Hornby Island

Coordinates: 49°31′10″N 124°40′0″W / 49.51944°N 124.66667°W / 49.51944; -124.66667
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Hornby Island
Hornby Island as seen from the Hornby-Denman ferry
Hornby Island is located in British Columbia
Hornby Island
Location in British Columbia
Hornby Island is located in Comox Valley Regional District
Hornby Island
Geography
LocationSalish Sea
Coordinates49°31′10″N 124°40′0″W / 49.51944°N 124.66667°W / 49.51944; -124.66667
ArchipelagoGulf Islands
Area29.96 km2 (11.57 sq mi)
Administration
Canada
ProvinceBritish Columbia
Regional districtComox Valley
Demographics
Population1,225[1] (2021)
Pop. density40.9/km2 (105.9/sq mi)

Hornby Island of British Columbia, Canada, is one of the two northernmost Gulf Islands, the other being Denman Island. It is located near Vancouver Island's Comox Valley,

A small community of 1,225 residents (as of the

Buckley Bay, Vancouver Island. A growing number of private boats also visit through mooring at the Ford Cove Marina or anchoring at Tribune Bay. The closest airport is Comox Valley Airport in Comox
, which provides regional, national, and international service.

The primary destinations[according to whom?] on Hornby are Tribune Bay Provincial Park, Helliwell Provincial Park, Ford's Cove, and Whaling Station Bay. The island is also a popular mountain biking destination, with a variety of designated trails in Mount Geoffrey Regional Nature Park, Mount Geoffrey Escarpment Provincial Park and Crown Land. The total land area is 29.92 square kilometres (11.55 sq mi), of which 40% is parkland.

Island geology and history

Pedro López de Lerena, Count of Lerena

The island is geographically distinctive as it was formed by

Santa Saturnina, under Juan Carrasco and José María Narváez
. The name honors the Spanish Finance Minister, Don Pedro López de Lerena, Count of Lerena, who supported the movement of Spanish Ships over there. In 1850 the British renamed it after
Rear Admiral Phipps Hornby, then Commander of the Pacific Station
.

Vegetation and soils

A rocky beach on Hornby Island

Hornby Island is mostly covered by mixed forest dominated by

Garry oak occur on the southern end of the island and at Helliwell Provincial Park. Only about 260 acres (1.1 km2) of undisturbed stands for older forest have been identified on Hornby Island, which amount to roughly 3.5% of the island's area. There are roughly 1,330 acres (540 ha) of older second-growth stands on the island, which amount to 19% of the island.[2]

The island's soils have developed from marine deposits of variable texture, except for the higher elevations and steeper slopes where weathered

sedimentary rock provides the parent material. Most of Hornby's soils are sandy or gravelly, but some deep black loams occur in the northwestern part and many of the sands at the southern end have loam-textured topsoils. Podzols are common and the bleached sand grains associated with their eluvial (A2, Ae or E) horizons lend a salt-and-pepper appearance to many forest trails. In most cases, though, the E is not very thick and may be discontinuous. On this account, the soils were mostly classified as Brown Podzolic in a soil survey published in 1959. All of the island's soils are strongly acidic in their natural state except for those which have developed on shoreline shell middens.[3]

Fossils

The

baculite fossils at Boulder Point on Hornby Island.[4]
A species of saurodontid fish (previously considered a pterosaur) called Gwawinapterus was identified based on a fossil found on a beach on Hornby Island.[5] An actual azhdarchoid pterosaur was later identified from the formation, as well as Maaqwi, an early aquatic bird.[6][7] An incredibly diverse shark community is recorded in shark teeth fossils from the area.[8]

References

  1. ^ Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population
  2. ^ "The Natural Setting - Terrestrial Ecosystems". Hornbyisland.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-12. Retrieved 2011-07-04.
  3. ^ Day, J.H.; L. Farstad; D.G. Laird (1959). Soil Survey of Southeast Vancouver Island and Gulf Islands, British Columbia (Report). Department of Agriculture. BC6.
  4. ^ Pearsons Howard (1973), B.C. Gem Trails 4th addition.
  5. ^ "B.C.'s 1st pterosaur fossil identified | CBC News".
  6. PMID 27853614
    .
  7. PMID 29220405
    .
  8. S2CID 212878837
    .

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Hornby Island.

[1]

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