Alert Bay | |
---|---|
The Corporation of the Village of Alert Bay [1] | |
Coordinates: 50°35′02″N126°55′40″W / 50.58389°N 126.92778°W [2] | |
Country | Canada |
Province | British Columbia |
Region | British Columbia Coast |
Regional district | Mount Waddington |
Incorporated | 1946 |
Government | |
• Governing body | Alert Bay Village Council |
• MP | Rachel Blaney (NDP) |
• MLA | Claire Trevena (BC NDP) |
Area (2021) [4] | |
• Total | 1.69 km2 (0.65 sq mi) |
Elevation At the weather station [5] | 54.9 m (180.1 ft) |
Population (2021) [4] | |
• Total | 449 |
• Density | 265.7/km2 (688/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC−08:00 (PST) |
Highways | BC Ferries to Port McNeill and Sointula |
Waterways | Johnstone Strait, Broughton Strait, Cormorant Channel |
Climate | Cfb |
Website | Village of Alert Bay |
Alert Bay is a village on Cormorant Island, near the town of Port McNeill on northeast Vancouver Island, in the Regional District of Mount Waddington, British Columbia, Canada.
In the 2021 Canadian census conducted by Statistics Canada, Alert Bay had a population of 449 living in 219 of its 266 total private dwellings, a change of -6.3% from its 2016 population of 479. With a land area of 1.69 km2 (0.65 sq mi), it had a population density of 265.7/km2 (688.1/sq mi) in 2021. [4]
Up to half of the village's residents are First Nations people. [6] The village is in traditional Kwakwakaʼwakw territory. Two Indian Reserves take up the rest of Cormorant Island, Alert Bay 1 on the east side of the island, [7] Alert Bay 1A on the west. [8]
Alert Bay has a credit union, grocery store, museums, a traditional "big house", a hospital, a Royal Canadian Mounted Police station, a drug store, a post office, four restaurants and retail gift shops, a BC liquor store, a Royal Canadian Legion, a pub, doctors' offices, a drug and alcohol treatment centre, and three automated teller machines (one in the bank, one outside the drug store and one outside Bayside Pub).
The town has two airports (Alert Bay Airport, and the Alert Bay Water Aerodrome). There is a boat harbour and a BC Ferries terminal with service to Sointula and Port McNeill.
There is Alert Bay Elementary School, part of School District 85 Vancouver Island North, for children in kindergarten and grades 1 to 7 and the T'lisalagi'lakw School (independent) owned and operated by the ʼNamgis First Nation for children in nursery, kindergarten and grades 1 to 7. Students in grades 8 to 12 travel by foot or ferry / water taxi to a school in nearby Port McNeill on Vancouver Island, along with students from Sointula on nearby Malcolm Island and others on North Island.
Alert Bay has a campground, located on Alder Rd.
Alert Bay Ecological Park, formerly known as Gator Gardens, consists of boardwalks over a marsh and some forest trails. Cedar, pine, and hemlock trees populate the marsh. Many of the trees in the park are covered in Witch's Hair lichen. The water in the marsh comes from an underground fresh water spring. A dam was built in 1886 to collect fresh water for a fish cannery, and the resulting flooding of fresh water killed the trees in this area. The resulting cedar snags are a distinctive feature of this marshy area. [9]
Alert Bay is home to the world's tallest totem pole. [10]
In 1921, the Government of Canada, in an effort to stop the potlatch custom of dance, song, and wealth distribution under Section 116 of the Indian Act, confiscated many items including wooden masks, copper shields, and dance regalia. During the 1970s and 80s, the Kwakwakaʼwakw regained their possessions after long negotiations. The returned artifacts are housed in a museum at the U'mista Cultural Centre. [11]
The settlement was named c.1860 after the Royal Navy ship HMS Alert, which conducted survey operations in the area. [12]
Alert Bay has an oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb) with a strong drying tendency in summer. Alert Bay is heavily moderated by the proximity to the Pacific Ocean and being located in the pathway of low-pressure systems from said ocean, heavy annual rainfall ensues. Winter is the wettest season, but snowfall is rare due to the average lows above freezing.
