victoria, british columbia

Victoria is a Canadian city, and the provincial capital of British Columbia. Victoria also refers to Greater Victoria including this municipality and those immediately surrounding it. It is also the seat of the Capital Regional District.

Location and population

Located near the southeastern tip of Vancouver Island, and overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Greater Victoria has a population of approximately 335,000. It is the largest city on Vancouver Island (not to be confused with the city of Vancouver, which lies two hours northeast by ferry on the British Columbia mainland). The city's chief industries are tourism and government. The township of Esquimalt, which forms part of greater Victoria, is the base for the Pacific Fleet of the Canadian Forces. Victoria is the southernmost city in western Canada, as it is located below the 49th parallel.

History

Founded in 1843 as Fort Camosun, a Hudson's Bay Company post, the city was later called Fort Victoria. When Vancouver Island became a crown colony, a town was laid out on the site and made the capital of the colony. With the discovery of gold on the British Columbia mainland in 1858, Victoria became the port, supply base, and outfitting centre for miners on their way to the Cariboo gold fields. In 1866 when the island was politically united with the mainland, Victoria remained the capital of the colony and became the provincial capital in 1871.

Climate

Victoria's climate is temperate, with daily temperatures rarely rising above 30C (86F) or falling below 0C (32F). In January, the average daily high and low temperatures are 7.0C (44.6F) and 3C (37.4F), respectively. In July, Victoria enjoys the moderating effects of the Pacific Ocean, averaging a daily high of 19.8C (67.6F) and low of 11.3C (52.3F). The record daily high temperature was 35.0C (95.0F) on July 16, 1941, and the record daily low temperature was -15.6C (3.9F) on January 28, 1950. Victoria experiences a moderately wet winter, but suffers from drought-like conditions during the summer. The average January precipitation is 94.3 mm (3.7 inches), compared to just 14.0 mm (0.5 inches) in July. In January, Victoria receives an average of 15.2 cm (6.1 inches) of snow, a figure skewed by the record-breaking Great Blizzard of 1996, when the city was buried under 120 cm (4 feet) of snow, receiving 64.5 cm (25.8 inches) in just one day. However, with a mean snow depth of 1 cm in December and January, Victoria is often called "Lotus-Land". Victoria's equable climate has also added to its reputation as the "City of Gardens". With its mild temperatures, plentiful sunshine (2193.3 hours annually) and relatively dry, semi-Mediterranean climate, Victoria boasts gardens that are home to many plant species rarely found elsewhere in Canada. Several species of palms, eucalyptus, and certain varieties of bananas can be seen growing throughout the area's gardens. Southern Vancouver Island is also home to Canada's only native broadleaf evergreen tree, which grows along the West Coast south to California (where it is sometimes called the Madrona).

Note: climate statistics from the Victoria Gonzales Heights weather station. More information:http://www.climate.weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/climate_normals/

Other facts

According to Statistics Canada, Victoria's crime rate in 1999 was the 2nd highest in the country (11,865 crimes per 100,000 population). By 2002, Victoria was ranked 5th for overall crime (10,146 crimes per 100,000 population). These figures, however, represent the skewing effect of considering(Hi) crimes committed in "downtown" Victoria in relation only to the "downtown" population. The Greater Victoria area comprises 13 separate municipalities (total pop. 335,000). The City of Victoria (pop. 78,000) acts as "downtown" for all of the outlying municipalities, hence the counter-intuitive, inflated crime figures.

It is the seat of the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory. The oldest Chinatown in Canada is also within Victoria. In the heart of downtown is the Royal British Columbia Museum, with large galleries on local First Peoples, Natural History and Modern History. North of the city on the Saanich Peninsula are the Butchart Gardens, one of the biggest tourist attractions on the island. There are also two National Historic Sites, Fisgard Lighthouse and Fort Rodd Hill, a coastal artillery fort built in the late 1890s. The city is served by Victoria International Airport and several ferry terminals to Vancouver, the Gulf Islands, and Washington state. People born in Victoria include: