Zeballos (pop. 107) is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

located on the northwest coast of

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

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 Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Zeballos is now known for its

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide funds ...

and

sport fishing Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing or game fishing, is fishing for leisure, exercise or competition. It can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is professional fishing for profit; or subsistence fishing, which is fishing ...

Location and geography

Zeballos is a deep-sea port surrounded by rugged mountains and forests, located on the

Zeballos River The Zeballos River is a river located on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. The river is up island and flows south into the north end of Zeballos Inlet, near the town of Zeballos. The river was named in relation to Zeballos Inlet, which was n ...

delta, at the end of

Zeballos Inlet Zeballos Inlet is an extension of Esperanza Inlet in the North Island region of Vancouver Island, Canada. Though inland relative to the outer coast, it is part of the Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's ...

within the territory of the Ehattesaht Chinehkint First Nation. It is accessible from Highway 19, about a two and half hour drive north of Campbell River. Zeballos' position relative to nearby

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 ...

and

Kyuquot Sound Kyuquot Sound is a complex of coastal inlets, bays and islands on northwestern Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The sound is named after the Kyuquot people, who are of the Nuu-chah-nulth peoples by culture and languag ...

make it a popular "jump-off" point for tourists and anglers. Other areas of interest include

Nootka Island Nootka Island (french: île Nootka) is an island adjacent to Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It is in area. It is separated from Vancouver Island by Nootka Sound and its side-inlets, and is located within Electoral Area A of the ...

Fair Harbour A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Types Variations of fairs incl ...

, a 35 km (22 mi) trip by unpaved road from Zeballos, and Brooks Peninsula Provincial Park.

History

The eponymous inlet was named for Lt.

Ciriaco Ceballos Ciriaco Ceballos Neto or Ciriaco Cevallos y Bustillo ( Quijano, Cantabria, 1763 - México, 1816) was a Spanish sailor, explorer and cartographer. The Zeballos River and Zeballos, British Columbia Zeballos (pop. 107) is a village located on the no ...

, a crew member aboard an early ship of Spanish explorer

Alessandro Malaspina Alejandro Malaspina (November 5, 1754 – April 9, 1810) was a Tuscan explorer who spent most of his life as a Spanish naval officer. Under a Spanish royal commission, he undertook a voyage around the world from 1786 to 1788, then, from 1789 t ...

's expedition (1789-1794). The location of Zeballos remained relatively obscure until over 120 years later, when a mining camp by that name emerged due to a

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...

in the 1930s. The name became official as that of the local post office in 1946 and was incorporated as a village municipality in 1952. Although estimates vary, Zeballos may have had a population of over 5,000 during the peak of mining activity. Between 1938 and 1943, $13 million worth of

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

bricks were shipped from Zeballos. Zeballosdock

With the onset of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Zeballos lost significant numbers of its workforce to the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...

. Eventually, the mines began to close. Although post-war efforts were made to begin production again, the set price of $35.00 an ounce made it uneconomical for the mines to continue operating. Within twenty years, the mines had closed for good. In the 1950s,

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...

emerged as a promising new industry for the village. In 1964, an

iron mine Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

was established. Although the

timber industry Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production Lumber and wood products, including timber for framing, plywood, and woodworking, are create ...

proved successful for the community, the mine shut its doors just five years after opening. In 1964, the

Good Friday earthquake The 1964 Alaskan earthquake, also known as the Great Alaskan earthquake and Good Friday earthquake, occurred at 5:36 PM AKST on Good Friday, March 27.

and ensuing

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...

brought destruction to the small coastal community. Charles Ford, a young seaplane pilot and resident of Zeballos, wrote: On April 27, 2004, the body of young resident Kayla John was found in a wooded area close to her home. The murder made national headlines, shaking this tiny community of under two hundred and fifty people. Less than one month after her death, a local man, George Osmond, was charged with the death of the thirteen-year-old girl. He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison shortly thereafter. The fact that Kayla John was a member of the Ehattesaht First Nation, and that her alleged killer was a white man, lead to suggestion of the crime having racial undertones. It also brought attention to the developing issue of juvenile delinquency in the area, a problem faced by many isolated, predominantly

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

communitie

The public's growing concern resulted in a locally organized policing initiative: Citizens on Patro

Demographics

In the 2021 Canadian census, 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...

, Zeballos had a population of 126 living in 71 of its 109 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 107. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Economy

Today, the majority of the town's residents, along with the population of the two neighbouring Native reserves, Oculcje and Ehatis are employed in the

. Small businesses, specializing in

, sight-seeing,

commercial fishing Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often ...

and

oyster farming Oyster farming is an aquaculture (or mariculture) practice in which oysters are bred and raised mainly for their pearls, shells and inner organ tissue, which is eaten. Oyster farming was practiced by the ancient Rome, ancient Romans as early as t ...

also contribute to economic growth in the are

Miscellaneous

* Zeballos offers a multitude of outdoor adventures, such as hiking, wildlife viewing, caving, rock climbing, diving, kayaking and fishing. * Camping is available in several wilderness locations such as Little Zeballos, Lake Zeballos, and Iron Mine. * In Autumn, the

draws

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...

s and

eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

s as spawning salmon struggle upstream.

References

External links

* * {{Coord, 49, 59, 0, N, 126, 50, 43, W, scale:60000, display=title Populated places in the Strathcona Regional District Villages in British Columbia Northern Vancouver Island