Vancouver is a place. It's also filled with places.
Many of those places are well known, with names like Stanley Park, Coal Harbour, and Kitsilano Beach.
Some aren't.
And these are five of them (it's a very straightforward list this week). Each of the names comes from the province's guide to geographical names.
1. Cowards Cove
This one seems a bit unnecessarily mean. It's a little cove on the southwestern edge of Point Grey and UBC.
The name comes from the fact that "small vessels shelter in the cove when wind and waves prevent progress out of the Fraser River," according to the province's site.
Given that Wreck Beach is nearby, perhaps it should be called "Reasonably Cautious Cove."
2. Noon Breakfast Point
While in the area of UBC, head over to Noon Breakfast Point.
Given Vancouver's current reputation/love of brunch, one could be forgiven for thinking this was a recent term, perhaps part of a marketing stunt.
However, this comes from June 1792. On one of Captain George Vancouver's expeditions to the area, Lieutenant Peter Puget called it by this name, though no doubt the local First Nations already had a name for it.
3. Brokers Bay
Granville Island and False Creek are two of the most famous geographic features of Vancouver, but Brokers Bay isn't as well known.
It's the little cove on the western side of Granville Island now filled with boats. Its name is related to that; back in 1984 a local businessman suggested the name as a reference to the boats often sold there.
4. Calamity Point
This may sound like the name of an 80s thriller film, but it's actually a shoal off of North Vancouver, near Stanley Park and the Lions Gate Bridge.
The name comes from the fact that it had been a point until the 60s. Prior to that, it was a hazard for sailors coming and going from Vancouver's harbour, and had a beacon on it as a warning.
5. Elsje Point
A rocky point near the Vancouver Maritime Museum is actually named after Elsje Armstrong, who was active in the city for quite a while, including spending time on the Vancouver Museums and Planetarium Association board.
Bonus
There are several other spots with relatively unknown names around the city.
There's a bank under the waters of Vancouver Harbour named Gumboot Bank, which seems like a place where something more substantial than gumboots would be needed.
And there's a Lion Island near Annacis Island.
Perhaps the most entertaining is Goose Bar, which is a sand or gravel bar in the Pitt River, but would double as a great pub name.
