Masset , formerly ''Massett'', is a village in

Haida Gwaii Haida Gwaii (; hai, X̱aaydag̱a Gwaay.yaay / , literally "Islands of the Haida people") is an archipelago located between off the northern Pacific coast of Canada. The islands are separated from the mainland to the east by the shallow Heca ...

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. It is located on Masset Sound on the northern coast of

Graham Island Graham Island () is the largest island in the Haida Gwaii archipelago (previously known as the Queen Charlotte Islands), lying off the mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada. It is separated by the narrow Skidegate Channel from the other pr ...

, the largest island in the archipelago, and is approximately west of mainland British Columbia. It is the primary western terminus of

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway (French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean on ...

16 (the

Yellowhead Highway The Yellowhead Highway (french: Route Yellowhead) is a major interprovincial highway in Western Canada that runs from Winnipeg to Graham Island off the coast of British Columbia via Saskatoon and Edmonton. It stretches across the four western ...

) and is served by

Masset Airport Masset Airport is located northeast of Masset, British Columbia, Canada. In 2008 the airport began services using a 737 jet. History The airport was constructed in July 1943 as RCAF Station Masset. It was built by the RCAF's No. 9 Constructio ...

, with flights to Vancouver and Prince Rupert. During the maritime fur trade of the early 19th century, Masset was a key trading site. It was incorporated as a village municipality on May 11, 1961.

Name

The name Masset was a gift from the captain of a Spanish vessel that was repaired with the assistance of the Haida citizens of Atewaas, Kayung and Jaaguhl. These three villages accepted the gift and adopted the name Masset to commemorate what might be the first ever contact between Europeans and the Haida. During the early years of Canadian colonization the name Masset and the post office were adopted by the former Reverend Charles Harrison as part of his scheme to sell land. The name Masset is currently in use by the Village of Masset, a municipality under Canada legislation and the Village of

Old Massett Old Massett, named G̱aw in X̱aad kíl, is an Indigenous Canadian village on Graham Island in Haida Gwaii, British Columbia. It lies on the east side of Masset Sound close to the town of Masset; the area of land it is on is legally designated M ...

, the original recipient of the name and a village under the Constitution of the Haida Nation. According to John T. Walbran, Masset came from the Haida word ''Masst'', or large island. Captain Douglas, on his second visit from

Nootka Sound , image = Morning on Nootka Sound.jpg , image_size = 250px , alt = , caption = Clouds over Nootka Sound , image_bathymetry = , alt_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = Map of Nootka So ...

aboard the ''Iphigenia'' on June 19, 1789, named the bay leading to the inlet ''McIntyre's Bay''. This name was used on the charts of Dixon and Meares. The American traders called the inlet, ''Hancock's River'' as shown in Ingraham's chart of 1792 after the American brig ''Hancock''. In 1853 H.N. Knox of the Royal Navy, mate on , did a sketch survey of the harbour when the name Masset was adopted by the British. A survey was made in 1907 by Captain Learmouth on ''HMS Egeria''. Masset's name in the local dialect of the Haida language is ''Uttewas'', "white slope", probably referring to a small hill south of the village.BC Names entry "Masset (Village)"
/ref>

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by Statistics Canada, Masset had a population of 838 living in 399 of its 518 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 793. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Oceanographic research

From 1942 to 1942, the British Columbia Shore Station Oceanographic Program was collecting coastal water temperature and salinity measurements for the

Department of Fisheries and Oceans Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO; french: Pêches et Océans Canada, MPO), is a department of the Government of Canada that is responsible for developing and implementing policies and programs in support of Canada's economic, ecological and sc ...

from Masset everyday during this period.

Military base

Canadian Forces Station Leitrim Detachment Masset, established as Naval Radio Station Masset in 1943, is a

Canadian Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Forc ...

facility used to gather signals intelligence for the Communications Security Establishment Canada and the Canadian Forces Intelligence Branch. The equipment at CFS Masset is operated remotely from

CFS Leitrim Canadian Forces Station Leitrim, also referred to as CFS Leitrim, is a Canadian Forces Station located in the neighbourhood of Leitrim in Ottawa, Ontario. It is concerned with the interception, decrypting and processing of communication for the ...

near Ottawa,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

Notable people from Masset

Guujaaw Gidansda Giindajin Haawasti Guujaaw, also known as Gary Edenshaw, is a singer, wood carver, traditional medicine practitioner, political activist and leader. He of Gakyaals Kiiqawaay, a Haida family of the Raven moiety. He has currently inheri ...

( wood carver, musician,

traditional medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before the ...

practitioner and political activist) *

Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas is a visual artist, author, and public speaker. His work has been seen in public spaces, museums, galleries and private collections across globe. Institutional collections include the British Museum, Metropolitan Museum ...

( Haida manga artist) *

Robert Davidson (artist) Robert Charles Davidson LL. D. D.F.A. (born 4 November 1946), is a Canadian artist of Haida heritage. Davidson's Haida name is , which means "Eagle of the Dawn". He is a leading figure in the renaissance of Haida art and culture. He lives in ...

* Florence Davidson (artist) * Reg Davidson (carver)

Climate

The climate, moderated by a warm Pacific current from Japan, is generally mild with no extremes in temperature,

oceanic Oceanic may refer to: *Of or relating to the ocean *Of or relating to Oceania **Oceanic climate **Oceanic languages **Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)" Places * Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island, ...

(''Cfb''). Annual temperature varies only 20 degrees Celsius but is variable and unpredictable - even within a 24-hour period. Average rainfall is with snowfall of and there is generally a breeze, most often out of the southeast when it is raining, and the northwest when it is sunny. Summer temperatures are in the range and the days are long - May, June, July boasting 18 hours of daylight. August and May general have the most sun but there is a fair degree of rain throughout the summer months. Winter months are mild with temperatures in the range and while precipitation is usually in the form of rain there can be some snowfall. Conditions can become severe without warning and Masset has registered wind gusts to . Although it is located at over 54 degrees north, rainfall follows a Mediterranean pattern. It is one of the northernmost places with this characteristic.

References

External links

* * {{authority control Villages in British Columbia Populated places in Haida Gwaii Haida villages Graham Island Hudson's Bay Company trading posts