不列颠哥伦比亚省(British Columbia)

britishcolumbiabritishcolumbiaisthethirdlargestcanadianprovinces,bothinareaandpopulation.itisnearly1.5timesaslargeastexas,andextends800miles(1,280km)northfromtheunitedstatesborder.itincludescanadasentirewestcoastandtheislandsjustoffthecoast.

mostofbritishcolumbiaismountainous,withlongruggedrangesrunningnorthandsouth.eventhecoastalislandsaretheremainsofamountainrangethatexistedthousandsofyearsago.duringthelasticeage,thisrangewasscouredbyglaciersuntilmostofitwasbeneaththesea.itspeaksnowshowasislandsscatteredalongthecoast.

thesouthwesterncoastalregionhasahumidmildmarineclimate.seawindsthatblowinlandfromthewestarewarmedbyacurrentofwarmwaterthatflowsthroughthepacificocean.asaresult,wintertemperaturesaverageabovefreezingandsummersaremild.thesewarmwesternwindsalsocarrymoisturefromtheocean.

inlandfromthecoast,thewindsfromthepacificmeetthemountainbarriersofthecoastalrangesandtherockymountains.astheyrisetocrossthemountains,thewindsarecooled,andtheirmoisturebeginstofallasrain.onsomeofthewesternslopesalmost200inches(500cm)ofrainfalleachyear.

morethanhalfofbritishcolumbiaisheavilyforested.onmountainslopesthatreceiveplentifulrainfall,hugedouglasfirsriseintoweringcolumns.theseforestgiantsoftengrowtobeasmuchas300feet(90m)tall,withdiametersupto10feet(3m).morelumberisproducedfromthesetreesthanfromanyotherkindoftreeinnorthamerica.hemlock,redcedar,andbalsamfirareamongtheothertreesfoundinbritishcolumbia.