Bella Coola is a community in the

Bella Coola Valley The Bella Coola Valley is a relatively small but distinct region located in the Central Coast region of British Columbia, Canada, comprising the valley of the Bella Coola River and its tributaries. The region is served by BC Hwy 20, which runs fr ...

, in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Canada. ''Bella Coola'' usually refers to the entire valley, encompassing the settlements of Bella Coola proper ("the townsite"), Lower Bella Coola,

Hagensborg Hagensborg, originally named Kristiania, is a small community in the Bella Coola Valley in British Columbia, Canada. Its census population in 2006 was 248. History Augsburg Church built in 1904 in Hagensborg The Bella Coola Valley was already th ...

, Salloompt, Nusatsum,

Firvale Firvale is a community in the Bella Coola Valley of the Central Coast region of British Columbia, Canada, located at the confluence of Burnt Bridge Creek and the Bella Coola River The Bella Coola River is a major river on the Pacific slope of the ...

, and

Stuie Stuie is a community in the Bella Coola Valley of the Central Coast region of British Columbia, Canada, located at the confluence of the Atnarko and Talchako Rivers, which is the "start" of the Bella Coola River The Bella Coola River is a major r ...

. It is also the location of the head offices of the

Central Coast Regional District Central Coast Regional District is a regional district in British Columbia, Canada. It has a total land area of 24,559.5 km2 (9,482.5 sq mi). When it was created in 1968, it was known as the Ocean Falls Regional District, named for the then ...

. The entire Bella Coola Valley has a population of 2,163 as of the 2021 census. This was an increase of 8% from the 2016 census, when the population was 2,007.

Geography

The primary geographical structure of the community, both in terms of physical structures and population distribution, is the long, narrow

Bella Coola River The Bella Coola River is a major river on the Pacific slope of the Coast Mountains in southern British Columbia. The town of Bella Coola is at its mouth on North Bentinck Arm. Bella Coola Indian Reserve No. 1 the location of the main community ...

valley. The river meanders along the eastern and northern edges of the town before discharging into the head of

North Bentinck Arm North Bentinck Arm is a short inlet about in length in the Central Coast region of British Columbia, Canada. It is an arm of Burke Channel and is linked via that waterway and Labouchere Channel to Dean Channel, which is one of the largest inlets ...

Highway 20 Route 20, or Highway 20, may refer to: International * European route E20 Australia * Sturt Highway (NSW/VIC/SA) * Yarra Bank Highway Brazil * BR-020 Canada * Alberta Highway 20 * British Columbia Highway 20 * Manitoba Highway 20 *New B ...

(known over most of its length as the Chilcotin Highway) stretches from the Government wharf (on the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

) through the extent of the populated portion of the valley before climbing to the

Chilcotin Plateau The Chilcotin Plateau is part of the Fraser Plateau, a major subdivision of the Interior Plateau of British Columbia. The Chilcotin Plateau is physically near-identical with the region of the same name, i.e. "the Chilcotin", which lies between t ...

, and the entire population of the community lives either on this road or very near to it. In recent years, the mountainous terrain around (and accessible from) the Bella Coola Valley has been advertised for

heliskiing Heli-skiing is off-trail, downhill skiing or snowboarding where the skier reaches the top of the mountain by helicopter, instead of a ski lift. History In the late 1950s, helicopters were used in Alaska and Europe to access remote terrain. The ...

. Skiing movies have been filmed in the area.

Name

"Bella Coola" is an

exonym An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...

and corruption of the

Heiltsuk The Heiltsuk or Haíɫzaqv , sometimes historically referred to as ''Bella Bella'', are an Indigenous people of the Central Coast region in British Columbia, centred on the island community of Bella Bella. The government of the Heiltsuk people ...

