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.

Population

Up to a half of the village's residents are First Nations people. 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, Alert Bay 1A on the west.

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, a dental clinic, a drug and alcohol treatment centre, and 4 automated teller machines.
The town has three airports. There is a boat harbour and a BC Ferries terminal with service to Sointula and Port McNeill.
There is an elementary school owned and operated by the 'Namgis 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.
There is also one campground and an ecological park consisting of a cedar swamp and a small area of old-growth trees.
Alert Bay is home to the world's tallest totem pole.

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.

Origin of the name

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

Climate

Alert Bay has an oceanic climate 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.

Geology

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.

Notable People