VICTORIA - CANADA |
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Victoria is a
Canadian city, and the provincial capital of British Columbia.
Victoria also refers to Greater Victoria including this municipality and
those immediately surrounding it. It is also a member municipality of the
Capital Regional District.
Location
It is near the southeastern tip of Vancouver Island, overlooking the Strait
of Juan de Fuca. Greater Victoria has a population of approximately 326,000.
It is the largest city on the island. (Some unfamiliar with the region
assume that Vancouver lies on Vancouver Island, but it is on the nearby
mainland.) The chief industry is tourism. The township of Esquimalt, which
forms part of greater Victoria, is the base for the Pacific Fleet of the
Canadian Forces. |
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Other Facts
According to Statistics Canada, Victoria's crime rate in 1999 was the 2nd
highest in the country(11,865 crimes per 100,000 population). By 2002
Victoria was now ranked 5th for overall crime (10,146 crimes per 100,000
population).
It is the seat of the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory. The oldest
Chinatown in Canada is also within Victoria. In the heart of downtown is the
Royal British Columbia Museum, with large galleries on local First Peoples,
Natural History and Modern History. North of the city on the Saanich
Peninsula are the Butchart Gardens, one of the biggest tourist attractions
on the island. There are also two National Historic Sites, Fisgard
Lighthouse and Fort Rodd Hill, an coastal artillery fort built in the late
1890s.
Victoria is home to several post-secondary institutions including University
of Victoria, Royal Roads University, and Camosun College. The city is served
by Victoria International Airport and several ferry terminals to Vancouver,
the Gulf Islands, and Washington state. |
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