''bḷ́xʷlá'', meaning "somebody from Bella Coola" or "stranger". The

Nuxalk The Nuxalk people ( Nuxalk: ''Nuxalkmc''; pronounced )'','' also referred to as the Bella Coola, Bellacoola or Bilchula, are an Indigenous First Nation of the Pacific Northwest Coast, centred in the area in and around Bella Coola, British Co ...

endonym for the local region is "Nuxalk", and the endonym for the specific village site of Bella Coola is "Q'umk'uts" The name Bella Coola has been used to refer to the entire Bella Coola valley, and at times to the entire ethnic region, not to any village in particular. Increasingly the term "Nuxalk Territory" is used for the entire region, and Bella Coola refers specifically to the river valley.

Sir Alexander Mackenzie Sir Alexander Mackenzie (or MacKenzie, gd, Alasdair MacCoinnich; – 12 March 1820) was a Scottish explorer known for accomplishing the first crossing of America north of Mexico in 1793. The Mackenzie River is named after him. Early life ...

referred to it as 'Rascal's Village'.

Climate

Bella Coola's climate is a moderate oceanic climate (Köppen ''Cfb'') due to its proximity to the

, falling exactly on the borderline with the warm-summer

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

(Köppen ''Dfb'') and close to the warm-summer

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

(Köppen ''Csb'') and the warm-summer continental Mediterranean climate (Köppen ''Dsb''). However, its summers are warmer than coastal places much further south due to its semi-inland position. The maritime air is made warmer by the passage of the outer islands, but is stronger in terms of winter moderation. This results in a climate that far belies its northerly latitude in North America. There is a strong drying tendency in summer, but remains above the dry-summer climates that are often referred to as ''cs'' climates (

mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

). The highest temperature ever recorded in Bella Coola was on 30 July 2009. The coldest temperature ever recorded was on 15 January 1950.

Transport

Road

There is a 454 km mostly paved road connection by

to Williams Lake. The road was built in 1953 by local residents, and features a 15 km ascent from the Valley floor to the Chilcotin plateau, gaining 1600m in elevation to the summit at Heckman Pass, via a number of steep grades & switchbacks. The construction of this road was described in the books "Bella Coola" and "A Road Runs West". The road's ascents are also gaining popularity for cycling.

Air

Bella Coola is served by the

Bella Coola Airport Bella Coola Airport is located northeast of Bella Coola, British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse g ...

(on Highway 20, in Hagensborg), 14 km distant from the townsite which has a 1,280 metre

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term ...

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt, concre ...

Pacific Coastal Airlines Pacific Coastal Airlines Ltd is a Canadian regional airline that operates scheduled, charter and cargo services to destinations in British Columbia. Its head office is located in the South Terminal of Vancouver International Airport in Richmond ...

offers scheduled traffic to

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

and

Anahim Lake :''The subject of this article should not be confused with Anaham, which is a different community located nine kilometres east of Alexis Creek, British Columbia, which is in the same area.'' Anahim Lake is a small community in British Columbia. ...

. Charter services by both plane and helicopter are also available.Website describing the Bella Coola airport
/ref>

Marine ferry

BC Ferries British Columbia Ferry Services Inc., operating as BC Ferries (BCF), is a former provincial Crown corporation, now operating as an independently managed, publicly owned Canadian company. BC Ferries provides all major passenger and vehicle ferr ...

provides a vehicle/passenger service in the summer (mid-June - mid-September) to

Port Hardy Port Hardy is a district municipality in British Columbia, Canada located on the north-east end of Vancouver Island. Port Hardy has a population of 4,132 as of the last census (2016). It is the gateway to Cape Scott Provincial Park, the North ...

on the northern tip of

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest by ...

