Columbia, BRITISH, is a province of the Dominion of Canada, bounded in the N. by the 60th parallel of latitude; on the S. by the United States; on the W. by the Pacific Ocean and part of Alaska; and on the E. by the provisional districts of Alberta and Athabasca (North-west Territories). The area of the province is recorded as 390,344 sq. m., including Vancouver Island (14,000 sq. m.) and Queen Charlotte Islands (5100 sq. m.). The last named consist of a group of about 150 islands, their united length being 156 miles, lying about 200 miles north-west of Vancouver Island. British Columbia was practically under the control of the Hudson Bay Company until 1858, when owing to the discovery of gold, and the consequent immigration of miners, it was made a crown colony. Vancouver Island was made a crown colony in 1849, and leased to the Hudson Bay Company for ten years. The two colonies were united in 1866, and the province joined the Canadian Confederation on 20th July 1871.
The scenery is rugged and picturesque, being diversified with mountain, lake, and river. Between the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains (highest peaks, Mount Brown, 16,000 feet, and Mount Hooker, 15,700 feet) and the sea the whole of the space is occupied to a considerable extent by spurs and outlying groups belonging to that chain. In the immediate vicinity of the coast these form a nearly continuous line of mountains of moderate elevation, known as the Cascade Range. The territory is well watered by rivers which have their origin in the highlands, and find their way into the Pacific Ocean. Of the rivers the most important is the Fraser, 800 miles long, and 600 yards wide at its principal outlet in the Gulf of Georgia, the arm of the sea which separates Vancouver Island from the mainland. Other rivers in British Columbia are the Columbia (which has only its upper portion within the province), the Stickeen, the Skeena, and the Finlay.
Many varieties of climate are found in this province. That of Vancouver Island and the coast of the mainland is very similar to that of the south of England. The interior of the mainland is divided as to climate into three zones—the south, the middle, and the north. The south lies, for the most part, between the 49th and 51st parallels N. lat., and the fall of rain and snow in this district is slight. It contains a good deal of grass or pasture lands, but for arable purposes the land requires irrigation. Between 51° and 53° N. lat. is the middle zone; it includes the high mountains west of the Columbia, contains dense forests, and the rainfall is considerable. The north zone lies between 53° and 60° N. lat.
Population.—In 1881 the population according to the census returns was 49,459, including 25,661 Indians. It was, in 1888, estimated at between 70,000 and 80,000; in 1891 it was 98,170. On Vancouver Island are Victoria, the capital (22,000 inhabitants), and Nanaimo (5000); on the mainland there are New Westminster (8000), formerly the capital of British Columbia, and Vancouver (30,000), the terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The Indians of British Columbia are as a rule law-abiding and industrious. The coast Indians live largely by hunting and fishing, and are also employed in connection with the lumber industry and the salmon-canneries.
The province is represented in the Dominion Senate by three members, and in the House of Commons by six. The provincial government is administered by a lieutenant-governor, appointed and paid by the Dominion, and a Legislative Assembly of 33 members, elected by the inhabitants. Education is compulsory and free between the ages of seven and twelve.
The province is not likely to become an agricultural country, but there is a considerable area of land available for arable and pastoral farming both on Vancouver Island and on the mainland in the river-valleys. On the west of the island but little arable land is to be found. The principal settlements are upon the east and south coasts, but good land is still to be found on the east coast, and also on the north. The rich valley of the lower Fraser, or New Westminster district, is the largest compact agricultural area on the mainland. There are large tracts of alluvial soil farther up the Fraser and along some of its most important tributaries. Of the total area (say 250,000,000 acres) only about 500,000 acres are as yet occupied. The fruit-growing industry is expected to become important, but it is still in its infancy. The principal industries of the province are connected with the mines, the fisheries, and the forests. The minerals form one of its chief resources. Gold, coal, silver, iron, copper, galena, mercury, platinum, antimony, bismuth, molybdenum, plumbago, mica, and other minerals have been discovered in different parts, copper being very widely distributed. The value of gold produced in 1898-99 was 2,844,563; of silver, 2,375,841; of lead, 1,077,581; and of copper, 874,781. The quartz-mines have hardly been touched; all the metal hitherto secured has come from the alluvial deposits. Coal and lignite are known to exist in many parts of the mainland. At Nanaimo, on Vancouver Island, there is a large coalfield, and the mines are the most important on the Pacific coast; in 1898, 1,117,915 tons were raised, of which the greater part was exported to the United States. Nanaimo is connected by rail with Esquimalt, the headquarters of the Pacific squadron and the site of a large graving-dock. Iron is found in many localities. The fisheries are rapidly growing in importance, the annual value of the produce being 4,000,000. The seas, bays, gulfs, rivers, and lakes of the province swarm with food-fishes. There are numerous salmon-canneries in operation. The fur-sealing industry in the Pacific is also a valuable one. But little timber has yet been cut, notwithstanding the immense forests of magnificent trees that abound in British Columbia. The important commercial trees are the Douglas-pine, Menzies fir, yellow cypress, and maple, and the shipments so far have been chiefly to Australia, South America, the Cape, and China. The annual output of timber is about 500,000,000 feet, the produce of about 60 mills. The total value of the exports of the province in 1898-9 was 14,748,733, and of the imports 8,414,738, a great portion of the trade being with the United States. The annual revenue was 1,439,623, and the expenditure $2,001,031.
Until the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1885, British Columbia was isolated from the rest of the Dominion; now everything points to a rapid development of its resources. It occupies a favourable position for trading with the west of South America; and it is hoped that it may become the entrepôt for a through trade between Canada, China, and Australia. Lines of steamers now connect Vancouver, Hong-kong, and Australasian ports; the route for a Pacific telegraph eable between British Columbia and Australia has been discussed, and an 'all-British' route from this province thither was being surveyed in 1897-98. The recent discovery of gold in the Yukon gave a fillip to trade. See A. Begg, History of British Columbia (1896), and F. Macnab's British Columbia for Settlers (1898). See also DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.