JUST THE FACTS
British Columbia’s Gulf Islands
By Christopher Mason
• British Columbia’s Gulf Islands are comprised of
13 major islands and some 450 smaller islands.
• The 13 major Gulf Islands have a population of
23,000 residents, with about 25,000 people living on all the islands.
• Salt Spring Island is the most populous of the
Gulf Islands with 10,500 year-round residents.
• More than 50 petroglyphs can be found at Petroglyph
Park on Gabriola Island. The origins of the ancient carvings are
unknown.
• Galiano Island’s 1,100 residents rely on an average
annual rainfall of only 711 millimetres for their drinking water.
• Mayne Island used to house a prison for trouble-making
prospectors heading north for gold, which led some to call the
island "Little Hell." Today, the facility is a museum.
• Pender Islands (North and South Pender Islands
are joined by a one-lane bridge) are home to artifacts first discovered
in 1957, tracing First Nations’ settlement back 5,000 years.
• About 44 percent of Saturna Island’s 31 square
kilometres are protected by the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve,
leaving the rest of the island to the 350 residents.
• Salt Spring residents have developed their own currency,
called Salt Spring Dollars, which is accepted on-par with the
Canadian dollar by Salt Spring businesses.
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