Sandspit K'il Kun | |
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Coordinates: 53°15′N131°49′W / 53.250°N 131.817°W [1] | |
Country | Canada |
Province | British Columbia |
Region | Haida Gwaii |
Regional district | North Coast |
Area (2021) [3] | |
• Land | 5.85 km2 (2.26 sq mi) |
Elevation | 6 m (20 ft) |
Population (2021) [3] | |
• Total | 310 |
• Density | 53.0/km2 (137/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC−08:00 (PST) |
Forward sortation area | |
Area code(s) | 250, 778, 236 |
Sandspit (Haida : K'il Kun) [4] is the largest community on Moresby Island, in Haida Gwaii off the Pacific coast of British Columbia, Canada. The only town on Moresby Island, Sandspit has accommodations, a campground, supermarket and 85-berth harbour serving visitors to Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site. [5]
The unincorporated community had a population of 310 as of the 2021 census, up from 296 at the 2016 census. [3] The community is served by Sandspit Airport with daily flights to and from Vancouver, as well as multiple ferry voyages from Alliford Bay to Skidegate Landing on Graham Island. [5]
Near the airport is the "Spirit of Sandspit", a copper and cedar sculpture of a salmon, the "Spirit of Sandspit", by island artist Lon Sharp dominates the main road. [5] Sandspit is also home to the Open Ocean totem pole by Jesse Jones, Jimmy Jones and Jason Goetzinger. [6]
The Circle Tour leaves and returns to Sandspit on active gravel logging road past Skidegate Lake, Copper River, Gray Bay beach, and Copper Bay, where Haida people, continuing tradition, fish for sockeye salmon and hang the fish out to dry in May and early June to preserve it. [5]
Sandspit experiences an oceanic (Köppen Cfb) with a rainy season in the colder months, typical for the Pacific Northwest. It is very warm for its high latitude in North America, and its annual average temperature is the same as Port Hardy, which is located almost 3 degrees further south. [7]
Climate data for Sandspit (Sandspit Airport) Climate ID: 1057050; coordinates 53°15′14″N131°48′47″W / 53.25389°N 131.81306°W ; elevation: 6.4 m (21 ft); 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1945−present [a] | |||||||||||||
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Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high humidex | 14.3 | 13.3 | 13.8 | 15.4 | 23.0 | 27.1 | 30.8 | 30.2 | 26.4 | 22.0 | 17.6 | 16.6 | 30.8 |
Record high °C (°F) | 13.3 (55.9) | 13.4 (56.1) | 14.1 (57.4) | 18.9 (66.0) | 21.7 (71.1) | 26.7 (80.1) | 27.8 (82.0) | 26.7 (80.1) | 24.1 (75.4) | 20.6 (69.1) | 16.3 (61.3) | 13.4 (56.1) | 27.8 (82.0) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 6.5 (43.7) | 6.6 (43.9) | 7.4 (45.3) | 9.7 (49.5) | 12.5 (54.5) | 15.0 (59.0) | 17.4 (63.3) | 18.2 (64.8) | 16.1 (61.0) | 12.3 (54.1) | 8.7 (47.7) | 6.7 (44.1) | 11.4 (52.5) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 4.1 (39.4) | 4.2 (39.6) | 4.5 (40.1) | 6.7 (44.1) | 9.7 (49.5) | 12.3 (54.1) | 14.7 (58.5) | 15.3 (59.5) | 13.2 (55.8) | 9.5 (49.1) | 6.1 (43.0) | 4.3 (39.7) | 8.7 (47.7) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 1.8 (35.2) | 1.7 (35.1) | 1.6 (34.9) | 3.7 (38.7) | 6.8 (44.2) | 9.5 (49.1) | 11.9 (53.4) | 12.4 (54.3) | 10.3 (50.5) | 6.7 (44.1) | 3.5 (38.3) | 1.8 (35.2) | 6.0 (42.8) |
Record low °C (°F) | −13.9 (7.0) | −12.3 (9.9) | −12.2 (10.0) | −5.1 (22.8) | −1.1 (30.0) | 2.2 (36.0) | 5.0 (41.0) | 1.9 (35.4) | −0.6 (30.9) | −3.1 (26.4) | −15.5 (4.1) | −12.8 (9.0) | −15.5 (4.1) |
