Cedarvale, also known as Minskinish, is an unincorporated community in the Skeena River valley of northwestern

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. Located originally on the west side of the Skeena as a railway station of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway and nearby post office, in 1910, Cedarvale is now on the east side of the river along the Yellowhead Highway. The community's name in the

Tsimshian language The Tsimshianic languages are a family of languages spoken in northwestern British Columbia and in Southeast Alaska on Annette Island and Ketchikan. All Tsimshianic languages are endangered, some with only around 400 speakers. Only around 2,170 ...

is Minskinish, meaning "under the pitch pines", which began as a missionary settlement similar in character to but much smaller than Metlakatla. The

Indian reserve In Canada, an Indian reserve (french: réserve indienne) is specified by the '' Indian Act'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." Ind ...

comprising the community is Koonwat Indian Reserve No. 7.

This settlement began as Minskinish, a Victorian missionary village like William Duncan's Metlakatla. The benevolent despot here was the Reverend R. Tomlinson, who founded the village in 1888. The Sabbath was strictly observed in Minskinish; no work of any sort was done on Sunday, no visitor arrived or departed, and if a river boat arrived that day it merely left the mail on the bank of the Skeena, where it was not touched until Monday. It is not surprising that the village was nicknamed "Holy City". Minskinish means "under the pitch pines". Its present name of Cedarvale comes from the cedars which grow around the landing.''British Columbia Place Names'', Helen B. and G.P.V. Akrigg, Sono Nis Press, Victoria 1986 /or University of British Columbia Press 1997

The Cedarvale railway station is served by Via Rails Jasper – Prince Rupert train.

Climate

Cedarvale has a

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 climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Dfb'') with cold, snowy winters and warm summers.

References

{{reflist Unincorporated settlements in British Columbia Skeena Country