Valdes Island#Cave
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name = Valdes Island
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| settlement_type = Island
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| image_skyline = Kayak-Valdes-BC.jpg
| imagesize = 250px
| image_caption = A kayak and a sunset on Valdes Island.
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| image_map = Gulf Islands map 2.png
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| map_caption = The Southern Gulf Islands, including Valdes.
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| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = Canada
| subdivision_type1 = Province
| subdivision_name1 = British Columbia
| subdivision_type2 = Land district
| subdivision_name2 = Cedar Land District
| subdivision_type3 = Region
| subdivision_name3 = Southern Gulf Islands
| subdivision_type4 = Regional District
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| leader_title = MP
| leader_name = Lisa Marie Barron (NDP)
| leader_title1 = MLA
| leader_name1 = Doug Routley (BC NDP)
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| area_total_km2 = 23
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| population_note = Population for Dissemination Block 59190308003
| population_total = 10
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| timezone = PST
| utc_offset = −8
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Valdes Island{{BCGNIS|23524|Valdes Island}} is one of the Gulf Islands located in the Strait of Georgia, British Columbia, Canada. It is across Porlier Pass from Galiano Island, which lies to the southeast. It has an area of {{convert|23|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=off}}, and is {{convert|1.6|km|mi|1|abbr=off}} wide by {{convert|16|km|mi|abbr=off}} in length. The island is popular with kayakers, boaters and has historically been the site of several human settlements.
Naming and early exploration
It is named for Spanish explorer Cayetano Valdés y Flores, who first came to the region in 1791{{Cite book | last =Walbran | first =Captain John T. | title =British Columbia Place Names, Their Origin and History | url =http://www.nosracines.ca/e/toc.aspx?id=3545 | place =Vancouver/Toronto | publisher =Douglas & McIntyre | year =1971 | edition =Facsimile reprint of 1909 | isbn =0-88894-143-9 | access-date =2014-07-06 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20160303220337/http://www.nosracines.ca/e/toc.aspx?id=3545 | archive-date =2016-03-03 | url-status =dead }} as a lieutenant serving under Captain Alessandro Malaspina on the Descubierta. Valdes returned later in 1792 as captain of the Mexicana to explore the area with Dionisio Alcalá Galiano who captained the Sutil.{{cite web |url=http://www.vancouverisland.com/Regions/towns/?townID=4115 |title=Valdes Island, British Columbia, Canada |website=www.vancouverisland.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060319073003/http://www.vancouverisland.com/regions/towns/?townID=4115 |archive-date=2006-03-19}} The island was given its name in 1859 by George Henry Richards, captain of {{HMS|Plumper|1848|6}}.{{cite book |last= Walbran |first= John T. |title= British Columbia Coast Names, 1592–1906 : to which are added a few names in adjacent United States territory, their origin and history |publisher= Ottawa Government Printing Bureau |year= 1909 |oclc= 317633225 |url= http://www.nosracines.ca/e/page.aspx?id=736899 |page= 501 |access-date= 2012-10-24 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120307132325/http://www.nosracines.ca/e/page.aspx?id=736899 |archive-date= 2012-03-07 |url-status= dead }}
Settlement
Currently there are few permanent residents on Valdes Island. One third of the island is set aside as three Indian reserves of the Lyackson First Nation.{{BCGNIS|33432|Lyacksun Indian Reserve 3}}{{BCGNIS|33434|Porlier Pass Indian Reserve 5}}{{BCGNIS|33435|Shingle Point Indian Reserve 4}}{{Cite web |url=https://fnp-ppn.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/fnp/Main/Search/FNReserves.aspx?BAND_NUMBER=646&lang=eng |website=Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada |publisher=Government of Canada |title=Indian and Northern Affairs Canada – Reserves/Settlements/Villages Detail |date=14 November 2008 |access-date=2010-03-26 }} At Shingle Point, which is the location of one of those reserves, the island shows evidence of human habitation from at least 5,000 years ago in the form of approximately 60 archeological sites.
=Brother XII=
Valdes Island was one of the locations of the colonies of the Aquarian Foundation, the BC-based cult run by Brother XII in the late 1920s and early 1930s The organization had several buildings on the island, of which little trace remains today. There were also rumours that money was buried on the island, but these have never been proven.
Cave
There is a cave in the middle of the island. According to legend, it runs under the sea to emerge on Thetis Island, but recent explorers have found that rockfalls have made remote parts too narrow for human passage. File:Cave on Valdes Island.jpg
Recreational activities
Wakes Cove Provincial Park and the Blackberry Point Campsite are located on the island. These two campsites, as well as an abundance of wildlife and unusual sandstone geology make this island a popular destination for recreational kayaking and camping. The Blackberry Point Campsite was the first campsite established as part of the BC Marine Trails Network by Peter McGee in the early 1990s.{{Cite web|url=http://www.bcmarinetrails.org/history.htm|title = BC Marine Trails: Paddling Vancouver Island, Gulf Islands, Broken Group, Johnstone Strait, Haida Gwaii, North and South Coast - BC Marine Trails Network: Connecting the BC coast}} The site at Wakes Cove is still undeveloped, lacking any facilities for campers, however there is an abandoned well along an overgrown road in the area. The Blackberry Point site has defined cooking and tenting spaces, trails from the beach as well as a composting toilet.
Orca whales are abundant around the island.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.lyackson.bc.ca/map2.html Land-use map of Valdes Island, Lyackson First Nation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706165602/http://www.lyackson.bc.ca/map2.html |date=2011-07-06 }}
{{Coord|49|05|N|123|40|W|display=title|region:CA_type:isle_source:GNS-enwiki}}
{{GulfIslands}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Islands of the Gulf Islands
Category:Unincorporated settlements in British Columbia