British Columbia Magazine

To mark British Columbia’s 150th anniversary, Victoria-based AbeBooks, an online marketplace for reading material (just purchased by Amazon), recently released a list of the 10 most expensive books about B.C. ever sold through the company’s website.

While I can’t fathom spending $1,500 on a book, I would love a peek at that leather-bound collection of Emily Carr’s artwork!

Here are their top five pricey picks; click here to check out the complete list.

1. David Thompson’s Narrative of his Explorations in Western America 1784-1812, ed. J.B. Tyrrell - $4,250This account of Thompson’s explorations in western Canada was published in 1916 and is one of only 550 copies.

2. The Journals of Captain James Cook on His Voyages, ed. J.C. Beaglehole - $1,750A collection of journal entries, written by Cook and his officers during three voyages (including his 1778 exploration of B.C.’s coast) and published in 1955.

3. The Art of Emily Carr, Doris Shadbolt - $1,500This signed, numbered, and leather-bound book contains reproductions of works by the celebrated Victoria-based painter and writer Emily Carr (1871-1945) and is one of only 250 copies.

4. British Columbia Historical Quarterly, various authors - $1,351An important historical resource, this book contains a complete collection of quarterly reports from 1937 to 1956 as well as photographs of prominent British Columbians.

5. Voyages From Montreal, on the River St. Laurence, through the Continent of North America, to the Frozen and Pacific Oceans; in the years 1789 and 1793, Sir Alexander MacKenzie - $1,250Explorer Alexander MacKenzie’s account of the first transcontinental exploration from the St. Lawrence River to the Pacific Ocean.

Did you know there are GIGANTIC cedar trees growing in a British Columbia rainforest more than 600 kilometres inland from the West Coast? B.C. is the only place in the world where inland temperate rainforest occurs in abundance. The zone is concentrated in the wettest valleys along the windward slopes of the Rockies and Columbia Mountains (including the Monashees, Selkirks, and Purcells).

Here are a few other surprising facts and figures from our Summer 2008 feature article on “The enchanted Incomappleux forest.”

1,500
Age, in years, of some of the oldest western redcedar trees growing in the Incomappleux River valley, in the Selkirk Mountains southwest of Glacier National Park.

9
Girth, in metres, of some of the largest Incomappleux redcedars—that’s more than three metres in diameter.

13,460
Total area, in square kilometres, of rare inland temperate rainforest in B.C., including the wet and very wet subzones.

100
Approximate distance, in kilometres, from the town of Revelstoke, along highways and logging back roads, to the quaint Mountain Hostel in the Incomappleux Valley.

During its heyday in British Columbia in the 19th century, Chinook jargon was used in law court proceedings, treaty negotiations, royal commissions, and church sermons, as well as for conducting everyday business. Developed to help facilitate communication between natives and non-natives, it was also embraced by newcomers to British Columbia because it connected them to each other, and to their new home, writes Frances Backhouse in “A Skookum language” in our Summer 2008 issues.

“Chinook jargon lives on today in many British Columbia and Pacific Northwest place names and colloquialisms,” she says. “Recognize any of the following?”

cheechako: newcomer
chuck: water
cultus: useless, worthless
hyak: fast, hurry, quickly
hyas pusspuss: cougar
malakwas: mosquito
salt chuck: ocean
tillicum: people, relatives
tyee: important, excellent

Moose antlers aren’t just for show—they’re nature’s version of a hearing aid.

Canadian scientists recently discovered that moose antlers—which, on a mature bull, can span 1.8 metres—amplify and funnel sound waves, improving sound reception by up to 20 percent. Moose rely on their unusually advanced hearing to detect the amorous utterings of potential mates.

“At rutting time, cow moose emit a long, quavering moan that is audible for up to three kilometres,” explain the authors of Moose in British Columbia, a report published by B.C.’s environment ministry.

“This call can attract a bull or bulls in forested terrain where visual contact is limited.” Scientists say the size, placement, and flexibility of a male moose’s ears may also bolster its ability to hear.

To listen to the mating call of a female moose, click here. 

For the past 50 years, the Canadian Forces have assisted with Parks Canada’s Avalanche Control (AVCON) program.  From November through April, teams of soldiers fire 105-millimetre Howitzers into snow-heavy slopes in the Rogers Pass area of  Glacier National Park, safely triggering avalanches. There are 18 gun platforms situated throughout the mountainous site for just this purpose.  The AVCON mission helps to protect the Trans-Canada Highway and Canadian Pacific Railway from winter slides, as well as backcountry hikers and skiers within Glacier National Park.  

Larry Pynn wrote about British Columbia’s endangered spotted owls in the Spring 2006 issue of British Columbia Magazine. See the issue here.

His article, illustrated with photography by biologist-photographer Jared Hobbs, won an Award of Merit for Nature Feature in 2007 from the International Regional Magazine Association (www.regionalmagazines.org).

NK’Mip Cellars in the south Okanagan Valley is North America’s first winery owned and operated by aboriginal people. The Osoyoos Indian Band supplies its winery with grapes grown in its Inkameep Vineyard.

More info: NK’Mip Cellars (www.nkmipcellars.com).

Who will be the winner in BC Hydro’s Turn It Off Challenge? The city workers of Pitt Meadows? Duncan? Nelson?For the past three months, the staffers at 66 local governments around B.C. have been doing their darnedest to conserve electricity where they work. Turning off unnecessary lights and appliances, installing compact fluorescent lightbulbs, shredding paper by hand–whatever it takes!By participating in the challenge, local governments are helping to demonstrate how all B.C. citizens can make relatively small changes that make a big difference when it comes to greater sustainability of B.C. resources.Kudos to all the cities, towns, and villages that opted to take part: see the full list below. We look forward to the announcement of the winning community later this month.  [UPDATE: See the winners here: http://www.beautifulbc.ca/blogs/2007/10/02/turn-it-off-part-2/]For more information, see the BC Hydro website at www.bchydro.com/turnitoff/Participants in the Turn It Off Challenge, June 1 to August 31, 2007:* City of Abbotsford* Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District* City of Armstrong* Village of Ashcroft* Village of Burns Lake* Capital Regional District* Cariboo Regional District* City of Castlegar* District of Chetwynd* Regional District of Comox-Strathcona* Cowichan Valley Regional District* City of Cranbrook* City of Dawson Creek* District of Delta* City of Duncan* Town of Fort Nelson* Fraser Valley Regional District* Town of Golden* City of Grand Forks* Greater Vancouver Regional District* Village of Harrison Hot Springs* District of Hudson’s Hope* District of Houston* Islands Trust* City of Kamloops* City of Kelowna* Regional District of Kootenay Boundary* Town of Ladysmith* Town of Lake Cowichan* District of Lantzville* District of Mackenzie* City of Merritt* Mount Waddington Regional District* Village of Nakusp* City of Nanaimo* City of Nelson* District of New Hazelton* City of New Westminster* District of North Cowichan* City of North Vancouver* District of North Vancouver* District of Oak Bay* Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen* City of Penticton* City of Pitt Meadows* Town of Port McNeill* City of Port Moody* Village of Pouce Coupe* City of Prince Rupert* Town of Qualicum Beach* Village of Queen Charlotte* City of Quesnel* District of Saanich* District of Sechelt* Squamish-Lillooet Regional District* District of Stewart* Village of Tahsis* City of Terrace* Thompson-Nicola Regional District* District of Tofino* City of Trail* Village of Valemount* City of Vernon* City of Victoria* District of West Vancouver* City of Williams Lake