Ports & Harbours of Alaska, British Columbia and the Bering Sea

History

Port Alberni and the West Coast of Vancouver Island have been populated by the people of Tseshaht First Nation, Hupacasath First Nation, and the Nuu-chah-nulth people for thousands of years. Many place names in Port Alberni have a Nuu-chah-nulth origin, such as Somass (washing), Kitsuksis (log across mouth of creek), Pacheena (foamy), and Nootka (go around). Ancient petroglyph carvings can be found at Sproat Lake.

The City of Port Alberni is named for Captain Don Pedro de Alberní, a Spanish officer, who commanded Fort San Miguel at Nootka Sound on Vancouver Island's west coast from 1790 to 1792. Sproat Lake was named after Gilbert Sproat and Stamp Falls and Stamp River were named after Edward Stamp.

Geography

Located at the head of the Alberni Inlet, Port Alberni lies adjacent to this natural harbour as well as the Somass River. The other end of the inlet is located on Barkley Sound, which includes the Broken Group Islands, considered to be one of the best areas for kayaking in the world. Sproat Lake is located 10 km (6.2 mi) west of the city, and the valley is guarded by the snow-covered peaks of the Beaufort range, Mount Arrowsmith and Mount Klitsa, and surrounded by mountains on all sides. Kuth-kah-chulth, is the Nuu-Chah-Nulth name for Mount Arrowsmith.

The city itself owes its unique layout to its former "twin city" status, due to its two official city centres, as well as the numerous creeks and ravines that bisect the townsite.

Economy

The chief source of industry in Port Alberni is forestry, commercial fishing, and tourism. In the 1950s, 60's and 70's the forestry labour force in Port Alberni was one of the highest paid in the country. However, over the last fifteen years there has been a decline in the forestry industry and a consequent relative decline in the economy of the city and of its residents. The Alberni Valley's forests consist primarily of Douglas fir, hemlock, yellow cedar and western red cedar. Most of the old growth forests have been logged with current logging coming from second growth forests. Port Alberni Mill, owned by Catalyst Paper, sits on the edge of the Alberni Inlet. It produces 340,000 tonnes of directory paper and lightweight coated paper each year.

History

Historically, before 1750, the area was home to the Hoyalas, followed by the Koskimo people in the late 1800s.

It was named after Alice Whalen, the founders' mother. The brothers Whalen began their construction of the mill at its present site in 1917, with first pulp produced in 1918. The mill at Swanson Bay, on the Inside Passage farther north, was also a Whalen operation.

Due to heavy rainfall and the surrounding steep slopes, Port Alice experienced mud and rock slides in 1927 and 1935, which contributed to the decision to relocate the town site away from the mill in 1965. Landslides continued to occur in the area and at the new townsite in 1973, 1975, 1987, and 2010.

In 1965, Port Alice became a district municipality and was incorporated as a village on January 1, 1971.

Geography

Devil’s Bath, a flooded sinkhole near Port Alice, is an example of a cenote and is the largest in Canada at 359 meters in diameter and 44 meters in depth.

There are a number of hiking destinations in the area. They include Devil’s Bath, Eternal Fountain, Vanishing River & Reappearing River. These are a series of ancient karst and limestone formations. The access is through dirt roads.

History

There is no written record of a permanent Tlingit settlement at Port Alexander. One translation of its Tlingit name, Haa Léelk'w Hás Aaní Saax'ú, is "Village beside Shee [Baranof Island]" which hints that it was some sort of dwelling place. The fact that there were native structures there in 1794 suggests that the Tlingit used the area in the pre-contact era in some capacity, perhaps as a summer fish camp.

The head of this cove [Ship Cove] approaches within the fourth of a mile of the head of another cove [Port Alexander], whose entrance on the outside [Chatham Strait] is about 2 miles to the south of the south point of this harbor [Port Conclusion].

Climate

Port Alexander has an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfb), with temperatures ranging from cold to mild depending on the season. Precipitation is very heavy for most of the year, with a relative lull during the spring and early summer. Some of the precipitation falls as snow during the winter months.

History

It is a certainty that Tlingit natives knew and used Port Walter long before contact with Europeans. Regrettably, the history of this period is lost. Given Tlingit involvement in fisheries throughout Southeast Alaska, it is likely that natives both fished for and worked in the fish processing plants in Port Walter.

Among the earliest written references to Port Walter is found in the 1901 United States Coast Pilot. It was described as having a good anchorage, suggesting regular use by local mariners. The Bureau of Lighthouses established a 10-candlepower fixed red light on a wooden scaffold 20 feet tall on the northern entrance to Port Walter in 1914. In November 1918 this light was upgraded from a fixed to flashing light, and from an oil-wick to acetylene gas light of 130-candlepower.

