Curiosity. It’s what makes cats more fun and interesting. That’s what this guidebook does for curious people – makes travelling around BC and the Yukon a lot more fun and interesting.
The Cannings twins, Dick and Syd, have done it again. Their obvious love for BC and its amazing diversity – both biological and geophysical – has resulted in this new, updated, guide.
Arranged by main north-south and west-east highways throughout BC and the southern Yukon, the text showcases the encyclopaedic knowledge of the Cannings brothers, which they happily and generously share with everyone hiking, biking, or motoring along these roads. The photos and drawings are nothing short of wonderful. Rest stop sidebars throughout the book highlight good reasons to pull over and look around.
Maybe you’ve pulled over to stretch your legs and scrambled a little way up or down an embankment to check out an odd-looking plant or rock formation. What is this, you ask yourself? Why is it here? This guide goes a long way to answering any questions your inquiring mind may pose.
Did you know that roughly half of all species in Canada can be found in British Columbia? It is the most diverse province in the country, with 17 biogeoclimatic zones. The Yukon’s biodiversity is the next highest, with eight biogeoclimatic zones. Mountains and valleys, lakes and rivers, pocket deserts and spectacular estuaries, plateaus and the great Rocky Mountain Trench; all these are a large part of the reason why this western region of Canada is so richly species abundant and diverse. So it makes sense to start off the book with a good bit of geological history.
Rest stops and provincial parks are featured. For example, along the John Hart Highway (Hwy 97) leading northeastward from Prince George, you cross the continental divide in Pine Pass and then go through prairie lands to Dawson Creek. One area to stop is at Bear Lake/Crooked River Provincial Park; beside the Crooked River, look for river otters, beavers, and muskrats. No enticement is needed to stop at Bijoux Falls Provincial Park. Here, a 40 metre high waterfall cascades “over ancient sedimentary rocks that once made up the continental shelf of North America.”
One of my favourite roads is Highway 37, the Stewart-Cassiar, which runs from Kitwanga to the Yukon border. A section goes alongside Kinaskan, Tatogga, Eddontenajon – lakes that make up the headwaters of the Iskut River, then crosses the Stikine River, heading up to Dease Lake. The Spatsizi Plateau on your right (going north) and the snow-covered shield volcano of Mount Edziza on your left, highlight the spectacular wilderness of this part of BC. The book highlights several places to explore…but keep an eye out for moose and bears.
One shortcoming, from my perspective since I live in Port Alberni, is the omission of Highway 4, which goes through Cathedral Grove as it winds its westerly way from Parksville to the junction of the Pacific Highway that goes to Ucluelet and Tofino, and through a good portion of Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. While I fully understand the need, in such an encyclopaedic undertaking, to put a limit somewhere, I regret that it had to be here. From big trees to big seas, the west coast of Vancouver Island is also well-worth exploring.
Aside from that one thing, whether you’re interested in botany, forestry, geology, wildlife, history – or all of these – this guide fulfils all your curiosity needs as you travel around this beautiful and fascinating part of Canada. Get a copy. You’ll be glad you did.
The New B.C. Roadside Naturalist: A Guide to Nature along B.C. Highways,
Richard & Sydney Cannings, Greystone Books, 2013.
ISBN 9-781771-000543, $22.95, 340 pages
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Maggie Paquet is a biologist, activist, and writer/editor. She is a recipient of the Martha Kostuch Lifetime Achievement Award, conferred by the Canadian Environmental Network (RCEN) in 2010.
