From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
|
Beacon Hill
Park |
|
The totem pole in Beacon Hill
Park |
|
Type |
Public park |
|
Location |
Victoria, British
Columbia |
|
Opened |
1882 |
|
Operated by |
City of Victoria |
Beacon Hill Park is a 75 ha (200 acre) park
located along the shore of Juan de Fuca
Strait in Victoria, British Columbia.
The park is popular both with tourists and locals, and contains a
number of amenities including woodland and shoreline trails, a
playground, playing fields, a petting zoo, and landscaped
gardens.
The land was originally set aside as a protected area by Sir James Douglas, governor of
the Colony of Vancouver Island
in 1858. In 1882, the land was officially made a municipal park of
the City of Victoria, and given its present name. The name is
derived from a small hill overlooking the Strait, upon which once
stood navigational beacons. The hill is culturally significant,
having been a burial site for the First Nations Coast Salish people, who are the original
inhabitants of the Greater Victoria
region. It provides scenic vistas of the Strait and the Olympic
Mountains of Washington.
Although much of the park has been landscaped into gardens and
playing fields, and populated with various structures, a great deal
of the native flora has been preserved. Garry oak, arbutus, Douglas-fir, western redcedar,
camas, trillium, snowberry, Oregon grape, and fawn lily still remain in the park. Much of
the original wildlife has been extirpated by urban development, but
raccoons, skunks, squirrels, chipmunks, and a wide variety of birds are a
common sight. The ponds in the park are noted for their swans, turtles, ducks,
Canada geese, and blue herons.
The park is notable for a few human-made features, as well. Most
prominent is the world's fourth-tallest totem pole, a 38.8-metre (127 ft) work
carved by Kwakwaka'wakw craftsman Mungo Martin, and
erected in 1956. The pebble bridge over the stream between Goodacre
and Fountain Lake is a tribute to renown BC artist Emily Carr,erected by her
sister Alice Carr in 1945. Beacon Hill Park is also home to the
Cameron Bandshell, which hosts concerts throughout the spring,
summer, and fall. TheFinally, the southwestern tip of the park
contains "Mile 0" of the Trans-Canada Highway.
Gallery
External
links
Coordinates: 48°24′43″N 123°21′50″W / 48.412°N
123.364°W / 48.412;
-123.364
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