Strathcona Provincial Park is the oldest provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, and the largest on Vancouver Island. Founded in 1911, the park was named for Donald Alexander Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal, a wealthy philanthropist and railway pioneer. It lies within the Strathcona Regional District. The Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Reserve, established in 2000, includes three watersheds in the western area of the park. Geography The park is east of Gold River and west of Campbell River. At , it contains the highest peaks of the Vancouver Island Ranges. Some notable mountains located within the park boundaries include: Golden Hinde - Elkhorn Mountain - Mount Colonel Foster - Mount Albert Edward - Strathcona Park is also known for its lakes, waterfalls, and glaciers. Buttle Lake is a popular destination for swimming, canoeing, kayaking, and fishing. Also located in the park is Della Falls which, at in height, is among the highest waterfalls in Canada. The thick Karmutsen Formation is the most abundant rock unit in the park. It is a pile of tholeiitic pillow basalts and breccias. It is also the oldest, thickest and most widespread formation on Vancouver Island found on Triple Peak, Cat's Ears Peak and the Mackenzie Range. Ecology Sub-alpine ecosystem: western redcedar, Douglas fir, grand fir, amabilis fir, western hemlock, mountain hemlock and creeping juniper Wildlife: Roosevelt elk, Vancouver Island marmot, Vancouver Island wolf, black bear, cougar and the coastal black-tailed deer Birds: chestnut-backed chickadee, red-breasted nuthatch, winter wren and kinglet, Canada jay, Steller's jay, blue grouse, ruffed grouse and white-tailed ptarmigan History This area is the traditional territory of the Mowachaht and Muchalaht people of the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nations. Commander John Buttle, for whom Buttle Lake is named, first explored the area in the 1860s. In 1890, the British Columbia government conducted a survey to define the boundaries of the E&N Railway land grant. The grant, given to Robert Dunsmuir's company in exchange for the construction of the railway, extended from Muir Creek, near Sooke at the southern end of Vancouver Island, in a straight line to Crown Mountain. All of the land between that line and the east coast of Vancouver Island was included in the grant. The line that formed the west boundary of the grant became the east boundary of Strathcona Park when it was created in 1911. Although originally planned to reach Campbell River, the railway was never constructed