Comox - Community Overview

Comox was first settled by Salish First Nations. The first Europeans arrived in the 1860s. Comox became a service centre and shipment point for the Comox Valley. The name Comox is a First Nation word meaning “land of plenty”.

Today, Comox is mainly a residential community but is surrounded by a rich agricultural area, especially in fruit and vegetable growing. The Canadian Armed Forces Base at Comox and tourism also contribute to a stable economy.

The Town of Comox is located on Highway #19, approximately 6 km southeast of Courtenay. Comox is situated in the Comox Valley, in the Regional District of Comox- Strathcona, on the eastern side of Vancouver Island.

The Comox Valley consists of the City of Courtenay, the Town of Comox, the Village of Cumberland, CFB Comox Airbase and the Hamlet of Merville. On the west, the Comox Valley is bordered by the Vancouver Island Mountain Range, with its beautiful Comox Glacier and Strathcona Park and on the east by the Strait of Georgia, Baynes Sound, and Comox Harbour. The waters of three major rivers, the Tsolum, the Puntledge, and the Browns, combine to form the Courtenay River, which flows across the broad alluvial lowland into the head of Comox Harbour.

The population of Comox numbers approximately 14,828.

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