Lecture 8: British Columbia Flashcards
Why is Vancouver so expensive to live?
Large immigration
Describe BCs population growth compared to the national average
Consitently outperforming it
Where do most residents in BC reside?
Lower mainland, Vic and Kelowna
What city, with its natural, mild climate, and diverse population is the ideal place for Richard Florida’s “culture class”
Greater Vancouver
What is the 6th most livable city in the world?
Van
Describe the trend of BC influence in the affairs of state (gov)?
Increasing political clout
Is BC dry or wet?
Both
Where are the two precipitation areas in BC?
- Pacific climatic zone (heavy precipitation)
- Interior - lower preceipiation
Describe the Forrests of BC
Old growth
What is the Great Bear Rainforest?
A UNESCO biosphere reserve where limited logging can take place, core areas of ancient forest can be PRESERVED, and first nations can FIND A PLACE in traditional and western socieities
Why are BC residents worried abt the Trans Mountain Pipeline?
Oil spills - like the Exxon Valdez spull in 1989 caused by human error
Why does Alberta want the pipeline to be built?
Without it, their oil prices will continue to fall below global oil prices
What underscores the BC/Alberta dispute?
BCs perceived lack of support for its interests in favour of national interets, a perception that runs deep in BCs history
What did Pipeline opposition cause?
5 year project delay
How many conditions must be met for the pipeline, and what “important benefits” would it deliver for Canada?
157 conditions and “increased access to diverse markets for Canadian oil” + “considerable governemtn revenues from the project”
How many municipalities and first nations have opposed the pipeline?
21 municipalities (including Van) and 17 First nations (including some in USA)
What is a big natural risk for the densely populated parts of BC?
Earthquakes
What is the pacific Ring of Fire?
volcanic and earthquake activity encirceling the Pacific Basin (where Van and Vic are)
What are the chances of the “Big One” happening and when?
It could happen at any given time → seismoliogists are convinced that a megathrust earthquake WILL strike the heavily populated region
Where was Canada’s largest earthquake and when?
8.1 in 1949 off cost of Haida Gwaii and also a pretty big one in 2012 7.7
What are two examples of problems that the 49th parrallel + COVID caused?
- Golfers at Fort Fairfield, Maine couldn’t golf at Aroostook Valley Country Club because the some holes were in NB, and to get to the clubhouse, you must drive to Four Falls, NB
- Southern tip of Tsawwassen Peninsula, BC is part of Washington State w/out road access to rest of America. The 1300 residents of Point Roberts, had nowhere to go, including cottages and even high school
Briefly explain the life cycle of the salmon in BC
Spend years in Pacific Ocean before returnin to Fraser and Skeena rivers (along with others) to spawn
What is a big problem for BC fishing industry?
Overexpoloitation → particulalry the valuable salmon stocks
What are the four sources of overexploitation of fish (especially salmon) stocks?
- Canadian commerical fishers
- American commercial fishers
- Aboriginaly fishery
- Sport fishery
They all want larger catches
What is the Pacific Salmon Treaty?
Agreement between USA and Canada, renewed in 2019, setting long term goals for sustainibility of this resource
What is the Rule of Capture?
Fish are common property until they are caught → fishers try to maximize their share so no one else takes “their fish”
What is the Tragedy of Commons?
Canadian gov cant regulate “canadian” salmon stocks, those that spawn in Canadian rivers, because they migrate to american waters, where the America fishing fleet harvests them
What physiographic region is most of BC within?
Cordillera
Trading with who is important for BC economy?
US Northwest and Pacific Rim
Why is BC’s population growing fast?
Many immigrants ariving to Van CMA from Asia
What are main traders the Pacific Rim that make up 25% of the products passing through BC’s ports?
Mainly China, Japan, and South Korea
Why is trade with BC and China developing?
China’s accelerating economy
What is the Pacific Gateway and Corridor?
A heavy invested progeram by provincial government that improves infrastructure to leading BC ports
Why is BC not considered a core even though the economy is growing?
Small manufacturing base
What is causing BC to be known as an upwards transitional periphery?
Growth in knowledge-based economy
Why did BC historical feel disconnected/alienated from rest of Canada?
The Rockies
What is the concept Cascadia?
Name for proposed for an independant country uniting BC, Oregon, and Washington
What are the Insular Mountains?
Located off coast of BC and form phsyical base for Haida Gwaii and Vancouver Island
Where are the plateaus in BC?
Between mountain ranges
Where are temperate rainforests found?
along the coast
Where are semi-arid conditions found in BC?
In parts of the interior
Is there tundra in BC? Where?
Yes, at high elevations
Why is BC a geologically active area?
One tectonic plate is subducteing beaneath another, strong earth quakes can produce tsunamis
Why is precipitation highly variable in BC?
Orographic effects
What is the Pineapple Express?
