were stronger and often cheaper than
stone. By 1850 some bridges were
strong enough to support trains.
Concrete became a popular bridge
material in the 1900s. Today engineers
continue to improve bridge-building
techniques.
..More to explore
Concrete • Road • Steel
Bridgetown
Population
(2004
estimate), urban
area, 99,100
Bridgetown is the capital of Barbados,
an island country in the Caribbean Sea.
About half the country’s people live in
the Bridgetown area. The city has the
only seaport in Barbados. Shipping,
banking, and tourism bring money to
Bridgetown. Factories in the city process
sugar and rum.
For a long time Barbados was a British
colony. The British founded the town in
1628. Fires destroyed much of Bridgetown
several times. A disease known as
cholera killed about 20,000 people there
in 1854. In 1966 Barbados became an
independent country with Bridgetown
as its capital.
..More to explore
Barbados
Romans built the Pont du Gard more than 2,000 years ago. The bridge crosses the Gard
River in southern France.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Bridgetown 131
British Columbia
Canada’s only Pacific coast province
is British Columbia. It is a
scenic land of snowcapped peaks,
rushing rivers, and rugged seacoasts.
British Columbia was one of the last
parts of North America to be explored
by Europeans. The capital is Victoria.
Geography
Only the southern half of British
Columbia has a coastline on the Pacific
Ocean. The northern half borders the
U.S. state of Alaska to the west. North
of British Columbia are Yukon and the
Northwest Territories. Alberta lies to the
east. The U.S. states of Montana, Idaho,
andWashington are to the south.
Most of British Columbia is mountainous.
The ranges include the Rocky
Mountains and the Coast Mountains.
Between the mountains are plateaus and
valleys. Most of British Columbia’s rivers,
including the Fraser and the Columbia,
flow to the Pacific Ocean. Along the
coast are hundreds of islands. The largest
is Vancouver Island in the southwest.
People
About two thirds of British Columbia’s
people have roots in Great Britain or
Ireland. Many others have ancestors
from Asia, especially China. British
Columbia has a greater variety of American
Indian peoples than any other part
of Canada. They include the Kwakiutl,
the Nootka, the Haida, and the Salish
(Flathead).
Most of British Columbia’s people live
in the south, near the U.S. border.
About 85 percent of the people live in
cities or towns. Vancouver is the largest
city in the province and the third largest
in Canada. Victoria is the second largest
city.
Economy
Natural resources are key to the
economy of British Columbia. Huge
forests, especially along the coast, provide
wood that is made into lumber,
wood pulp, and paper. Fishing in the
rivers and off the coast brings in valuable
catches of salmon, halibut, herring, and
shellfish. Seafood processing is an
important industry. Mines in the prov-
132 British Columbia BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
ince produce copper, gold, zinc, coal,
natural gas, and oil. British Columbia
does not have much good farmland
because the land is too mountainous.
But farmers grow fruits and vegetables
and produce dairy products.
Most workers in British Columbia have
jobs in service industries such as
tourism, finance, real estate, health care,
and sales. Millions of people visit the
province each year, especially to see its
spectacular scenery. The money those
people spend is important to the
economy.
History
About 80,000 American Indians lived in
what is now British Columbia when
European explorers arrived. The British
sea captain James Cook visited the coast
in 1778. In 1792 another British
explorer, George Vancouver, sailed
around the island that was later named
for him. In 1793 the Scottish explorer
and fur trader Alexander Mackenzie
reached the Pacific coast after traveling
overland from the east. Fur-trading
companies, including the Hudson’s Bay
Company, set up trading posts and forts
in the region.
In the 1800s Americans began to settle
in the region that is nowWashington
and Oregon. For years the British and
U.S. governments disagreed about the
border between their lands. In 1846 the
border was set, and Vancouver Island
became British territory. In 1849 the
British made the island a colony.
Gold was discovered on the Fraser River
in 1858, and thousands of people came
to the mainland in search of riches. The
mainland was made a colony that same
year. In 1866 the island and the mainland
were combined to form the colony
of British Columbia. In 1871 British
Columbia became a province of Canada.
A railroad linking the province with
eastern Canada was completed in 1885.
This helped spark much development in
British Columbia. In the late 1900s it
became one of Canada’s leading provinces.
..More to explore
Alberta • Canada • Cook, James
• Flathead • Fur Trade • Haida
• Hudson’s Bay Company • Kwakiutl
• Nootka • Northwest Territories
• Rocky Mountains • Yukon Territory
The Coast Mountains overlook the Torres Channel in northern British Columbia.
Facts About
BRITISH
COLUMBIA
Flag
Population
(2006 census)
4,113,487
Area
364,764 sq mi
(944,735 sq km)
Capital
