Malahat Ridge is located on the southern end of Vancouver Island, northwest of Victoria. Malahat is a First Nation name with several possible meanings. The peak of the ridge,
Yaas or Yos, is sacred to the local Salish people.1
The Malahat is an imposing geographical feature and was, historically, difficult to
traverse. Even today, the scenic Malahat drive is considered by locals to be a notoriously
dangerous 16 km section of highway.2
1. Andrew Scott, The Encyclopedia of Raincoast Place Names (Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing, 2009), 355.