scubish.com: Scuba diving Sidney - Canada

Sidney is a town located at the northern end of the Saanich Peninsula, on Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It has a population of approximately 11,300. Sidney is located just east of Victoria International Airport, and a few kilometers south of BC Ferries' Swartz Bay terminal. The town is also the only Canadian port-of-call in the Washington State Ferry system, with ferries running from Sidney to Anacortes, Washington. Sidney is located along British Columbia provincial highway 17, which bisects the town from north to south. It is generally considered part of the Victoria metropolitan area.

The town west of Highway 17 (also called the Pat Bay Highway) has a mixture of single-family residences and light industry. Single-family units are also present east of the highway, but the eastern sector also has many condominium-type buildings, plus most of the service and retail outlets. The island-studded Haro Strait forms Sidney's eastern boundary. There is a large boating and marine industry in the area, ranging from marinas to boatbuilders and marine suppliers.

Climate

Sidney enjoys a cool Mediterranean climate with year-round mild temperatures and moderate rainfall. Most years see very little snow. Daily temperatures seldom climb above 31°C, or dip below -7°C. In the mildest winters, minimum temperatures stay above -3°C. Damaging winds are less frequent than in most other maritime areas of Canada.

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Fauna

Among the animals most often seen in Sidney are the northwestern crow, common starling, house sparrow, American robin and several species of gull. Bald eagle and common raven can be seen all year, and turkey vulture is frequently sighted in summer. Wild mammals include the mink, otter, raccoon, black-tailed deer, and deer mouse. In recent years, the introduced cottontail rabbit and gray squirrel have become abundant. Another non-native mammal whose presence has become more evident (by its smell) is the skunk.

Flora

Sidney's most common native tree is Douglas-fir. Western red cedar and grand fir are the other plentiful native conifers. Small numbers of western hemlock, lodgepole pine, Sitka spruce and Pacific yew also occur. The arbutus is a common broadleaf evergreen. Deciduous trees include the black cottonwood, bigleaf maple, Douglas maple, red alder, Garry oak, bitter cherry, Pacific crab apple, cascara, quaking aspen, hawthorn and several species of willow.

Physiography

Almost all of the land within Sidney's boundary is either flat or very gently sloping, providing a topography which is favourable for the town's elderly people. Most soils are clayey, and poorly drained in their natural state. In some parts of town, this clay is overlain by deposits of sand and gravel which are well drained.

Population

According to Statistics Canada, Sidney had a population of 10,929 in 2001 -- a gain of 2.1% from 1996. Sidney is well-known for having an abundance of Senior Citizens, producing a median age of 50.7 in 2001 as compared with the British Columbia median age of 38.4. The population density per square kilometer was 2,167.

; Labour Force
Sidney is mainly an industrial town, with most people working in the construction,...