Record low wind chill | −22.9 | −24.1 | −22.9 | −10.8 | −3.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | −10.7 | −26.0 | −20.8 | −26.0 |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 166.9 (6.57) | 118.1 (4.65) | 118.1 (4.65) | 94.2 (3.71) | 54.2 (2.13) | 49.3 (1.94) | 48.6 (1.91) | 57.6 (2.27) | 78.3 (3.08) | 164.2 (6.46) | 175.3 (6.90) | 197.2 (7.76) | 1,322.1 (52.05) |
Average rainfall mm (inches) | 157.9 (6.22) | 120.9 (4.76) | 116.5 (4.59) | 93.0 (3.66) | 57.6 (2.27) | 48.3 (1.90) | 48.0 (1.89) | 60.1 (2.37) | 78.9 (3.11) | 166.7 (6.56) | 180.8 (7.12) | 193.4 (7.61) | 1,322.1 (52.05) |
Average snowfall cm (inches) | 12.0 (4.7) | 3.5 (1.4) | 6.5 (2.6) | 0.4 (0.2) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 1.6 (0.6) | 5.0 (2.0) | 28.9 (11.4) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 22.2 | 18.7 | 22.1 | 20.7 | 16.0 | 14.8 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 17.2 | 22.3 | 23.3 | 25.1 | 231.3 |
Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 21.1 | 17.8 | 21.1 | 20.2 | 16.2 | 14.8 | 15.0 | 14.4 | 17.3 | 22.6 | 23.2 | 24.0 | 227.6 |
Average snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm) | 2.6 | 1.6 | 2.1 | 0.45 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.87 | 1.6 | 9.1 |
Average relative humidity (%) (at 1500 LST) | 84.8 | 79.1 | 75.9 | 76.2 | 75.4 | 76.9 | 76.6 | 76.5 | 77.4 | 79.1 | 82.2 | 84.6 | 78.7 |
Average dew point °C (°F) | 0.6 (33.1) | 1.8 (35.2) | 1.7 (35.1) | 3.6 (38.5) | 6.2 (43.2) | 8.8 (47.8) | 11.1 (52.0) | 11.9 (53.4) | 10.5 (50.9) | 7.2 (45.0) | 3.9 (39.0) | 1.9 (35.4) | 5.8 (42.4) |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 48.6 | 78.1 | 118.1 | 154.6 | 199.1 | 176.8 | 186.6 | 186.8 | 141.8 | 97.9 | 63 | 47 | 1,498.1 |
Percent possible sunshine | 19.3 | 28.2 | 32.2 | 36.9 | 40.5 | 34.9 | 36.7 | 40.8 | 37.1 | 29.7 | 24.1 | 19.9 | 31.7 |
Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada [7] (sunshine 1971–2000) [8] (dew point at 1300 LST, 1951–1980) [9] |
In the 2021 Canadian census conducted by Statistics Canada, Sandspit had a population of 310 living in 156 of its 243 total private dwellings, a change of 4.7% from its 2016 population of 296. With a land area of 5.85 km2 (2.26 sq mi), it had a population density of 53.0/km2 (137.2/sq mi) in 2021. [3]
The Haida are an Indigenous group who have traditionally occupied Haida Gwaii, an archipelago just off the coast of British Columbia, Canada, for at least 12,500 years.
Haida Gwaii, also known as the Queen Charlotte Islands, is an archipelago located between 55–125 km (34–78 mi) off the northern Pacific coast in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The islands are separated from the mainland to the east by the shallow Hecate Strait. Queen Charlotte Sound lies to the south, with Vancouver Island beyond. To the north, the disputed Dixon Entrance separates Haida Gwaii from the Alexander Archipelago in the U.S. state of Alaska.
Alberta is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. Located in Western Canada, the province has an area of 661,190 km2 (255,290 sq mi) and is bounded to the south by the United States state of Montana along 49° north for 298 km (185 mi); to the east at 110° west by the province of Saskatchewan for 1,223 km (760 mi); and at 60° north the Northwest Territories for 644 km (400 mi). The southern half of the province borders British Columbia along the Continental Divide of the Americas on the peaks of the Rocky Mountains, while the northern half borders British Columbia along the 120th meridian west. Along with Saskatchewan it is one of only two landlocked provinces or territories.