Geography

Port Walter is a glacially-carved fjord in semischistose Sitka graywacke rock on the southeast coast of Baranof Island. It opens into Chatham Strait on its east. The main arm of Port Walter, tends roughly west from its opening to the sea. It consists of an outer bay and inner bay, also known as Big Port Walter, joined by a narrow channel. A smaller arm, Little Port Walter, tends to the southwest. It also has an outer and inner bay joined by a narrow channel.

Various features around the shore of Port Walter have been given official or common names. The southern point of its entrance from Chatham Strait is Hutchinson Point. New Port Walter is an inlet where the outflow from Lake Osprey empties into the main arm.

Climate

Little Port Walter has an oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb) that borders a subpolar oceanic climate (Cfc), with only four months having average temperatures above 50 °F or 10 °C. It receives an average annual precipitation of over 226 inches or 5,700 millimetres and as such is the wettest permanent settlement in the United States and among the wettest in the world with lengthy climate records. As many as seventy-eight days per year see over 1 in (25 mm) of rain and/or snowfall per year, while in October 1974 69.23 in (1,758.4 mm) of rain fell and in January 1985 61.67 in (1,566.4 mm). The record daily precipitation was 14.84 in (376.9 mm) on 6 December 1964.

History

Port Moody is named for Colonel Richard Clement Moody, of the Royal Engineers. It was created at the end of a trail that connected New Westminster to Burrard Inlet, to defend New Westminster against potential attack by the USA. It grew rapidly after 1859 by land grants to Moody's Royal Engineers.

The construction of a transcontinental railroad was the condition that prompted British Columbia to enter into confederation in 1871. The small town received little attention until it was declared the terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1879.

By 1881, the survey of Port Moody had begun. Both John Murray Sr. and Jr. assisted, and, in fact, it was John Murray Jr. who named many of the streets after members of his family. The population grew rapidly through the early 1880s.

Geography and the environment

Over 41 streams flow through Port Moody to Burrard Inlet. The City of Port Moody Stream Stewardship Program manages urban streams, streamside vegetation and watersheds to support the production of fish and insect life for present and future generations. The Port Moody Ecological Society (PMES), a not-for-profit organization, works alongside the city to promote ecological awareness in the area. PMES volunteers operate a salmon and trout hatchery, a water quality lab and public awareness & community outreach programs.

The city has also banned the use of pesticides and holds annual seminars on how to garden naturally at its Inlet Theatre. City Hall has been pesticide free since 1988.

Port Moody won a large number of provincial, national and international awards.

Economy

The traditional industrial sector in Port Moody is characterized by a deep-sea bulk loading terminal, two petrochemical distribution operations, a large wood products manufacturer, and a thermal electric generating station. Light industry, home-based business, and crafts and cultural businesses are also common in Port Moody, along with a growing health and social services sector. Port Moody is well-known for its number of craft breweries, many of which happen to be conveniently located on the same street, which is known as Brewer's Row.

Port Moody's economic development focus in recent years has been on the arts and culture sector, including the development of a new Port Moody identity as the “City of the Arts.”

History

The First Nations of Vancouver Island have a legend of a Spanish trading schooner which arrived on the Island's southwestern coast in 1777. The Spanish anchored in the harbour and traded with the Nitinat Natives. The Spanish discovered gold in the San Juan River and tried to recover the gold. The Nitinat Natives defeated the Spanish expedition. Two Spanish women were taken as slaves. The women were later released to another Spanish expedition who discovered them. The later expedition inadvertently infected the Nitinat Natives with smallpox. There is some evidence to support this story. Spanish ships such as the Santiago investigated the west coast in the 1700s. There are also records of attacks on Spanish by First Nations. This is the first alleged discovery of gold in the San Juan River.

History

The area was long inhabited by indigenous peoples, most recently by the Coast Salish people, including the Kwikwetl'em. The first European settlers began farming beside the Pitt River in 1859. A major impetus to the creation of a municipality was when the Canadian Pacific Railway moved its freight terminus from Vancouver to "Westminster Junction", building a spur line to the Fraser River port of New Westminster in 1911. Port Coquitlam was first incorporated as a municipality on March 7, 1913.

Port Coquitlam was originally developed mostly as farmland. Given the expansion and increasing sprawl of Vancouver, it has now been developed for suburban housing, especially in the northern and southwestern areas of the city.

Geography

Port Graham and Nanwalek are located near the southern tip of the Kenai Peninsula and are separated by less than 5 miles (8 km). Although they have local roads, there is no road access into this area. All vehicles must be brought in by barge or ferry. Both villages are accessible by air or water. They lie 22 miles (35 km) southwest of Homer and about 7 miles (11 km) by air from Seldovia. The Alaska Marine Highway System provides ferry service to all of Kachemak Bay, the water body separating Port Graham, Nanwalek and Seldovia from Homer.

Port Graham is located at 59°20′52″N 151°50′0″W (59.347736, -151.833420). According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 6.4 square miles (16.5 km2), all of it recorded as land.