Climate data for Alert Bay Climate ID: 1020270; coordinates 50°35′N126°56′W / 50.583°N 126.933°W ; elevation: 59.4 m (195 ft); 1971–2000 normals | |||||||||||||
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Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high humidex | 13.6 | 16.1 | 19.5 | 23.3 | 38.9 | 30.6 | 35.0 | 35.1 | 29.5 | 31.8 | 18.3 | 14.4 | 38.9 |
Record high °C (°F) | 13.9 (57.0) | 16.7 (62.1) | 18.7 (65.7) | 23.5 (74.3) | 35.2 (95.4) | 30.0 (86.0) | 29.4 (84.9) | 33.3 (91.9) | 27.9 (82.2) | 23.9 (75.0) | 17.8 (64.0) | 15.6 (60.1) | 35.2 (95.4) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 5.4 (41.7) | 6.8 (44.2) | 8.9 (48.0) | 11.3 (52.3) | 14.1 (57.4) | 15.7 (60.3) | 17.9 (64.2) | 18.2 (64.8) | 16.1 (61.0) | 11.9 (53.4) | 7.5 (45.5) | 5.6 (42.1) | 11.6 (52.9) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 3.5 (38.3) | 4.4 (39.9) | 5.8 (42.4) | 7.6 (45.7) | 10.1 (50.2) | 12 (54) | 14 (57) | 14.3 (57.7) | 12.3 (54.1) | 9 (48) | 5.4 (41.7) | 3.7 (38.7) | 8.5 (47.3) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 1.5 (34.7) | 2 (36) | 2.6 (36.7) | 3.9 (39.0) | 6.1 (43.0) | 8.3 (46.9) | 10 (50) | 10.4 (50.7) | 8.4 (47.1) | 6 (43) | 3.3 (37.9) | 1.7 (35.1) | 5.4 (41.7) |
Record low °C (°F) | −11.1 (12.0) | −13.6 (7.5) | −7.8 (18.0) | −1.7 (28.9) | 0.0 (32.0) | 2.2 (36.0) | 1.1 (34.0) | 5.6 (42.1) | 1.1 (34.0) | −3.9 (25.0) | −12.6 (9.3) | −13.3 (8.1) | −13.6 (7.5) |
Record low wind chill | −21.5 | −26.5 | −22.0 | −4.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | −9.2 | −24.8 | −23.0 | −26.5 |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 209.2 (8.24) | 147.7 (5.81) | 125.6 (4.94) | 94.5 (3.72) | 73.7 (2.90) | 81 (3.2) | 50.5 (1.99) | 65.4 (2.57) | 91.3 (3.59) | 191.4 (7.54) | 251.5 (9.90) | 209.6 (8.25) | 1,591.5 (62.66) |
Average rainfall mm (inches) | 189.3 (7.45) | 134.7 (5.30) | 116.7 (4.59) | 93 (3.7) | 73.7 (2.90) | 81 (3.2) | 50.5 (1.99) | 65.4 (2.57) | 91.3 (3.59) | 191 (7.5) | 244.2 (9.61) | 195.9 (7.71) | 1,526.6 (60.10) |
Average snowfall cm (inches) | 20.7 (8.1) | 13.1 (5.2) | 8 (3.1) | 1.3 (0.5) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0.4 (0.2) | 6.6 (2.6) | 12.5 (4.9) | 62.6 (24.6) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm.) | 20.5 | 18.1 | 19.5 | 17.7 | 17 | 15.6 | 12.5 | 12.5 | 14.5 | 19.8 | 22.2 | 21.7 | 211.8 |
Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm.) | 18.3 | 17 | 18.8 | 17.7 | 17 | 15.6 | 12.5 | 12.5 | 14.5 | 19.7 | 21.7 | 20.4 | 205.5 |
Average snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm) | 4.6 | 3.4 | 2 | 0.52 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 3.4 | 15.1 |
Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada Canadian Climate Normals 1971–2000 [5] |
Volcanic features in the geography around Alert Bay are part of the Alert Bay Volcanic Belt. It appears to have been active in Miocene and Pliocene times. No Holocene eruptions are known, and volcanic activity in the belt has likely ceased.
Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is 456 km (283 mi) in length, 100 km (62 mi) in width at its widest point, and 32,100 km2 (12,400 sq mi) in total area, while 31,285 km2 (12,079 sq mi) are of land. The island is the largest by area and the most populous along the west coasts of the Americas.
The Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw, also known as the Kwakiutl, are one of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Their current population, according to a 2016 census, is 3,665. Most live in their traditional territory on northern Vancouver Island, nearby smaller islands including the Discovery Islands, and the adjacent British Columbia mainland. Some also live outside their homelands in urban areas such as Victoria and Vancouver. They are politically organized into 13 band governments.
British Columbia Ferry Services Inc., operating as BC Ferries (BCF), is a former provincial Crown corporation, now operating as an independently managed, publicly owned Canadian company. BC Ferries provides all major passenger and vehicle ferry services for coastal and island communities in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Set up in 1960 to provide a similar service to that provided by the Black Ball Line and the Canadian Pacific Railway, which were affected by job action at the time, BC Ferries has become the largest passenger ferry line in North America, operating a fleet of 41 vessels with a total passenger and crew capacity of over 27,000, serving 47 locations on the B.C. coast.
