Portal:British Columbia

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The British Columbia Portal

British Columbia ⁱ/ˌbrɪtɨʃ kəˈlʌmbiə/ (BC) (French: la Colombie-Britannique, C.-B.) is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu ("Splendour without Diminishment"). In 1871, it became the sixth province of Canada. The capital of British Columbia is Victoria, the fifteenth largest metropolitan region in Canada. The largest city is Vancouver, the third-largest metropolitan area in Canada and the second-largest in the Pacific Northwest. In 2009, British Columbia had an estimated population of 4,419,974 (about two million of whom were in Metro Vancouver).

The province's name was chosen by Queen Victoria when the Colony of British Columbia and the Mainland became a British colony in 1858. It refers to the Columbia District, the British name for the territory drained by the Columbia River, which has its origins and upper reaches in southeastern British Columbia, which was the namesake of the pre-Oregon Treaty Columbia Department of the Hudson's Bay Company. Queen Victoria chose British Columbia to distinguish what was the British sector of the Columbia District from that of the United States ("American Columbia" or "Southern Columbia"), which became the Oregon Territory in 1848 as a result of the treaty.

More about...British Columbia, its history and diversity

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Did you know

...that John Sebastian Helmcken opposed British Columbia joining Canadian Confederation—until he negotiated the terms himself?

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The Cougar (Puma concolor), also Puma, Mountain Lion, Catamount or Panther, is a mammal of the Felidae family, native to the Americas. This large, solitary cat has the greatest range of any terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere other than humans,^[1] extending from Yukon in Canada to the southern Andes of South America. An adaptable, generalist species, the Cougar is found in every major New World habitat type. It is the second heaviest cat in the New World, after the Jaguar, and the fourth heaviest in the world, after the Tiger, Lion, and Jaguar, although it is most closely related to smaller felines.

A capable stalk-and-ambush predator, the Cougar pursues a wide variety of prey. Its primary food is ungulates such as deer, particularly in the northern part of its range, but it hunts species as small as insects and rodents. It prefers habitats with dense underbrush for stalking, but it can live in open areas.

The Cougar is territorial and persists at low population densities. Individual territory sizes depend on terrain, vegetation, and abundance of prey. While it is a large predator, it is not always the dominant species in its range, as when it competes for prey with animals such as the Gray Wolf. It is a reclusive cat and usually avoids people. Attacks on humans remain rare, despite a recent increase in frequency.^[2]

Due to persecution as a dangerous pest animal following the European colonization of the Americas, and continuing human development of Cougar habitat, populations have dropped in many parts of its historical range. In particular, the Cougar was extirpated in eastern North America, except an isolated sub-population in Florida; the animal may be recolonizing parts of its former eastern territory. With its vast range, the Cougar has dozens of names and various references in the mythology of the indigenous peoples of the Americas and in contemporary culture.

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James McMillan (1783-1858) was a fur trader and explorer for the North West Company and Hudsons Bay Company. He led some of the earliest surveys of the lower Fraser River and founded Fort Langley for the HBC in 1827, and was its first Chief Trader.

Born in Scotland, McMillan moved to North America at about age 20 and began work as a clerk for the North West Company in what is now Saskatchewan. Notably, he joined David Thompson's 1808 North West Company expedition west across the Rocky Mountains. ^[3] Later, he assisted in purchasing Astoria, Oregon from the Pacific Fur Company. ^[4] In June 1824, following the merger of the North West Company and the HBC, McMillan accompanied HBC Governor George Simpson from York Factory far west to the lower Columbia River, arriving in Fort George on November 8 of that year. Simpson described McMillan as a “Staunch & Manly Friend and Fellow Traveller”.^[3] Ten days later, Simpson assigned McMillan with commanding an expedition to survey the mouth of the Fraser River and assess it for navigability, settlement potential and agricultural suitability. ^[5] He led an exploration party of 40 men from Fort George to Puget Sound and on to Mud Bay, just east of present day Point Roberts. On local advice of a shortcut, McMillan's party proceeded east up the Nicomekl River through what is now South Surrey, British Columbia where they then portaged to the Fraser River. The expedition traveled and surveyed up the Fraser River as far as Hatzic Slough, before returning to Fort George.^[6]

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British Columbia News

Wikinews British Columbia portal

• November 3: Beleaguered British Columbia Premier resigns
• November 3: NuCaptcha introduces a video captcha service, ads included
• July 1: Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers face potential charges in Dziekanski tasering death
• June 30: Braidwood Inquiry finds Dziekanski tasering in British Columbia unjustified
• March 14: Avalanche in Canadian Rocky Mountains kills two

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WikiProject British Columbia

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Selected picture

The Empress Hotel, Canada's grand railway hotels, Fairmont Raffles Hotels International, Victoria, British Columbia

Author: Deadkid dk

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Quotations

"There is something bigger than fact: the underlying spirit, all it stands for, the mood, the vastness, the wildness.."

Source: Emily Carr quotes

...Archive/Nominations British Columbia on Wikiquote.

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WikiProjects

With direct relation to BC
WikiProject British Columbia	WikiProject Vancouver	WikiProject Canada
Other WikiProjects
WikiProject Toronto	WikiProject Ottawa	WikiProject Ontario
WikiProject Nova Scotia	WikiProject Newfoundland and Labrador	WikiProject Alberta

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Selected panoramic picture

The M/V Coho coming into port in the harbor in Victoria

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In the news

• October 21: Canadian actress Barbara Kent dies at age 103
• October 18: Ethics complaint by police dismissed by Ontario Press Council
• July 21: Davie Shipyard sale cleared by Québec court
• June 11: Bangkok blast injures two tourists
• June 11: Vivaldi Atlantic 4 break Canada-Europe record
• May 31: Atlanta Thrashers sold to True North Sports and Entertainment, moving to Winnipeg
• March 15: Dying Canadian infant moved to U.S. hospital for medical treatment
• March 13: Researchers identify genetic link to peanut allergies
• February 13: Canadian rapper Bad News Brown murdered in Montreal
• February 12: Canada's social insurance assets pass $140 billion in fourth quarter
• February 10: Air Canada back in the black in 2010
• February 10: City of Calgary, Canada removes fluoride from drinking water

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See also...Washington State

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