British Columbia, also commonly referred to by its initials BC, is a province located on the west coast of Canada. British Columbia is also a component of the Pacific Northwest and the Cascade bioregion. British Columbia is bordered by the Pacific on the west side, Alaska to the northwest and parts of the west, on the north by Yukon and the Northwest Territories, on the east by the province of Alberta, and on the south by the states of Washington, Idaho, and Montana.  British Columbia’s land area is 944,735 square kilometres (364,800 sq mi). British Columbia’s rugged coastline stretches for more than 27,000 kilometres (17,000 mi), and includes deep, mountainous fjords and about 6,000 islands, most of which are uninhabited.