Blubber Bay - The gateway to Texada
Island
Named in 1791 by Spanish explorers, Texada is known for its
wealth of minerals, although whaling also was important during its
early days. In 1876, a whaler called Harry Trim discovered iron
ore, and mining began in earnest. Copper was discovered a few years
later, and gold was mined at Marble Bay in 1898. This is when Van
Anda became a boom town, boasting the only opera house north of San
Francisco, three hotels with saloons, a hospital, illegal
distillery and many stores and businesses. Like so many of the
buildings in the province during this period, fire devastated the
community not once but three times, destroying many of the
buildings. While still a thriving community today, Van Anda is much
sleepier and less populated than during those "glory days".
Texada is still home to three working limestone quarries,
shipping out a total of over 6 million tons of limestone annually,
and in fact, marble quarried on Texada was used to face the
Vancouver post office.
The area around Blubber Bay appears devastated as a result of
centuries of mineral exploitation, but this is only a small part of
this large island. Other industries on Texada Island include
logging, small sawmills, an organic fertilizer business and many of
the cottage industries found everywhere on the Gulf Islands.
In spite of the industry, beautiful natural scenery and
untouched land abounds on Texada, and wonderful recreational
opportunities await the visitor.
The cache has been changed to a larger
container and contains a pod of orcas, one orca each, for the first
12 people who would like one.
For news, events, and discussions about
geocaching in the Powell River and Mid Vancouver Island areas
visit www.migeocaching.org
Click To Rate This Cache