Port McNeill is a town in the North Island region of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada on Vancouver Island's northeast shore, on Queen Charlotte Strait. Originally a base camp for loggers, it became a settlement in 1936. It was named after Captain William Henry McNeill of the Hudson's Bay Company.
Sointula is an isolated village on Malcolm Island in British Columbia, Canada. Lying between Vancouver Island and the British Columbia mainland, northeast of Port McNeill and not far from Alert Bay, the island is part of the historic and present territory of the ‘Namgis First Nation. At the 2011 census, the village had a population of 576, down 3.0% from the 2006 census.
Knight Inlet is one of the principal inlets of the British Columbia Coast, and the largest of the major inlets in the southern part of the Coast. It is fifth in sequence of the great saltwater inlets north from the 49th parallel near Vancouver, but it is the first whose outflow points away from the Strait of Georgia, opening into Queen Charlotte Strait at the Kwakwakaʼwakw community of Memkumlis on Village Island.
Alert Bay Airport is a public airport located on Cormorant Island next to the village of Alert Bay, British Columbia, Canada. Cormorant Island lies between Malcolm Island and Port McNeill on northeastern Vancouver Island.
The Regional District of Mount Waddington (RDMW) is a regional district in British Columbia. It takes in the lower Central Coast region centred on the Queen Charlotte Strait coast of northern Vancouver Island and the adjoining parts of mainland British Columbia. It has a total land area of 20,288.4 km2 and a 2016 census population of 11,035 persons, most of which is in towns on Vancouver Island and adjoining islands. The administrative centre is in the town of Port McNeill. Other municipalities include the district municipality of Port Hardy, the village of Port Alice, and the village of Alert Bay.
Chief Mungo Martin or Nakapenkem, Datsa, was an important figure in Northwest Coast style art, specifically that of the Kwakwaka'wakw Aboriginal people who live in the area of British Columbia and Vancouver Island. He was a major contributor to Kwakwaka'wakw art, especially in the realm of wood sculpture and painting. He was also known as a singer and songwriter.
The 'Namgis First Nation is a First Nations band government on northern Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, and on adjoining islands in the southern Queen Charlotte Strait region.
Henry Hunt was a First Nations woodcarver and artist from the Kwakwaka'wakw people of coastal British Columbia. He carved a number of totem poles which are on public display in Canada and internationally.
Broughton Archipelago is a group of islands located at the eastern end of Queen Charlotte Strait in Mount Waddington Regional District, British Columbia. The archipelago is the traditional territory of the Musgamagw Dzawada'enuxw, Namgis, Ma'amtagila and Tlowitsis nations of the Kwakwaka'wakw peoples.
Fort Rupert is the site of a former Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) fort on the east coast near the northern tip of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The unincorporated community on Beaver Harbour is about 11 kilometres (7 mi) by road southeast of Port Hardy.
New Vancouver, also known as Tzatsisnukomi, T˜sadzis' nukwame' or t̕sa̱dzis'nukwa̱me'' in the Kwak'wala language, is a Kwakwaka'wakw community on Harbledown Island in the Queen Charlotte Strait region of the Central Coast of British Columbia, near the community of Alert Bay. New Vancouver is the main village of the Da'naxda'xw subgroup of the Kwakwaka'wakw peoples. New Vancouver is at Dead Point on the north end of Harbeldown Island, at the west end of Beware Passage.
Broughton Strait is a strait off the north coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, separating that island from Malcolm and Cormorant Islands, on the farther side of which is the larger Queen Charlotte Strait, which also lies beyond the western end of Broughton Strait, and the mouth of Knight Inlet. Farther east from Broughton Strait is the beginning of Johnstone Strait, which leads via Discovery Passage to the Strait of Georgia.
Haddington Island is a small volcanic island in the Canadian province of British Columbia, located in the Broughton Strait, and separated from Malcolm Island to the north by the Haddington Passage. It is located in the Mount Waddington Regional District.
Ellen Neel (1916–1966) was a Kwakwakaʼwakw artist woodcarver and is the first woman known to have professionally carved totem poles. She came from Alert Bay, British Columbia, and her work is in public collections throughout the world.
Cormorant Island is an island in Queen Charlotte Strait on the Central Coast of British Columbia, Canada. It has a total land area of about 4 square km and is located south of Malcolm Island and east of Port McNeill.
The Nimpkish River is a river in northern Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It is the longest river on the Island, rising on the west slope of Mount Alston, flowing northwest into Nimpkish Lake and then north into the Broughton Strait at a point 8 km east of Port McNeill, just southwest of the town of Alert Bay on Cormorant Island.
Beau Dick was a Kwakwaka'wakw Northwest Coast artist and Chief who lived and worked in Alert Bay, British Columbia, Canada. He was a contemporary artist, activist and hereditary Chief from the Namgis First Nation. Dick was an artist with an extensive national and international exhibition history.
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