Brackendale is a small community in the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...

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, ...

just north of Squamish town centre, but still within the District of Squamish. It is located near the confluence of the

Squamish River The Squamish River is a short but very large river in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Its drainage basin is in size. The total length of the Squamish River is approximately . Course The Squamish River drains a complex of basins in the ...

and the

Cheakamus River The Cheakamus River (pron. CHEEK-a-mus) is a tributary of the Squamish River, beginning on the west slopes of Outlier Peak in Garibaldi Provincial Park upstream from Cheakamus Lake on the southeastern outskirts of the resort area of Whistler. T ...

. It is intersected primarily by Government Road and Depot Road. The CN railway (formerly

BC Rail BC Rail is a railway in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Chartered as a private company in 1912 as the Pacific Great Eastern Railway (PGE), it was acquired by the provincial government in 1918. In 1972 it was renamed to the British ...

) traverses it north–south. It includes the remarkable "Eagle Run" area, the wintering home of thousands of

bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

Climate

The

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologic ...

of Brackendale is dry in the summertime and mild and damp in the winter. The coastal maritime climate is moderated by nearby

Howe Sound Howe Sound (french: Baie (de /d')Howe, squ, Átl'ka7tsem, Nexwnéwu7ts, Txwnéwu7ts) is a roughly triangular sound, that joins a network of fjords situated immediately northwest of Vancouver, British Columbia. It was designated as a UNESCO Biosph ...

, but outflow winds from the Interior via the Whistler Valley and the many large icecaps in the

Pacific Ranges , photo = Mount Garibaldi (50997016501).jpg , photo_size = 280px , photo_caption = Mount Garibaldi massif as seen from Squamish , map = , map_image = South BC-NW USA-relief PacificRanges.png , m ...

are so fierce that winds of this type are sometimes known as

squamish wind A squamish (also known as an Arctic outflow wind in winter months) is a strong and often violent wind occurring in many of the fjords, inlets and valleys of British Columbia. Squamishes occur in those fjords oriented in a northeast–southwest o ...

History

Brackendale was named for Thomas Hirst Bracken, Brackendale's first postmaster, who also operated a general store and the Bracken Arms Hotel. When the hotel burned down he returned to England and died there. Brackendale is served by two schools in the Sea to Sky School District (#48); Brackendale Elementary School and Don Ross Middle School. It is the location of the

Squamish airport Squamish Airport is located north of Squamish, British Columbia, Canada. Squamish Airport is a general aviation airport with a runway located about from downtown Squamish. It is used for charter services, private aircraft, flying clubs, and o ...

(CYSE), with a runway long enough to handle light planes and helicopters. The

Brackendale Art Gallery Brackendale is the name of two towns in Canada and Australia: * Brackendale, British Columbia * Brackendale, New South Wales Brackendale is a rural locality situated on the Riamukka Road about 29 kilometres south of Walcha, New South Wales ...

, owned by artists

Thor and Dorte Froslev Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, and ...

, is a major cultural institution in the region, featuring local artists and visiting exhibitions. The couple put the aging building up for sale in 2015, but as of yet, no interested parties have stepped forward to purchase it. Some have argued that the building should be purchased by the district and made public.

External links

Brackendale Art GalleryBrackendale Eagles Provincial Park

References

{{BritishColumbia Populated places in the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District Squamish, British Columbia