Alert Bay

Alert Bay
Village
The Corporation of the Village of Alert Bay[1]
The big house near Alert Bay.
Alert Bay
Location within British Columbia
Coordinates: 50°34′57″N 126°55′31″W / 50.58250°N 126.92528°W / 50.58250; -126.92528Coordinates: 50°34′57″N 126°55′31″W / 50.58250°N 126.92528°W / 50.58250; -126.92528
Country  Canada
Province  British Columbia
Region Central Coast
Regional district Mount Waddington
Incorporated 1946
Government
 • Governing body Alert Bay Village Council
 • MP Rachel Blaney (NDP)
 • MLA Claire Trevena (BC NDP)
Area
 • Total 1.78 km2 (0.69 sq mi)
Elevation 30 m (100 ft)
Population
 • Total 1,200-1,500
 • Density 360/km2 (2,300/sq mi)
Time zone UTC-8 (PST)
Highways Ferry 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, in the Regional District of Mount Waddington, British Columbia, Canada. 1,200-1,500 people live within the village.[2]

Population

More than half of the village's 982 residents are First Nations people.[2] The village is in traditional Kwakwaka'wakw territory. Two Indian Reserves take up the rest of Cormorant Island, Alert Bay 1 on the east side of the island,[3] Alert Bay 1A on the west.[4]

Facilities and features

Alert Bay has a credit union, grocery store, museums, a traditional 'big house', a hospital, an RCMP station, a drug store, a post office, three restaurants and retail gift shops, a BC liquor store, a Royal Canadian Legion, a pub, doctors' offices, dental clinic, a drug and alcohol treatment centre, Alert Bay Drugs has automated teller machine exterior of their building. also automated teller machine inside Bayside Pub. The town has an Alert Bay Airport, a public 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 also one campground and an ecological park consisting of a cedar swamp and a small area of old-growth trees.

There is the Alert Bay Elementary School elementary school in Alert Bay for children in kindergarten and grades 1 to 7 and the T'lisalagi'lakw School (independent) owned and operated by the 'Namgis First Nation for children in Nursery, Kindergarten and grades 1 to 7. Grades 8 to 12 travel by foot ferrywater 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 is also home to the world's tallest totem pole.[5]

U'mista Cultural Centre

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 Kwakwaka'wakw regained their possessions after long negotiations. The returned artifacts are housed in a museum at the U'mista Cultural Centre.[6]

Origin of the name

The settlement was named c.1860 after the Royal Navy ship HMS Alert, which conducted survey operations in the area.[7]

Climate

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
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)		 16.7
(62.1)		 18.7
(65.7)		 23.5
(74.3)		 35.2
(95.4)		 30.0
(86)		 29.4
(84.9)		 33.3
(91.9)		 27.9
(82.2)		 23.9
(75)		 17.8
(64)		 15.6
(60.1)		 35.2
(95.4)
Average high °C (°F) 6.1
(43)		 7.0
(44.6)		 9.6
(49.3)		 11.4
(52.5)		 14.3
(57.7)		 15.8
(60.4)		 18.0
(64.4)		 18.4
(65.1)		 16.0
(60.8)		 11.8
(53.2)		 7.4
(45.3)		 5.4
(41.7)		 11.8
(53.2)
Daily mean °C (°F) 4.3
(39.7)		 4.6
(40.3)		 6.3
(43.3)		 7.7
(45.9)		 10.4
(50.7)		 12.2
(54)		 14.1
(57.4)		 14.4
(57.9)		 12.2
(54)		 9.0
(48.2)		 5.5
(41.9)		 3.6
(38.5)		 8.7
(47.7)
Average low °C (°F) 2.4
(36.3)		 2.2
(36)		 3.0
(37.4)		 4.0
(39.2)		 6.4
(43.5)		 8.5
(47.3)		 10.2
(50.4)		 10.4
(50.7)		 8.3
(46.9)		 6.1
(43)		 3.5
(38.3)		 1.8
(35.2)		 5.6
(42.1)
Record low °C (°F) −11.1
(12)		 −13.6
(7.5)		 −7.8
(18)		 −1.7
(28.9)		 0.0
(32)		 2.2
(36)		 1.1
(34)		 5.6
(42.1)		 1.1
(34)		 −3.9
(25)		 −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) 215.9
(8.5)		 149.9
(5.902)		 109.7
(4.319)		 103.4
(4.071)		 78.3
(3.083)		 79.1
(3.114)		 45.4
(1.787)		 62.3
(2.453)		 76.8
(3.024)		 209.9
(8.264)		 249.6
(9.827)		 193.3
(7.61)		 1,573.5
(61.949)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 210.2
(8.276)		 138.9
(5.469)		 108.4
(4.268)		 102.9
(4.051)		 78.3
(3.083)		 79.1
(3.114)		 45.4
(1.787)		 62.3
(2.453)		 76.8
(3.024)		 209.4
(8.244)		 246.5
(9.705)		 186.7
(7.35)		 1,544.9
(60.823)
Average snowfall cm (inches) 6.2
(2.44)		 12.1
(4.76)		 1.4
(0.55)		 0.5
(0.2)		 0.0
(0)		 0.0
(0)		 0.0
(0)		 0.0
(0)		 0.0
(0)		 0.5
(0.2)		 3.1
(1.22)		 6.5
(2.56)		 30.2
(11.89)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) 20.9 18.2 17.8 19.0 17.4 15.9 11.9 11.5 14.1 19.8 23.3 20.8 210.4
Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) 19.8 17.0 17.5 19.0 17.4 15.9 11.9 11.5 14.1 19.8 22.8 20.0 206.5
Average snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm) 2.4 2.7 1.0 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 1.0 2.2 9.6
Source: [8]

Geology

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.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "British Columbia Regional Districts, Municipalities, Corporate Name, Date of Incorporation and Postal Address" (XLS). British Columbia Ministry of Communities, Sport and Cultural Development. Archived from the original on July 13, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  2. 1 2 "2006 Canadian Census". Statistics Canada. Archived from the original on 2011-06-29. Retrieved 2010-01-16.
  3. ↑ "BC Geographical Names". apps.gov.bc.ca. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  4. ↑ "BC Geographical Names". apps.gov.bc.ca. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  5. ↑ "World's Largest Totem Pole". Atlas Obscura. Archived from the original on 12 February 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  6. ↑ "Dancing around Alert Bay". Straight.com. Retrieved 2006-06-01.
  7. ↑ Walbran, John (1909). British Columbia Coast Names, 1592-1906: their origin and history. Ottawa.
  8. ↑ "Calculation Information for 1981 to 2010 Canadian Normals Data". Environment Canada. Archived from the original on June 13, 2013. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
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