. The voyage includes two connecting ferries: the ''Nimpkish'' from Bella Coola to Bella Bella then the ''Northern Expedition'' to Port Hardy. Reservations are essential as the ''Nimpkish'' carries only 16 cars and operates about twice a week. Travellers should be aware that ''Nimpkish'' has no amenities and the trip takes 9.5 hours, plus 7 hours on the ''Northern Expedition''. In 2014, the large ferry ''Queen of Chilliwack'' which had provided direct service between Bella Coola and Port Hardy since 1995 was cancelled due to provincial government cutbacks.BC Ferries summer service to Port Hardy
/ref> In 2017, BC Ferries announced the purchase of a 150 passenger, 35-vehicle vessel to again provide direct service between Port Hardy & Bella Coola starting 19 June 2018. During the rest of the year (mid-September to mid-June), ferry service is provided twice a month and connects Bella Coola to the outlying coastal communities of Bella Bella,

Shearwater Shearwaters are medium-sized long-winged seabirds in the petrel family Procellariidae. They have a global marine distribution, but are most common in temperate and cold waters, and are pelagic outside the breeding season. Description These tub ...

and

Ocean Falls Ocean Falls is a community on the Central Coast of British Columbia, Canada. Formerly a large company town owned by Crown Zellerbach, it is accessible only via boat or seaplane, and is home for a few dozen full-time residents, with the seasonal ...

,BC Ferries fares from Bella Coola for the winter service
/ref> with passengers able to transfer at McLoughlin Bay ( Bella Bella) to a ferry serving either Prince Rupert and

Klemtu Klemtu is an unincorporated community on Swindle Island in the coastal fjords of British Columbia, Canada. It is located on Kitasoo Indian Reserve No. 1. Klemtu is the home of the Kitasoo tribe of Tsimshians, originally from Kitasu Bay, and t ...

, or

. The sailing schedule varies throughout the season.BC Ferries schedule for winter involving Bella Coola
/ref>

History

The

people were present in the Bella Coola valley prior to any formal

written history Recorded history or written history describes the historical events that have been recorded in a written form or other documented communication which are subsequently evaluated by historians using the historical method. For broader world his ...

of the area. This is confirmed both by oral history that continues unbroken to present day, and by written history of some of the first European explorers of the area. In 1793, Alexander MacKenzie arrived from the east, completing the first recorded crossing of the continent north of Mexico. Immigration (non-Nuxalk) to the region was sporadic and often temporary for the next century. A Hudson's Bay fur trading post was set up at the mouth of the river (the land granted to the post forms the off-

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

portion of the present-day "townsite"), and a handful of farmers were granted land farther up the valley. The trading trails of the Nuxalk and neighbouring nations became a popular route from the Pacific Ocean to central British Columbia, particularly during the

Cariboo Gold Rush The Cariboo Gold Rush was a gold rush in the Colony of British Columbia, which later joined the Canadian province of British Columbia. The first gold discovery was made at Hills Bar in 1858, followed by more strikes in 1859 on the Horsefly River, ...

of the 1860s. In the 1870s, the valley was surveyed as a potential Pacific terminus of the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

; (

Burrard Inlet french: Baie Burrard , image = Burrard Inlet 201807.jpg , image_size = 250px , alt = , caption = Aerial view of Burrard Inlet , image_bathymetry = Burrard-Inlet-map-en.svg , alt_bathymetry ...

was the eventual choice, its selection giving birth to the city of

). In 1894, after their previously-existing community in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

suffered an internal conflict, a group of

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

settlers were given

land grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

s in the valley, conditional upon land clearing and the construction of residences. The land they were granted, as well as other land previously granted to individuals was, in many cases, land that had been occupied by Nuxalk communities only a few decades (or less) earlier. However, the

1862 Pacific Northwest smallpox epidemic Year 186 ( CLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelius and Glabrio (or, less frequently, year 939 ''Ab urbe con ...

had decimated the Nuxalk population, and the survivors had, for the most part, gathered on land close to the mouth of the river (and close to the Hudson's Bay post). The Norwegian settlement was named

and remains one of the main communities of the Bella Coola Valley. Although much of the Norwegian colony's population did migrate away, others stayed to work in forestry and in the development of the fishing industry. The cannery at

Tallheo Tallheo is the location of a former village of the Nuxalk known as Talyu, and is a former cannery town near Bella Coola, British Columbia, Canada, on North Bentinck Arm. Tallheo is also the name of the dialect of the Nuxalk language spoken by the ...

