Message #159593

[Danielle Marshall]

The Forbidden Plateau is a small, hilly plateau in the east of the Vancouver Island Ranges in British Columbia, located northwest of Comox Lake[1] roughly between Mount Albert Edward to the southwest and Mount Washington (site of the Mount Washington Alpine Resort) to the northeast. The gently sloping sub-alpine terrain is broken by small, rugged hills and pitted with small lakes. Much of it is contained within Strathcona Provincial Park, and a network of trails facilitate hiking, cross country skiing, and access to Mount Albert Edward. A sub-alpine meadow on Mount Beecher in the southwest corner of the plateau is the only site in Canada of the Olympic onion (Allium crenulatum).[2]

In 1946, it was the epicentre of an earthquake that registered 7.3 on the Richter scale, the strongest ever recorded on land in Canada. See 1946 Vancouver Island earthquake.[3]