Vancouver Island has an extraordinary diversity of geography, climate and wildlife. Separated from the rest of British Columbia by the Strait of Georgia, it boasts rugged mountains, temperate rain forest and a west coast lined by rocky shores and spectacular beaches. Its landscape is dominated by the hemlock, the Sitka spruce and the red cedar (whose fragrant, rot-resistant timber served as raw material for much of the region’s native culture). Located at its tip, Victoria is British Columbia’s charming capital.