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Saltspring has been a seasonal home of the Coast Salish First Nations since the time of European settlement, and evidence suggests that permanent settlements existed for centuries prior to that, on the south coast of the island where the Tsawout Band Reserve is located today. The Wsanec people of the Saanich, British Columbia Peninsula and the Cowichan people from the Cowichan Valley frequented the island's shores and harvested its resources.

The island was explored by the Spanish and British in the 1700s, and settled in the 1850s by early pioneers who had abandoned their Fraser River gold rush hopes. A group of 9 Negro slaves, who had purchased their liberty in the United States, arrived at Vesuvius in 1857.

Further black settlers, mainly from California, were followed by European immigrants from Portugal and Scandinavia, and British and Hawaiian (Kanakas) settlers originally recruited by the Hudson's Bay Company.

Is the island named Saltspring or Salt Spring? The Oxford Dictionary of Canadian Place Names indicates it was called Salt Spring Island by the Hudson's Bay Company in the early 1800s. In 1910 the name was changed to Saltspring by the Geographic Board of Canada, which often fused multiple-word place names. So, officially it is one word, but local usage tends to prefer two words, although it is not unanimous. Canada Post accepts both spellings of the name.

Saltspring Island is the most densely populated of the Gulf Islands and is also home to the biggest Gulf Island provincial campground, Ruckle Provincial Park. The island's shoreline is varied and beautiful, offering rocky shores, tidal pools to explore, shell beaches for beachcombing, and a wide variety of sandy beaches. Of the 22 ocean beaches, 4 are designated for swimming.

The rugged and mountainous southern end of the island is dominated by Mount Tuam and Mount Bruce, separated from the equally mountainous mid-island region by the Fulford Valley, located between Fulford Harbour and Burgoyne Bay. The north end of the island has a lower elevation, with rolling pastures, deciduous forests and the majority of residential developments, mainly around the village of Ganges .

Ganges was named for HMS GangesHMS Ganges was an 84-gun 2nd rate of the Royal Navy launched on November 10 1821 at Bombay Dockyard. She is notable for being the last sailing ship of the Navy to serve as a flagship, and was the second ship to have borne the name. Admiralty orders of Jun, wich was stationed there between 1857 and 18611861 is a common year starting on Tuesday. Events January January 1 Benito Juarez captures Mexico City January 2 Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia dies and is succeeded by Wilhelm I January 3 American Civil War: Delaware votes not to secede from the United. HMS Ganges was a 2nd rate, 2,284 tons, 84 gun warship of the British Royal NavyThe Royal Navy is the navy of the United Kingdom. It operates a number of aircraft carriers, destroyers, frigates, fifteen nuclear submarines, and various other ships, as well as aircraft and Britain's amphibious forces, the Royal Marines. The Royal Navy.

Saltspring is 17 miles (27 km) long and 9 miles (14 km) wide, with 83 miles (133 km) of shoreline (182 square kilometres). The island attracts visitors and prospective residents with its mild climate and annual sunshine in excess of 2,000 hours. The population of the island is 10,000.

Saltspring Island is located in the sheltered waters of the Southern Gulf Islands of British Columbia. Because of its close proximity to Vancouver IslandVancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada, off the Pacific coast. At 32,134 square kilometers (12,407 square miles), it is the largest island on the western side of the Americas. The island has been inhabited by humans for some eight, Saltspring is the most accessible of the Gulf chain of islands, with the most frequent ferry sailings on three routes to three ferry terminals. BC FerriesBritish Columbia Ferry Services Inc. or BC Ferries is the company that provides all major passenger and vehicle ferry services on the West Coast of British Columbia. Set up in 1959 to provide a substantially better service then those provided by the Black links Fulford Harbour with Swartz Bay (near SidneySidney is a town located at the northern end of the Saanich Peninsula, on Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It has a population of approximately 11,000. Sidney is located just east of Victoria International Airport, and just s), and also links Vesuvius to CroftonCrofton, British Columbia Canada, is a small town that is part of the District of North Cowichan on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. The population is estimated around 2,500 people. Crofton was founded in 1902 by Henry Croft, who owned the nearby cop on Vancouver Island. There is a BC Ferries dock in nearby Long Harbour with links to both Swartz Bay on Vancouver Island and Tsawwassen, on the BC mainland. Floatplanes also link the village of Ganges to Vancouver and Seattle.