About British Columbia

British Columbia lies in a Northwest-Southeast orientation along the Pacific Coast of North America. The province is vast - 1,300 km long, (north-south) and 700 km wide (east-west), and is nearly four times the size of Great Britain. There are numerous mountain ranges, including the Coast Mountains, which include the highest peaks in Canada and stretch uninterrupted from Vancouver north to the Alaska border; and the famous Rockies that extend along the eastern border of the province. Dotted throughout these glacial peaks are alpine lakes, their waters such vivid hues of vermilion and turquoise they appear surreal. Hundreds of inlets and fjords pierce the Coast Mountains, creating cruising waters unlike any others.

The interior of the province offers lush and fertile valleys that produce some of the tastiest fruits and vegetables in North America. This includes numerous vineyards and wineries currently producing award-winning wines. Many large lakes and rivers provide excellent facilities for summer water sports, with British Columbia fishing being some of the best in the world.

High plateau and rolling ranchland are common features, and British Columbia even has its own pocket desert complete with cacti, rattlesnakes and dunes! Runoff from the thousands of mountains and glaciers create hundreds of rivers that can meander lazily across the plateau or rage in violent cataracts through canyons and chasms.

Off the Southwest coast of the mainland is 400 km-long Vancouver Island, the largest island on the coast of the Americas, while further north lies the mysterious archipelago of the Queen Charlotte Islands, shrouded in mist and rich with the legends and heritage of the Haida.

Interspersed throughout this varied landscape lie the cities and communities of British Columbia: busy yet beautiful cities, quiet and rural municipalities, industrious resource-based towns and charming villages tucked away in a picturesque corners of the province.