A flow of warm air in winter coming from Hawaii → results in mild temperatures and high precipitation
Why does Victoria receive 40% less precipitation than Van?
It is on the eastern side of the Insular Mountains
How much precipitation in Van falls in summer?
Only 11%
Describe the climate of the BC interior
Much drier, warmer summers and cooler winters than coastal BC
Where are Fjords common in BC?
Along the Vancouver Island-Coast
What region of BC has the mildest winters in Canada?
Vancouver Island-Coast due to moderation from Pacific Ocean
What are the major industries in Vancouver-Island Coast?
Forestry, fishing, and provincial government services in Victoria
What is the major agricultural region in BC?
Lower Mainland - Southwest
What region does most of BCs population resie?
Lower Mainland-Southwest
Kamloops and Kelowna are in this region that contains a mix of open range grasses, cattle ranches, forest, and some crops
Thompson-Okanagan
What is an important industry to the Thimpson-Okanagan region?
Tourism
What region do major transportation corridors pass through like the transcontinental railway?
Thompson-Okanagan
What region has small cities of Fernie, Cranbrook and Nelson and is seperated from AB by the Continental Divide?
Kootenay
What is Kootenay’s economy based on
Mining and tourism (both summer and winter )
What region of BC are pulp and paper mills important to?
Cariboo-Prince George
What is the regional service centre for Caribou-Prince George?
Prince George
What region of BC is somewhat isolated bordering Alaska?
Skein-North Coast
What is the largest city in Skeena-North Coast that has the second busines port on Canada’s west coast?
Prince Rupert
What is the economy of Skeena-North Coast based on?
Fishing, aluminium smelters, hydroelectric power, and toursim for Alaska cruises
What is the only region of BC that is in the Interior Plains region?
Northeast
Where is the only highway that connects Alaska and Yukon to the rest of Canada located?
Northeast
What is The Great Bear Rainforest?
Temperate rainforest and designated biosphere where logging is only permitted in small areas
What was the First Nations contriversy with the twinning of the pipelines? What did it lead to?
It was approved by 20 first nations elected councils but heditary chiefs of the Wet’suwt’en First nation did not orignally approve → led to rail blockades in BC
Who was BC first explored by?
Spanish, Russian, and British explorers
Why was there an influx of Americans to BC in the mid 1800s?
Gold rush
Why did Vancouver grow quickly originally?
As a trans-shipment point for exporting coal and lumber from interior BC and for gran coming from the prairies
On exam: What did John F Kennedy’s 1960 parilment speech say?
Canadians are neighbours because of geography, friends because of history, allies because of necessity, and partners because of economics
What are the most valuable fish species harvested along the BC coast?
Salmon, herring, Shellfish
Definition: Tragedy of the Commons
The destruction of the renewable resources that are not privately owned
What are the 4 main points afffecting the management of salmon?
- Spawn in rivers but migrate to oceans then return to rivers to spawn on a 5-year cycle
- Forestry and hydroelectricity industries have negatively impacted salmon spawning grounds
- Indigenous people are allowed to catch salmon fro sustinence
- Salmon spawned in BC have been harvested by other countries in international waters
What are 4 factors impacting downward trend of salmon catch size?
- Pollution of habitat
- Warming ocean temperatures
- Overfishing and high fish quotas
- Indigenous fishery
What makes ecporting minerals from BC challenging?
Mines are located far from the two ocean ports
Where is natural gas found in BC?
Northeast
What phyical geography features allow BC to be the 2nd bigegst hydroelectric power in Canada?
High elevation, steep-sided canyons, and fast flowing rivers, lots of precipitation
Why are large aluminium smelters located in Northern BC?
Low cost of electrical power due to nearby hydroelectric plants
Why was the (controversial) widening of Sea-to-Sky Highway done?
Meet growing tourism demands
Where does half of softwood lumber exports from Canada originate?
BC
What are the two major categories of BC forests?
Coast forest and interior forest
Why are coast forests possible? Why can the trees live so long?
Mild temperatures andf abundant rainfall → low risk of lightning induced forest fires allow old treesw
What are the 3 common species of BC coast forest species?
Fir, Cedar, hemlock
Why are trees smaller in BC Interior firsts? Do they have shorter lifespans?
Less rain, more prone to fires and drought - Yes they are smaller
What are the most common species of tree in BC Interior Forests?
Lodgepole pine, Ponderosa pine, and Mountain pine
What are the mountain Pine Beetles?
Not an invasive species, but global warming allows them to live longer in the winter and allows them to spread. They bore into trees and lay eggs and are very bad for the forest
What city is the largest port in Canada?
Vancouver
What province has the highest proportion of non-religious people?
BC
Why is there lots of fog over the water in BC?
The water is cold
How expensive is the average familiy dwelling in Vancouver relative to average household income?
11 times more
What has BC done to fight rising housing prices?
Implement a 15% tax on properties sold to foreign buyers
