Vancouver Island

Vancouver Island is the largest island on the West Coast of North America, more than 450km long. Most of the population lives in the South-East, home to the highly civilized city of Victoria, The rest of the island comprises large tracks of wilderness, the most important of them being rugged Pacific Rim National Park, and a number of fishing villages such as Uclulet and Tofino, that have recently developped into beach resorts. The island is easily accessed by large regular ferries from several point. Note that the city of Vancouver is not on Vancouver Island, but on the main land. Both locations owe their name to British explorer Captain George Vancouver, who coordinated the hand-over of the Island from the Spanish to the British in 1792.