The Forbidden Plateau is a small, hilly
plateau
In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...
in the east of the
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 ...
Ranges in
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
, northwest of
Comox Lake roughly between
Mount Albert Edward to the southwest and
Mount Washington to the northeast.
Geography
The plateau features gently sloping sub-alpine terrain broken up by small, rugged hills and pitted with small lakes. Much of it is contained within
Strathcona Provincial Park, and a network of trails facilitate hiking, cross country skiing, and access to Mount Albert Edward. A sub-alpine meadow on Mount Becher in the southwest corner of the plateau is one of only a few locations in Canada where the
Olympic onion can be found.
[Schaan, Gary. 2004. "Managing Towards the Gold Standard—Ecological Values of Second Growth Small Woodlands on Vancouver Island." In T.W. Droscher and D.A. Fraser (eds). Proceedings of the 2003 Georgia Basin/Puget Sound Research Conference. CD-ROM or Online. Available: ebruary 2004/ref>
]
Geology
The plateau was the epicentre
The epicenter (), epicentre, or epicentrum in seismology is the point on the Earth's surface directly above a hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or an underground explosion originates.
Determination
The primary purpose of a s ...
of the 1946 Vancouver Island earthquake that registered 7.3 on the Richter magnitude scale
The Richter scale (), also called the Richter magnitude scale, Richter's magnitude scale, and the Gutenberg–Richter scale, is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Richter in collaboration with Beno Gutenberg, and pr ...
, the strongest ever recorded on land in Canada.
Legend
According to the popular, though disproven, legend, when the K'ómoks faced raids from other coastal tribes, they took their women and children to the plateau for safekeeping. During a raid by the Cowichan, the women and children vanished without a trace. When a member of the tribe went looking for the women and children within the Forbidden Plateau, he found red lichen covering the snow and nearby rocks and assumed the lichen to be blood from the family members. Since then, the plateau became taboo for it was believed that it was inhabited by evil spirits who had consumed those they had sent.
This legend, however, has no basis in K'ómoks history, a fact which has been documented by sources such as Comox Valley environmentalist Ruth Masters and Pat Trask, curator at the Courtenay Museum.The Province
''The Province'' is a daily newspaper published in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format in British Columbia by Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, alongside the ''Vancouver Sun'' broadsheet newspaper. Together, they ...
'' newspaper in 1927. In a book published in 1967, Wood takes credit for the legend, stating that he believed a bit of mystery would help publicize the attraction of the plateau.
See also
* Comox Glacier
* Panther Lake
Notes and references
Further reading
* Jenny Clayton,
Alpine Island From the Forbidden Plateau to Mount Washington, skiing on central Vancouver Island dates to the 1920s
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External links
{{Plateaus and highlands of British Columbia
Alberni Valley
Canadian legends
Plateaus of British Columbia
Reportedly haunted locations in British Columbia
Strathcona Provincial Park
Vancouver Island Ranges