It is bounded by Saanich Inlet on the west, Satellite Channel on the north, the small Colburne Passage on the northeast, and Haro Strait on the east.
[citation needed] The driest recording station in the provincial capital city of Victoria averages only 635 millimetres (25 in) of precipitation annually.
[citation needed] The natural flora of the region include mixed forests of Douglas fir, Western red cedar, hemlock, arbutus, Garry oak, and manzanita.
European settlers began arriving in the mid-nineteenth century, primarily engaging in resource-based industries such as logging, fishing, and notably, agriculture.
In recent decades, residential and commercial development has expanded across the peninsula, although provincial laws, such as the Agricultural Land Reserve, protect a significant portion of its farmland from rezoning.
Butchart Gardens is located just south of the town of Brentwood Bay, which was the original home of a long-established private school of the same name.