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001C97BA 6 THE WEST VAN NEWS July 26, 1929. from Horseshoe Bay and return the same day; and hundreds will gain a new impression of the bjords which bears the name of fjord which bears the name of record of battles for the sceptre of the sea. The view from the Hollyburn Peak will always be better known than that from Black Mountain, for the climb and the return journey can be made from Van- couver in twelve hours, includ- ing the ferry trips. Howe Sound is not well seen from it; but there is a semi circle of mountains which is very well worth seeing. Less than a mile to the north- west is Strachan, with its broad top and wooded sides. Beyond and to the right of it are Mount Brunswick and the Lions, higher than Strachan by a thousand feet. Then comes a vista of peaks beyond peaks in the far north-east. Cathedral Mountain the monarch of the Seymour Val- ley, takes on a less savage aspect than from any other point. The northern pinnacle ridge of Crown Mountain, of whose exist- ence few but climbers are aware, shows up in all its rugged un- gracefulness, presenting a com- plete contrast to that southern aspect which won for the moun- tain the name of "Sleeping Beau- ty." There is a minor but very int- eresting feature in the District which is prominent as the visitor approaches the ferry landing. It is a wooded hill about 340 feet in height, which rises at the foot of the Hollyburn Ridge east of Twelfth Street. The hill stands out clearly from points as far away as the higher streets of North Vancouver. The Indian burial ground which contains the mausoleum of Chief Joe Capil- ano lies on its southern slope. The granite has been here in- jected with volcanic rock of a much more enduring nature than its own; and the injected mass, long since cooled and hardened, has gradually become prominent through the general wearing a- way of the land surface which has taken place in the course of many centuries. The hill bears the name of Little Mountain, to which, however, another intrus- ion of volcanic rock in South Vancouver appears to have a prior claim. If its name is to be changed at all, no more con- venient or more appropriate one can be found than "Ambleside Hill." It forms the true north portal of the Lions Gate, as any- one standing on the summit of Prospect Point can see at a glance. It begins north of )Vest Bay, and quickly attains an elevation a- bove sea level of more than 2000 feet. Its crestline strikes nearly E.N.E. to the moorland plateau north of Dundarave, where its altitude is 3400 feet. It then turns nearly due east, falling gradually till the Capilano is reached. Hollyburn Peak, which is the highest point of the Ridge, and which has an altitude of 4300 feet, rises from the northern edge of the plateau. Its dome, whe» seen from Vancouver, usu- ally appears as if it were a part of the level-topped mass of Mount Strachan. But the two are quite distinct, for a wide and fairly deep valley separates them. The Peak is on the north- ern boundary of the municipal- ity; Mount Strachan stands in the unorganized territory to the north of it. Natural Features of West Vancouver By J. PORTER, Hon. President British Columbia Mountaineering Club. The District of )Vest Vancou- ver appears to possess a more varied assemblage of the natural elements of interesting and heal- thv life than any other munici- pality in Greater Vancouver. Such questions as the extent and character of the area which is open for settlement, and the in- troduction or development of public utilities, will be dealt with elsewhere. But it will be worth while to review the gifts of land- scape with which nature has en- dowed this young municipal div- ision. These gifts include moun- tain and forest, crag and torrent, beach and cliff and tidal sea, all rpen to the sun and the southern wind, but sheltered from Arctic blasts by a complete and lofty i ampart on the north. There are those who believe that nature has designated West Vancouver as a great residential suburb for the future metropolis nf western Canada. They con- sider that the influences which stimulate the feeling for beauty will be too strong here for the parasitic agencies that breed a- like squalor and vulgar display. This is probably far too optimis- tic a view of what can be effect- ed by nature in changing human nature near a great modern city. But whatever truth is contained in it will certainly applv to West Vancouver. The Ridge is marked by the subdued character of its con- tcurs. One might almost fancy oneself looking at the broadly swelling curves of the old moun- tains of southern Ireland, which h~ve been worn down to mere stumps by ages of storm, instead of at a hill-range in a region of comparative youth as youth is reckoned in geology. There are steep pitches on the Ridge, though they are neither high nor formidable; but even these have to be sought in the neigh- borhood of the torrential streams. The undulations of the surface are so moderate on the eastern moorland area, that all the ~ inter sports can be organ- ized with the maximum of ease and safety, and on quite an ex- tensive scale. Sunshine and Rainfall Vantage Points The number of hours of annual sunshine is not likely to vary to any great extent throughou t Greater Vancouver, and may be taken at Mr. Shearman's figures of 1800. But West Vancouver has a marked advantage in its prevailing southern aspect. There is a line of the poet Bry- ant which has often come to mind at the sight of that great sJope, "The hills that lift thy harvests and vineyards to the sun." A writer who called the dist- rict "the California of Vancou- ver" was probably only in search nf a catchy phrase; but he un- doubtedly emphasized a feature of substantial importance, as is shown every year by the early awakening of plant life in the gardens there. The standard for the compari- son of rainfall in different places around Vancouver