Amir Ali is a Staff Writer with Daily Hive, born and raised in Vancouver, BC. 

Amir loves writing about real estate, crime, and fun offbeat hyperlocal stories. 

He also loves tofu very much.

<p>Located <a href="https://www.distance.to/Nanaimo,British-Columbia,CAN/Vancouver,British-Columbia,CAN" target="_blank" rel="noopener">61 km</a> off the coast of Vancouver, Vancouver Island is a piece of Pacific paradise that stands as one of the most stunning examples of the unfiltered beauty that is the natural wilderness of Canada&#8217;s west coast.</p>
<p>Where mountains meet the sea, it goes without saying that the island is visually breathtaking. But there&#8217;s much more to this West Coast wonder than just what meets the eye.</p>
<p>Here are five things you may not know about the home of BC&#8217;s capital, Vancouver Island.</p>
<h2>Vancouver Island was once owned by the US</h2>
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That&#8217;s right! In the early 1800s, the United States had a claim to Vancouver Island.</p>
<p>They, thankfully, ended up surrendering it to Great Britain in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Treaty" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oregon Treaty</a> in 1846.</p>
<h2>It&#8217;s the birthplace of some notable names</h2>
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<p>A destination that should be famous in its own right, Vancouver Island has also graced the world with various noteworthy names.</p>
<p>Examples include songbird Nelly Furtado (born in Victoria), <em>Baywatch</em> star Pamela Anderson (Ladysmith), and singer-songwriter Diana Krall (Nanaimo).</p>
<p>Additionally, although they were not technically born on the island, <em>Sex and the City</em> star Kim Cattrall lived in Courtenay until she was 16, and Canadian basketball legend Steve Nash grew up in Victoria from the age of 18 months old, but was born in South Africa.</p>
<h2><a href="https://www.tourismvictoria.com/see-do/activities-attractions/attractions/fan-tan-alley" target="_blank" rel="noopener">It is home to the narrowest commercial street in Canada</a></h2>
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<p>Fan Tan Alley might be most famous for being featured in the Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn film <em>Bird on a Wire</em>, but it&#8217;s also notable for being the narrowest commercial street in all of Canada.</p>
<p>It also serves as another entry point into another Victoria gem&#8230;</p>
<h2><a href="https://chinatown.library.uvic.ca/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">It is the home of Canada&#8217;s oldest Chinatown</a></h2>
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<p>Victoria&#8217;s iconic Chinatown is actually the oldest in all of Canada and the second oldest in all of North America.</p>
<p>A mass influx of miners from California during the gold rush led to the beginnings of Victoria&#8217;s Chinatown all the way back in 1858.</p>
<p>The title of the oldest Chinatown in North America belongs to San Francisco.</p>
<h2><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Della-Falls" target="_blank" rel="noopener">It&#8217;s home to the tallest waterfall in Canada</a></h2>
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<p>Located in Strathcona Provincial Park, Della Falls is considered the <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/della-falls" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tallest waterfall in Canada</a> in terms of vertical height.</p>
<p>Standing at <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/della-falls" target="_blank" rel="noopener">440 meters tall</a>, the falls can be found near Port Alberni on Vancouver Island.</p>
<p>It takes a multi-day hiking and canoe trip to reach them, but once you do, they are truly a sight to behold.</p>
<p>Surrounded by lush greenery and towering mountains, Della Falls is an excellent example of the stunning natural beauty native to Vancouver Island.</p>
<p><em>This piece was originally published in July 2021. </em></p>
<ul class="article-see-also"><strong>You might also like:</strong><li><a href='https://dailyhive.com/mapped/bc-bucket-list-wild-adventures' target='_blank'>BC Bucket List: 10 of British Columbia’s wildest adventures</a></li><li><a href='https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-island-fall-road-trip' target='_blank'>7 adorable Vancouver Island small towns worth a fall road trip</a></li><li><a href='https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/bc-island-beautiful-world' target='_blank'>BC island named among the 21 most beautiful in the world</a></li></ul>


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Vancouver Island is a beautiful place to visit, but there's much more to this West Coast wonder than just what meets the eye.