Alliford Bay Water Aerodrome is located on Alliford Bay, British Columbia, Canada. Alliford Bay is a part of Skidegate Inlet, Moresby Island in the Haida Gwaii Islands.
The North Coast Regional District is a quasi-municipal administrative area in British Columbia. It is located on British Columbia's west coast and includes Haida Gwaii, the largest of which are Graham Island and Moresby Island. Its administrative offices are in the City of Prince Rupert.
Yarmouth, officially named the Municipality of the District of Yarmouth, is a district municipality in Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia, Canada. Statistics Canada classifies the district municipality as a municipal district.
Moresby Island is a large island (3,399.39 km2 [1,312.51 sq mi]) that forms part of the Haida Gwaii archipelago in British Columbia, Canada, located at 53°04′44″N132°07′40″W It is separated by the narrow Skidegate Channel from the other principal island of the group to the north, Graham Island.
Lyell Island, known also in the Haida language as Athlii Gwaii, is a large island in the Haida Gwaii archipelago on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada. It is located on the east side of Moresby Island, just south of Laskeek Bay. The island is a part of the Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site.
Tlell is a small, unincorporated area on the east coast of Graham Island, which is part of Haida Gwaii in British Columbia, Canada.
The Queen Charlottes Gold Rush was a gold rush in southern Haida Gwaii of what is now the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada, in 1851.
Mount Moresby is the highest mountain of the Queen Charlotte Mountains, located 26 km (16 mi) south of Daajing Giids on Moresby Island in British Columbia, Canada.
Kunghit Island is an island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is the southernmost island in the Haida Gwaii archipelago, located to the south of Moresby Island. The southernmost point of Kunghit Island, called Cape St James, is used to delineate the boundary between Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound. The only habitation on Kunghit Island is Rose Harbour, on its north shore.
Cumshewa Inlet, also recorded or referred to in exploration logs as Cumchewas Harbour and Tooscondolth Sound, is a large inlet on the east coast of Moresby Island in the Haida Gwaii islands of the North Coast of British Columbia. The inlet was the site of various Haida villages, including Cumshewa, Tanu and Djí-gua. The name for the inlet was conferred in the days of the Maritime Fur Trade following a custom whereby captains named locations for the most important local chief, in this case Cumshewa, who figures in maritime fur trade vessel logs from 1787 onwards. In 1794 Cumshewa and his followers massacred the crew of the American trading vessel Resolution in Cumshewa Inlet.
Burnaby Island is an island in Haida Gwaii off the north coast of British Columbia, Canada, located off the southeast coast of Moresby Island. It is part of the Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site.
Cartwright Sound is a sound on the southwest coast of Graham Island in the Queen Charlotte Islands of the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada. It was named by Captain George Vancouver in honour of John Cartwright, then serving in the Royal Navy under Admiral Howe and later a noted political and social reformer in Britain. The sound is located in the area of Kano Inlet, and lies between Tcenakum and Hunter Points. In the center is a tiny island called Marble Island. Listed by the BC Geographical Names Information System, the sound is entirely missing from Google Maps. Adding to the confusion, Cartwright Sound Charters, which runs fishing expeditions to the sound, is based in Sandspit, British Columbia, on the far east coast of Graham island Queen Charlotte Islands is also now known as the Haida Gwaii archipelago
Betty Lowman Carey became the first woman to singlehandedly row the Inside Passage of British Columbia in 1937. At the age of 22, having graduated from the University of Washington, she traveled in a traditional dugout canoe converted to include oars and named in an acronym of her brothers first names, Bijaboji. She celebrated her 23rd birthday in Butedale on the east side of Princess Royal Island during her trip.
Moresby Camp is a settlement on Moresby Island in the Haida Gwaii archipelago in British Columbia.
Maude Island is an island in the Haida Gwaii archipelago of the North Coast region of British Columbia, Canada. It is located within Skidegate Inlet, a large saltwater inlet within Graham Island. It is the larger of two islands in British Columbia by that name, the other being a small islet offshore from Nanoose Bay and Lantzville on southeastern Vancouver Island.
The Salmon River is a river on Moresby Island in the Haida Gwaii archipelago of the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada, flowing northeast into McEchran Cove.