Geographical context
British Columbia is the westernmost province of Canada, on
the North American continent. British Columbia's land and
fresh water area of 94.75 million hectares (947,500 square
kilometres)[11] stretches from the Rocky Mountain Range (the
continental divide of North America) west to the Pacific
Ocean. It ranges from 49 degrees North Latitude, 114 degrees
West Longitude at its Southeast point (along the border with
the continental U.S.A.) to 60 degrees North, 139 degrees
West at its Northwest edge where it meets Alaska. The
majority of the province is thus in the temperate climatic
zone, and its west coast, heavily indented with fjords and
islands, is in the coastal temperate zone.
The province has several mountain ranges, including the
Coastal Range in the west, the Rockies in the east, and the
Columbia Mountains and North Cascades in the southern interior.
(Note: need more information on the geography of the north and interior.)
About 64% of British Columbia's land area bears or
is capable of bearing forest. This forest area amounts to
2.7% of the world's forest land area (considering all kinds of forests.)[1,14]