Saanich is a district municipality on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, in the Great Victoria area. The district took its name from the Saanich Nation, meaning "emerging land" or "emerging people", and acts as a bedroom community immediately north of Victoria, British Columbia. It is the largest municipality in Great Victoria with an area of 103.44 km2 (39.94 m²). The municipality has a wide range of rural and urban landscapes and districts extending north of the Saanich Peninsula. Saanich is part of the University of Victoria, which is divided by the neighbouring district of Oak Bay. The municipality's topography is undulated by numerous post-glacial rocks. The water level is between sea level and 229 meters. Water has a huge impact on the physical environment. In the freshwater lakes there are 8.179 km2 (3.1563 m2) and on the sea coast - 29,61 km (18,40 m2). The original inhabitants of Saanich have lived in Saanich for thousands of years. The history of the Hudson's Bay Company dates back to the 1940s. Kenneth MacKenzie commissioned the construction of Craigflower School (originally Maple Point School), the oldest school building in Western Canada. He came from Scotland with his family in 1852 to the Hudson's Bay Company Norman Morison to establish a farm for the Puget Sound Agricultural Company, a subsidiary of the Hudson's Bay Company. A school was needed for the children of farm workers and settlers. The Municipality of Saanich was founded on March 1, 1906 and the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory Telescope was designed by John Stanley Plaskett, PhD, an astronomer with the Ottawa Department of the Interior. The 72-inch (1.8 m) reflector telescope was the largest of its kind in the world at the time of its construction, although it only took place for a few months in 1918; the northeast half of British Columbia's third largest university, the University of Victoria campus, is located in Saanich, while the southwestern portion is located in the adjacent Oak Gulf. Saanich also has large campuses at Camosun College, an original Lansdown campus and an intercity campus. Saanich is divided into two adjacent school districts: Greater Victoria School District 61 and Saanich School District 63. It is also home to the South Island Distance Education School. For planning purposes, Saanich is divided into twelve local areas and the following areas are local areas and representative community associations: Blenkinsop. A predominantly rural community in the valley west of Mount Douglas. represented by the Blenkinsop Valley Community Association. Cadboro Bay. A small village at the eastern end of Saanich, on the edge of Oak Bay near the University of Victoria. The local community also includes exclusive coastal areas of Ten Mileage Points. represented by the Cadboro Bay Residents Association. Careful. A suburban community located in the western part of Saanich. Represented by Strawberry Vale, Nagietek and Glanford Association of Residents in the North and Mount View Colquitz Community Association in the South. Gulf of Cordoba. Saanich North Coastal Community. represented by the Cordova Bay Association for Community Affairs. Gordon Head. A large suburban community north of the University of Victoria. represented by Gordon Head Residents' Association. Quadra North. The suburban community in the centre of the municipality. represented by the North Quadra Community Association. Quadra. A large urban and suburban community surrounding the urban centre of Saanicha. It has a golf course on the Cedru Hills and is represented by the Quadra Cedar Hill Community Association. Royal Oak. A suburban community on the outskirts of Saanich village. represented by the Royal Oak Community Association, the Falaise Community Association and the Broadmead Area Residents' Association. The village of Saanich. This part of Saanich is sparsely populated and mostly rural. Partially represented by the Association for the Community of the District of Lakes and the Commune of the District of Prospective Lakes. The nucleus of Saanicha. The urban centre of the Saanich district. Includes Uptown and City Hall. Represented by Mount View Community Association and Quadra Cedar Hill Community Association. Shelbourne. The urban and suburban community between the City of Victoria and the University of Victoria. represented by the Mont Tolmie Community Association and the Camosun Community Association. Tillicum.