CNHS - Exploration of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, B.C.
Posted by: 
The A-Team
N 48° 24.696 W 123° 19.242
10U E 476268 N 5362099
Located in Walbran Park in Victoria, BC.
Waymark Code: WMHN04
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Date Posted: 07/25/2013
Views: 7
Competition for sovereignty and trade drew Europeans to the Pacific Northwest coast in the 1780s. Although long known to First Nations people, the strait received its present name in 1788, when John Meares christened it for the Greek pilot who claimed to have ventured there in 1592. In 1792, Spanish and British expeditions entered the strait, circumnavigated Vancouver Island, and proved that this was not the Northwest Passage. Surveys from these voyages served the immediate territorial ambitions of rival European empires and provided a firm basis for later commercial ventures.
This event was designated a National Historic Event on June 4, 1924. A cairn was built and the original plaque installed on top of Gonzales Hill and unveiled on November 19, 1925 by Robert Barkley, the great-grandson of the discoverer of the Strait. The plaque has since been replaced with a newer version.
Classification: National Historic Event
Province or Territory: British Columbia
Location - City name/Town name: Victoria
Link to Parks Canada entry (must be on www.pc.gc.ca): [Web Link]
Link to HistoricPlaces.ca: Not listed
|
Visit Instructions:As a suggestion for your visit log, please make every effort to supply a brief-to-detailed note about your experience at the Waymark. If possible also include an image that was taken when you visited the Waymark. Images can be of yourself, a personal Waymarking signature item or just one of general interest that would be of value to others. Sharing your experience helps promote Waymarking and provides a dynamic history of your adventures.