The body of water known simply as “The Gorge” to Victoria locals is a narrow tidal inlet that connects Victoria Harbour to Portage Inlet. The Gorge Waterway is defined as the inlet between Craigflower Bridge and the Selkirk trestle.
Gorge Waterway is part of the Victoria Harbour Migratory Bird Sanctuary and supports a biologically diverse population of plants and animals. Birds stop to rest and feed on their migration in the spring and fall.
Victoria Harbour is one of three Migratory Bird Sanctuaries found in the capital region and celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2023. Learn more about the three local bird sanctuaries:
The Gorge has a rich history as an important spiritual place and food-gathering area for First Nations, and as a recreation area for Victoria residents. Many decades of pollution entering the Gorge from sewage and industrial wastes seriously degraded the water quality by the 1940s. Clean-up efforts beginning in the early 1990s have reversed this trend, and water quality has improved significantly. This is important for the health of valuable fish and wildlife habitat in the Gorge, as well as for aesthetic and recreational values.
Gorge Waterway Creeks and Watersheds
Gorge and Cecelia creek drain into the Gorge Waterway.
Gorge Creek
Gorge creek is a small 200 ha watershed, with a daylighted channel that enters the Gorge Waterway through Esquimalt Gorge Park.
Cecelia Creek
Cecelia Creek is a highly urbanized 353 ha watershed that enters the lower Gorge.
Eelgrass
Extensive eelgrass meadows are one of the most important biological features of the Gorge. These plants grow in soft sediment, and provide sheltered habitat for fish such as juvenile Pacific salmon and cutthroat trout. Decaying eelgrass leaves and other plant matter, called detritus, nourishes a complex food web of other animals, mostly invertebrates. The rhizomes (branching roots) of eelgrass are important for trapping sediments and reducing shoreline erosion.
Kelp Beds
Kelp includes several species of large brown algae that anchor to rocky substrates with a holdfast, and have large leaf-like blades for capturing sunlight. In the lower Gorge (below the narrows) kelp beds cover about 60% of the subtidal surface. Kelp provides important habitat and/or a food source for fish and marine invertebrates. In many areas, kelp beds help attenuate the effects of wave action on the shoreline.
Oyster Beds
The native Olympia oyster (Ostrea lurida) is another significant species found in the Gorge Waterway. Historically, this oyster was an important food source for First Nations and non-aboriginal residents. Due to over-harvesting, pollution and predation from invasive species, large Olympia oyster beds are now rare on the west coast of North America. Olympia oysters are food for animals such as snails, limpets, sea stars and birds. Since oysters are filter feeders, they help to clear the water of sediment and organic matter.
Land Use Change
Much of the surround Gorge Waterway watersheds are urbanized. When a watershed is covered in roads, buildings, and other hard, impervious surfaces, less rainwater can soak into the soil. Instead, the water rushes off into ditches and storm drains, picking up urban pollutants, eroding creeks, and ultimately sending large amounts of urban run-off into waterway.
This run-off often contains a mixture of oils and grease from roads and driveways, garden chemicals, litter, animal waste, and anything else that will float or dissolve. All these pollutants are harmful to the waterway’s marine plants and wildlife, making the fish and shellfish unsafe for consumption and the water unhealthy for swimming.
Invasive Species
Non-native species that aggressively compete with native plants and animals can drastically alter the landscape. Many invasive species have been found along the waterway including Himalayan blackberry and European green crabs.
Check out the Regional Invasive Species Program website. Report invasive species, learn about high priority species, download fact sheets and more.
Climate Change
Climate change means that our watersheds and the ecosystems that they support will face new stressors in the future, including more extreme periods of rain and drought as well as sea level rise. Protecting watersheds now will buffer them from future climate change impacts.
