Bella Coola
| Bella Coola | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Location in British Columbia | |||
|
|||
| State : |
 Canada
|
||
| Province : | British Columbia | ||
| Regional District : | Central Coast | ||
| Coordinates : | 52 ° 22 ′ N , 126 ° 45 ′ W | ||
| Residents : | 947 (as of 2011) | ||
| Time zone : | Pacific Time ( UTC − 8 ) | ||
| Postal code : | V0T | ||
| Climate diagram | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bella Coola is a settlement at the confluence of the Bella Coola River in the North Bentwick arm of the Burke Channel in western British Columbia . Bella Colla is the capital of the Central Coast Regional District , but not an independent municipality .
location
The settlements Bella Coola, Lower Bella Coola, Hagensborg, Saloompt, Nusatsum, Firvale and Stuie are combined to form the village of Bella Coola. The village is located in the Great Bear Rainforest .
history
The valley of the Bella Coola River is a traditional settlement area of the Nuxalk , who are also known as Bella Coola.
In 1793, near the settlement, in what is now Sir Alexander Mackenzie Provincial Park , Alexander MacKenzie, coming from the east , completed the first documented east-west crossing of North America . The establishment of a trading post of the Hudson's Bay Company in the valley of the river did not lead to the hoped-for settlement of the valley. It was not until around 1890 that a group of Norwegian Lutherans from Wisconsin settled in the valley and founded the Hagensborg settlement that the valley's population density rose. The indigenous population, previously decimated by a smallpox infection , settled near the trading post at the estuary.
Today around 45% of the population call themselves Nuxalk, whereas only around 10% of the around 1,900 inhabitants in the entire Bella Coola Valley call themselves of Norwegian descent. 947 inhabitants live in Bella Coola itself.
Due to its extensive catchment area, the valley is regularly flooded when there is congestion; the last major flood disaster occurred in September 2011.
economy
In addition to the tasks of the settlement as the administrative center of a 24,559.5 km² region, timber and fish industries, especially salmon fishing, play a decisive role. Agriculture was only of minor importance due to the geographical and climatic conditions. The trade in agricultural and forestry products, however, is important.
Tourism, especially through the opportunities for heli-skiing in the mountains of the Coast Mountains , is gaining in importance.
traffic
The valley of the Bella Coola River is accessed by the unpaved, 456 km long Highway 20 - known as the Chilcotin Highway or Alexander MacKenzie Highway - which leads to Williams Lake and Highway 97 . Approx. 40 km of the highway, which leads over the 1524 m high Heckman Pass and a steep descent called "The Hill", consists of a gravel road.
Scheduled flights to Vancouver and Anahim Lake are offered from the airport ( IATA code : QBC, ICAO code : CYBD), which is about 11 kilometers north-west near Hagensborg and has a 1,280 meter runway .
During the summer months from June to September, BC Ferries offers a service to Port Hardy in the north of Vancouver Island , year-round trips to McLoughlin Bay, Shearwater, Klemtu and Ocean Falls, which enable a connection to the ferry between Port Hardy and Prince Rupert .
tourism
In terms of tourism, the place is the starting point for visits to the Tweedsmuir South Provincial Park with the Hunlen Falls , the Tweedsmuir North Park and Protected Area or the Sir Alexander Mackenzie Provincial Park .
Web links
- Bella Coola . In: BC Geographical Names (English)
- Official website
- Information on the settlement on britishcolumbia.com (Engl.)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Census Profile: Bella Coola 1, Indian reserve. Statistics Canada, accessed August 10, 2012 .
- ↑ Census Profile: Bella Coola UNP. Statistics Canada, accessed August 10, 2012 .
- ↑ Flood concerns ease after heavy rains hit Bella Coola. Global BC, accessed August 10, 2012 .