Saanich Peninsula
Feature Type:Peninsula - Elongated projection of land into a body of water.
Status: Official
Name Authority: BC Geographical Names Office
Pronounced: SAN-itch
Relative Location: N of Victoria, Lake Land District
Latitude-Longitude: 48°32'58"N, 123°26'00"W at the approximate centre of this feature.
Datum: WGS84
NTS Map: 92B/11
Related Maps:
Origin Notes and History:

Saanich Peninsula was adopted in the 18th Report of the Geographic Board of Canada, 31 March 1924. Confirmed 30 November 1992 on 92B. For origin information, see Saanich (District Municipality).

Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office

Saanich Peninsula includes part or all of: North Saanich, South Saanich, Highland and Lake Land Districts.

Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office

Mis-spelled "Sannich Peninsula" on federal 1:50 000 sheet 92B/11, ed.3.

Source: Canadian Geographical Names Database, Ottawa

"Our word Wsanec in Saanich means 'raised up'. If you go offshore to the east and look [back] you will see why. You'll see what it looks like in the distance compared to the surrounding land. It is 'raised up'." (Saltwater People, as told by David Elliott Sr., ed. Janet Poth; a resource book for the Saanich Native Studies program, School District 63, 1990). Elsewhere in the publication, Wsanec is identified as the name for Saanich Peninsula, meaning 'emerging people', where the name Wsanec comes from the name of the Saanich people (ibid, p.26).

Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office