Dogs Off Leash
Gorge Waterway is part of the federal Victoria Harbour Migratory Bird Sanctuary and is an important bird habitat and migrating shorebirds are particularly sensitive to dogs. Dogs running freely can chase birds, disrupt nesting sites, and disturb other wildlife. Even well-trained dogs may inadvertently harm or stress birds and other animals. Keep them on a leash at all times within the boundaries of the Migratory Bird Sanctuary.
Help Protect the Waterway
Keep your distance from birds and other wildlife. The entire waterway is a federally designated Migratory Bird Sanctuary. Hundreds of migrating and resident birds use the waterway and adjacent shoreline for feeding, resting and nesting. Many species of marine mammals travel through the waterway in search of herring, migrating salmon and other food sources.
Keep pets on a leash. Migrating shorebirds are particularly sensitive to dogs. Clean up after your pet and deposit waste in the bins.
Watch where you walk. Please stay on pathways and trails around the Gorge, and use the designated beach access points. Avoid walking through sensitive estuaries where marsh vegetation and soft sediments are very susceptible to damage by trampling.
Boaters and paddlers: Please observe the posted speed limits, reduce boat wake and avoid approaching birds and other wildlife too closely.
Volunteer with GWI partners or other stewardship groups.
For thousands of years, First Nations people lived on the Gorge Waterway and used the area for food-gathering and spiritual purposes. Shellfish, seaweed, herring and salmon were harvested from the sea, birds and wildlife such as deer, elk and bear were hunted, and plants for food and medicine were gathered from the surrounding forests.
After the establishment of Fort Victoria in 1843, the Gorge Waterway soon became a recreation destination for local residents, with numerous boating regattas, canoe races, swimming and diving competitions and sightseeing trips to the famous reversing tidal falls at the Gorge Narrows.
During the same period, the Gorge and Victoria Harbour areas became the site of many industries, including sawmills, ship building, paint manufacturing and fish processing. The residential areas surrounding the Gorge all discharged their sewage directly into the water until about 1955.These activities took their toll on the water quality of the Gorge, and by the late 1930s it was no longer considered safe for swimming.
In the 1990s, a local father and son started cleaning up junk in the much-abused Gorge Waterway. This action, along with some publicity, inspired local businesses, non-profit organizations and governments to pitch in. Clean-up efforts are now conducted regularly by local groups, and the importance of environmental stewardship of the Gorge is widely recognized by the community. An effective regional source control program now restricts the type of waste that is permitted to enter the city’s sewers and storm drains, helping water quality in the Gorge and other harbours to improve.
In 2012 the first annual Gorge Swim Fest was held, attracting hundreds of people. This has re-kindled interest in swimming in the Gorge and has led to further water quality improvements. Once again, recreational boating has become very popular once along the Gorge. Kayaks, canoes, rowing sculls, dragon boats and paddle boards are common sights up and down the waterway. International boating festivals and several regattas are regularly held on the Gorge. A fleet of small harbour ferries carry commuters and tourists to several public ferry docks along the waterway as far as the Gorge Narrows.
Many of the former industrial sites in the Selkirk Water area in the lower Gorge have been replaced with residential housing. The Selkirk train trestle has been converted to a pedestrian and cycle bridge that forms part of the popular Galloping Goose multi-use trail. Ship repair and other industries in Victoria Harbour may still affect the water quality of the Gorge, but the main pollution concerns now are from non-point sources such as run-off from the large proportion of impervious surfaces (roofs, roads, parking lots, etc) in the watersheds that drain to the waterway.
More information on Gorge history:
Dennis Minaker, 1998. The Gorge of Summers Gone, A History of Victoria’s Inland Waterway.
Size (total area): 54.5 ha
Total length of shoreline: 17,494m (including Portage Inlet)
Depth of harbor (average): <5m
Number of stormwater discharges: 84
Protected areas: Victoria Migratory Bird Sanctuary
Species at risk: Olympia oysters, great blue heron
The CRD conducts its business within the Territories of many First Nations, all of whom have a long-standing relationship with the land and waters from time immemorial that continues to this day. Statement of Reconciliation