is the precip- itation at the Meteorological Ob- servatory in Kitsilano, which is about 56 inches annually on the average. Stream-Valleys West Vancouver is a part own- er of the Capilano, though the great canyon lies almost entire- ly in the district of North Van- couver. But the western muni- cipality is not without stream- valleys of its own. The upper course of Brothers Creek includ- es a picturesque waterfall and a fine ravine, of which the trav- erse during the summer months is quite interesting and by no means difficult. Nelson Creek, which enters Howe Sound at Eagle Harbour, has a shorter course and a steeper grade than Brothers Creek. It will come into prominence with the com- pletion of the western road ex- tension. But the finest stream- valley in the municipality proper is that of Cypress Creek. The main stream has its source in a couple of shallow lakes situ- ated on a peaty moorland which lies north of Black Mountain. The dark wooded face of the mountain makes a striking back- ground to the picture of the lakes on a sunny day, when the sky is reflected in the watery mirror set in the level green moorland. The stream first flows eastwards Topography The topography of West Van- couver is bold, but not forbid- dingly rugged. Nor is it compli- cated in its main features. The southern waterfront is six miles long from Point Atkinson to the delta of the Capilano; and the western front on Howe Sound is nearly as long. The mountain range of granite and related'ocks which borders the coast of the continent from Alaska south- wards, with a total length of nearly a thousand miles, ends at the north shore of English Bay.Its southern termination is form- ed by the Hollyburn Ridge and the peninsula of Point Atkinson. The bare granite rock can be seen slipping into the water in the low cliffs on both sides of the lighthouse and on the shore of Howe Sound. Between Caulfeild and the Capilaon, however, the shore rocks are concealed for most of the way by a thick mantle of loose superficial mat- erial, either strong clay or grav- el. The most important topograph- ic feature, though not the most striking, is the Hollyburn Ridge. The grandest object in the rorthern panorama of Vancou- ver is Black Mountain, which is separated from Hollyburn Ridge by the deep trench occupied by Cypress Creek. Its impressive- ness is most completely realized if it is viewed from the Univer- sity site, when it suggests an impregnable natural bastion commanding the sea approaches to the City. Its height is about 4300 feet, so that it is nearly as lofty and quite as massive as Ben Nevis, the highest of the Scottish mountains. It is diffi- cult of approach, thanks to the mischievous activities of man. lts broad southern face was once covered with forest, which is still found on the north and west sides. Up till about ten years ago, it was possible without un- due effort to reach the summit. The climb was a little dirty, for the route led over charred logs and soil reduced to reddish gray ash. The upper part of the climb is not greatly changed. Dead trees still cumber that grand mural front; and the winter rains are still washing away the sterilized soil and laying bare the gray rock over a greater area except where the seepage along the foot of some crag served to protect a group of seedlings from the scorching breath of the forest fires which wrought the mischief. Lower down, however, nature has been ironical in her vengeance. A jungle of alders and similar forest weeds, such as always springs up after a fire, now forms a barrier along the whole south fi ont, which only strong and persevering woods- men can penetrate. The British Columbia Mountaineering Club, with its usual public spirit, has cutapathwaythrough the jungle above Horseshoe Bay. The task was well worth doing, for Black Mountain occupies a strategic po- sition in the angle between Howe Sound, with its lofty islands and its mountain-girldled shores and the broad snow-fields that lie be- tween it and Jervis Inlet. A dis- trict with such a vantage-point in its own territory is to be . envied. It is now possible for fair climbers to make the ascent and then turns to the south- west. For a distance of four miles we have the spectacle of "The long brook falling through the clov'n ravine In cataract after cataract to the sea," overlooked on one side by the Hollyburn Ridge, and on the other by the lofty crags of the south-east face of Black Moun- tain, which are dotted up to the timber-line with the upright stems of the burned forest. The climb through the ravine to the headwaters of the creek is an in- teresting one, and not difficult for a good walker during the sea- son of low water. The Falls, of which there are three in a space of little more than a mile, are very fine after a day of rain. But even in midsummer they are far from commonplace. The Coast-Line The seacoast of West Vancou- x er does not begin to grow rocky until )Vest Bay is reached. The mantle of drift between it and the Capilano has converted the intervening shore-line into a shingle-strewn beach. The rock shows almost everywhere be- tween Caulfeild and Point Atkin- son; and this character continu- es northward along the shore of Howe Sound past White Cliff Point to the municipal boundary. There are few of the sea-stacks which contribute so greatly to the picturesque effect of the granite coast of Cornwall. Yet the cliffs are bold and varied, as we might expect from the action of the storm-waves generated in the ample sea-room of the south- west between Vancouver Island and the mouth of the Sound. ,.A::: 0:&::;4G. ~ ~ ~ Pioneer Tailor 1568 Marine Drive. ODORLESS DRY CLEANING Suits, Overcoats, Ladies Dresses, Plain and Fancy Phone West 3'Io Res. Phone: West 143 :&. W. SAVO:&Y V/EST VANCOUVER REAL ESTATE Insurance Loans 1+]3 Marine Drive Near Cor. Marine Drive and 14th. '. B. LEYLAND General. 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