, across the arm from Bella Coola, was founded by a Norwegian settler who had given up on farming in the area. These two populations (Norwegian settlers and Nuxalk), in varying proportions, continued to make up the vast majority of the community's population for most of the next century. However, in recent years, the Norwegian population (or connection to a Norwegian identity) has declined. In 2001, 43% of the population reported "Aboriginal identity", of which the vast majority is Nuxalk, while only 10% reported Norwegian (or Norwegian-Canadian) to be their "Ethnic Origin". When the community of

suffered a massive population decline in 1980/81, due to the closure of the town's primary industry (a paper mill), Bella Coola became the administrative centre for British Columbia's central coast. This led to the relocation of the Central Coast Regional District (which, up until that time had been called the "Ocean Falls Regional District") offices to Bella Coola, and a general centralization of government services such as provincial government regional centres (e.g. Ministry of Forests) in Bella Coola.

Economy

Bella Coola has a more diversified economy than might be expected among a population of its size. Fishing, forestry, public service (government/education), retail and tourism all contribute significantly to the economy. There is some limited agriculture, including an active farmers' market, processing of locally-caught seafood, a number of craftmakers and artists (including several celebrated Nuxalk artisans) and a fish hatchery. The only financial institution in Bella Coola is a branch of the Williams Lake & District Credit Union, heir to a sixty-plus-year tradition of the Bella Coola Valley Credit Union.

In popular culture

In the 2008 film ''The Incredible Hulk'', the main character, Bruce Banner / Hulk concludes the plot by escaping to Bella Coola, where he attempts to control his transformations. Significant footage for the film was shot in and near Bella Coola, though only very limited amounts were retained in the finished product.

Elected representatives

Regional district

The Bella Coola Valley includes Electoral Areas C, D and E of the

(CCRD) *Electoral Area C: Alison Sayers *Electoral Area D: Richard Hall *Electoral Area E: Samuel Schooner

Provincial

The Bella Coola Valley is located within the

North Coast North Coast or Northcoast may refer to : Antigua and Barbuda * Major Division of North Coast, a census division in Saint John Parish Australia *New South Wales North Coast, a region Canada *The British Columbia Coast, primarily the communiti ...

electoral district of the

British Columbia Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is the deliberative assembly of the Parliament of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The Legislative Assembly meets in Victoria. Members are elected from provincial r ...

. The riding is represented by

New Democrat New Democrats, also known as centrist Democrats, Clinton Democrats, or moderate Democrats, are a centrist ideological faction within the Democratic Party in the United States. As the Third Way faction of the party, they are seen as culturall ...

MLA Jennifer Rice.

Federal

The Bella Coola Valley lies within the

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

Parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democracy, democratic government, governance of a sovereign state, state (or subordinate entity) where the Executive (government), executive derives its democratic legitimacy ...

riding (electoral district) of

Skeena—Bulkley Valley Skeena—Bulkley Valley is a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2004. Geography This is a mostly wilderness area comprising almost the entire northwestern ...

, currently represented by New Democrat

Taylor Bachrach Taylor Bachrach (born 1978) is a Canadian New Democratic Party politician who was elected to represent the riding of Skeena—Bulkley Valley in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2019 Canadian federal election. Prior to his election in the ...

Notable people

Banchi Hanuse Banchi Hanuse is a Canadian indigenous filmmaker. Early life and education Hanuse holds a Bachelor of Arts in First Nations Studies from the University of British Columbia. She currently resides in Bella Coola. Hanuse has worked at the Nati ...

, film maker * Anna Höstman, composer

References

* Nater, Hank F. (1984). ''The Bella Coola Language''. Mercury Series; Canadian Ethnology Service (No. 92). Ottawa: National Museums of Canada.

External links

* * *
Bella Coola Valley Tourism association official websiteBella Coola and its environs, a description
{{authority control Populated places on the British Columbia Coast Unincorporated settlements in British Columbia Nuxalk Bella Coola Valley Populated places in the Central Coast Regional District Designated places in British Columbia