Jordan River, founded as and still officially gazetted as River Jordan, is a small settlement on the west coast of

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest by ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Canada, located approximately west of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. Established as a

logging camp A logging camp (or lumber camp) is a transitory work site used in the logging industry. Before the second half of the 20th century, these camps were the primary place where lumberjacks would live and work to fell trees in a particular area. Many ...

in the late 19th century, Jordan River has Vancouver Island's second hydroelectric power plant. It is popular amongst winter surfers. The eastern terminus of the Juan de Fuca Trail is at

China Beach ''China Beach'' is an American war film, war drama television series set at an evacuation hospital during the Vietnam War. The title refers to My Khe beach in the city of Da Nang, Đà Nẵng, Vietnam, nicknamed "China Beach" in English by Amer ...

, west of Jordan River.

History

In 1790, the Spanish navigator and explorer Lieutenant

Francisco de Eliza Francisco de Eliza y Reventa (1759 – February 19, 1825) was a Spanish naval officer, navigator, and explorer. He is remembered mainly for his work in the Pacific Northwest. He was the commandant of the Spanish post in Nootka Sound on Vancou ...

rebuilt a Spanish fort at

Nootka Sound , image = Morning on Nootka Sound.jpg , image_size = 250px , alt = , caption = Clouds over Nootka Sound , image_bathymetry = , alt_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = Map of Nootka So ...

and subsequently explored the area between Nootka Sound and present day Victoria, BC. Originally named Rio Hermoso by his Sub-Lieutenant

Manuel Quimper Manuel Quimper Benítez del Pino (c. 1757 – April 2, 1844) was a Spanish Peruvian explorer, cartographer, naval officer, and colonial official. He participated in charting the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Sandwich Islands in the late 18th ...

on June 14, 1790, the name was changed later that year to Rio Jordan when the

Carta Reducida Carta is Latin and Italian for "paper" and is Spanish and Portuguese " letter". In English it takes the form " card" or "chart". Most of its uses pertain to its meaning as "paper", "chart", or "map", for example in ''Magna Carta''. Carta may ref ...

was made by

Gonzalo López de Haro Gonzalo López de Haro (bef. 1788 in Puebla – 1823) was a Spanish explorer, notable for his expeditions in the Pacific Northwest in the late 18th century. Background In 1788 two ships were sent north to investigate Russian activity in Alask ...

. The name change from Rio Hermoso to Rio Jordan is attributed to Francisco de Eliza's chaplain, Alejandro Jordan. Subsequent charting by British explorers anglicized the name to Jordan River. Logging of the Jordan River watershed dates back to the 1880s. Timber harvesting intensified in 1907 with the construction of 6 km (4 mi) of railway tracks.

Western Forest Products Western Forest Products Inc. is a Canadian lumber company based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. History Following its initial acquisition of the assets of Doman in 2004, the Company undertook a series of restructuring activities includin ...

took over the tree farming operation in 1934 and still manages the area forests today. The railroad has been long abandoned and replaced by log hauling trucks. Development of the Jordan River watershed and construction of the hydroelectric plant began in 1911 and finished a few years later. During the construction of the hydroelectric plant Jordan River was home to 1000 workers. Until 1912 Jordan River was only accessible by sea. That year the Old Otter Point Road was extended to River Jordan, connecting the town by land to Sooke and Victoria. During World War II Jordan River became strategically important to the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

, housing the X-1 Detachment's Low-Flying Early Warning Radar System, called 'Microwave Early Warning/Ground Control Intercept', in anticipation of a Japanese attack on the west coast. Jordan River has a commanding and unobstructed view of the Strait of Juan De Fuca, from

Cape Flattery Cape Flattery () is the northwesternmost point of the contiguous United States. It is in Clallam County, Washington on the Olympic Peninsula, where the Strait of Juan de Fuca joins the Pacific Ocean. It is also part of the Makah Reservation, and ...

to Port Angeles and thus was ideal for the deployment of the early warning radar system. This same geographical ocean location also makes the town a surfing destination today. The Old Otter Point Road became part of the newly created Highway 14 in 1953, extending west from Colwood, a suburb of Victoria, to Jordan River. By 1975 Highway 14 was extended all the way west to the remote community of

Port Renfrew A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

and paving was completed in the late 1980s.

Industry

Hydroelectric dam and power plant

Jordan River is the location of Vancouver Island's second hydroelectric generating station. The Vancouver Island Power Company completed construction of the Jordan River hydroelectric system in 1911. Water collects at Diversion Dam, runs 8.8 km (5.5 mi) down a wooden sluice to an

equalizing basin An equalizing basin (german: Ausgleichsbecken) or equalizing reservoir regulates the flow of water below an intermittently operated hydropower station or peaking power plant. This could be a part-load power station (''Teillast-Durchfluss-Kraftwer ...

and flows through a steel penstock for the last 330 vertical meters (1083 vertical feet). From 1912 to 1930 continual improvements and additional generators pushed the capacity of the power plant to 26 megawatts. In 1971 the flume was replaced by a tunnel, connected to a penstock flowing down to a new power house, presently located across the river from the original location. A Japanese built generator replaced the old equipment, boosting power output from 26 megawatts to 175 megawatts.

Tree farming

Most of the land around Jordan River is managed under a tree farm licence (TFL). Western Forest Products has been in charge of the tree farm licence since 1934, encompassing 32,490 hectares (81,200 acres) between

Sooke Sooke is a district municipality on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, Canada, by road from Victoria, the capital of British Columbia. Sooke, the westernmost of Greater Victoria's Western Communities, is to the north and west of the Sooke ...

and

. At the centre of Jordan River, between the bridge and the hydroelectric power house is the raw log sorting facility. Logs are sorted and arranged into rafts at the river's mouth, then towed via sea to Vancouver and Washington State facilities. The majority of tree farm land has been logged twice in the last 100 years and is currently growing its second generation of replanted trees. Western Forest Products has installed signs along Hwy 14 indicating the growth phases of the forests, such as when a particular tract of land has been logged, replanted, and thinned.

Geography

Nearby communities *

Nearby Rivers * River Jordan * Loss Creek * Sombrio River

References

External links

Surf Forecast
* {{VancouverIslandCommunities Juan de Fuca region Unincorporated settlements in British Columbia Populated places in the Capital Regional District Surfing locations in Canada