BACKGROUND - British Columbia: Including the Alaska Highway - page 732

outside British Columbia, four million were from the United States, while one million vis-
itors originated from outside North America (Japan, Great Britain, and Germany provided
most of these).
Mining
British Columbia is a mineral-rich province, and historically mining has been an important
part of the economy. Since the first Cariboo gold rush in the late 1850s, the face of the in-
dustry has changed dramatically. Until the mid-1900s, most mining was underground, but
today open-pit mining is the preferred method of mineral extraction. The province is home
to over 25 major mines and three mineral processing plants that produce $3.5 billion worth
of exports. Coal is the most valuable sector of the mining industry, accounting for $800 mil-
lion of exports (most to Japan and other Asian markets). Other mining is for metals (such
as copper, gold, zinc, silver, molybdenum, and lead), industrial minerals (sulfur, asbestos,
limestone, gypsum, and others), and structural materials (sand, gravel, dimension stone, and
cement). In northeastern British Columbia, drilling for petroleum and natural gas also helps
fuel the economy.
Agriculture
Cultivated land is sparse in mountainous British Columbia—only 4 percent of the province
is arable, with just 25 percent of this land regarded as prime for agriculture. Nevertheless,
agriculture is an important part of the provincial economy; 18,000 farms growing 200 dif-
ferent crops contribute $1.5 billion annually. The most valuable sector of the industry is
dairy farming, which is worth $260 million (that works out to an output of 510 million
liters/134.5 million gallons of milk a year). The best land for dairy cattle is found in the
lower Fraser Valley and on southern Vancouver Island. Poultry farms, vegetables, bulbs,
and ornamental shrubs are also found mostly in the Fraser River Valley and the southern
end of Vancouver Island.
Fishing
Commercial fishing, one of British Columbia's principal industries, is worth $1 billion an-
nually and comes almost entirely from species that inhabit tidal waters around Vancouver
Island. The province has over 5,000 registered fishing boats. The industry concentrates on
salmon (60 percent of total fishing revenues come from six species of salmon), with boats
harvesting the five species indigenous to the Pacific Ocean. Other species harvested include
herring, halibut, cod, sole, and shellfish, such as crabs. The province is also home to over
500 fish farms, with the aquaculture industry revolving around Atlantic salmon and adding
$1 billion annually to the provincial economy. Canned and fresh fish are exported to mar-