BRITISH COLUMBIA - B.C.
-B.C. is the most western province in Canada and the third-largest.
-Alberta is to the east, and the Yukon and NWT are north .
-The Pacific Ocean is to the west.
-There are many islands off the coast that are also part of B.C.
-Victoria, the capital city is on Vancouver Island.
-Vancouver is the third largest city in Canada.
-B.C.'s flower - Pacific Dogwood, bird - Stellar's Jay, tree - Western Red Cedar.
-motto - "Splendour without diminishment"
THE PEOPLE
-B.C. is the home to over 4.2 million people. (2005 population)
-The largest city is Vancouver. (population 2.1 million in 2005)
-The Northwest Coast Native peoples live in B.C.
-People came from Britain, Western Europe, East and Southeast Asia, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.
-B.C. has the largest Chinese community in Canada.
-The top 10 languages spoken are English, Chinese (including Cantonese and Mandarin), Punjabi, German, French, Tagalog, Spanish, Italian, Korean, and Dutch.
-Approximately 35,000 immigrants from around the world arrive each year.
HISTORY
-The first people to live in BC : Tlingit, Sekani, Haida, Nootka, Chilcotin and Shuswap.
-They fished for salmon and seals and hunted deer and elk.
-They built large wooden houses and carved totem poles.
-(1778) Captain James Cook a British explorer sailed to B.C.
-George Vancouver mapped the coastline.
-Fur trading posts were built.
-(1857-1858) Fraser Valley Gold Rush brought many people.
-B.C. became a province in 1871.
-Canadian government promised to build a railway to B.C.
-Thousands of Chinese labourers arrived to help build the railway.
-Many stayed when the railway was finished.
-British settlers came by train to the west coast.
LAND AND WATER
-The Fraser River is one of the largest rivers in Canada.
-Both the Fraser and the Columbia River flow into the Pacific Ocean.
-Ferry boats take people to and from the Islands off the coast.
-There are six national parks in B.C.
-Coastal Mountains and Rocky Mountains are two large mountain ranges.
RESOURCES/INDUSTRIES
-Forestry is the largest industry. Forest covers half of B.C.
-B.C, has the largest and oldest trees in Canada.
-B.C.'s mountains, parks and beaches attract many tourists.
-Mining is the third-largest industy.
(copper, coal, gold, silver, zinc, sulphur, asbestos)
-B.C. has the largest fishing industry in Canada.
(salmon, halibut, clams, cod, crab, oysters, rockfish, shrimp and herring)
-Fraser Valley has cattle and dairy farms and farms that grow fruit and flowers.
-There are many orchards in the Okanagan Valley.
( apples, cherries, peaches, apricots, and plums)
-The province is Canada's third-largest generator of hydro electricity.
-B.C. is Canada's second-largest natural gas producer.
-B.C. is the third-largest film and television production centre in North America (after New York and Los Angeles).
-Stanley Park in Vancouver is one of Canada's biggest city parks with an aquarium, gardens, beaches, trails and totem poles carved out of wood by the native people of the west coast.
-Tourists come to ski at Whistler Mountain and other ski resorts in B.C.
-Okanagan Valley is known for the warm weather, wineries and as a fruit-growing region.
