The Country—its History and Natural Divisions.

The country is divided into two perfectly distinct parts—Vancouver Island and the Mainland. These were constituted colonies, the first in 1849, and the second in 1858; they were then united in 1866, under the name of British Columbia, and so continued until the 20th July, 1871, at which page 7 date the colony became one of the provinces of the flourishing Dominion of Canada.

With greater correctness, perhaps, it may be said that the province is divided into three instead of into two distinct parts.

The Rocky Mountains form the eastern boundary of the province. A long and massive uplift on the Mainland, called the Cascade Range, runs parallel to the Rocky Range, and divides the country between it and the Pacific Ocean into two divisions, namely, the "East Cascade Region," and the "West Cascade Region."

The islands of Vancouver, Queen Charlotte, &c., might be considered to make a third division, though, climatically, they belong to the West Cascade Region.