tours and research projects for students of the university, is also home to some of the few remaining Garry oak (Quercus garryana) meadows in British Columbia. Those meadows and their associated ecosystems contain more plant species than any other terrestrial ecosystem in coastal B.C., as well as a multitude of other creatures, including many species found nowhere else in Canada.

[edit] Location and access

A floatplane at the village of Ganges, Saltspring Island.
A floatplane at the village of Ganges, Saltspring Island.

Saltspring Island is located in the sheltered waters of the Southern Gulf Islands of British Columbia. Because of its close proximity to Vancouver Island, Saltspring is the most accessible of the Gulf chain of islands, with the most frequent ferry sailings on three routes to three ferry terminals. BC Ferries links Fulford Harbour with Swartz Bay (near Sidney), and also links Vesuvius to Crofton on Vancouver Island. There is a BC Ferries dock in nearby Long Harbour with a link to Tsawwassen, on the BC mainland. Floatplane service provided by Salt Spring Air, Harbour Air and Seair also link the village of Ganges to Vancouver, Victoria and Seattle.

[edit] Tourism and artistic culture

Saltspring Island has many redeeming qualities for the wandering tourist, but arguably its market is one of its biggest draws. Each Saturday the harbourside paths of Centennial Park come alive with 150 local vendors, and the hundreds, if not thousands, of visitors who come to buy unique (mostly organic) foods, crafts and art that symbolize Saltspring's idyllic lifestyle. Begun in 1975, vendors started selling goods out of their cars in a dirt parking lot. But as its popularity increased, the Saturday Art and Farmer's Market became more organized, culminating in 1992 when a move by the island's Parks and Recreation Commission created a system limiting vendor permits to Gulf Islands residents who must "Make it, Bake it, or Grow it." When introduced, the new regulations created resentment and many vendors moved to less regulated venues. Now, most agree that the changes were necessary. (Source: Canadian Geographic Online)

In 2007, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) licensed Saltspring Island's first local radio station. CFSI-FM is currently scheduled to launch in the spring of 2008.

[edit] Notable residents

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] External links

v • d • e
The Gulf Islands of British Columbia
Southern Gulf Islands
Northern Gulf Islands

Coordinates: 48°50′N, 123°30′W