Bella Coola, British Columbia

The primary geographical structure of the community, both in terms of physical structures and population distribution, is the long, narrow Bella Coola River valley. The river meanders along the eastern and northern edges of the town before discharging into the head of North Bentinck Arm.

Highway 20 (known over most of its length as the Chilcotin Highway) stretches from the Government wharf (on the Pacific Ocean) through the extent of the populated portion of the valley before climbing to the Chilcotin Plateau, 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. The Bella Coola has been ranked as having the World's Best Heliskiing Operation since 2017,{{cite web |title=World Ski Awards » World's Best Heli-Ski Operator 2020 |url=https://worldskiawards.com/award/world-best-heli-ski-operator/2020 |website=World Ski Awards |access-date=7 November 2023 |language=en}}{{cite web |title=Awards |url=https://www.bellacoolaheliskiing.com/about-us/worlds-best-heli-ski-operation/ |website=Bella Coola Heli Sports |access-date=7 November 2023}} and has held this title consistently every year since. Several skiing movies have been filmed in the area.{{cite web |title=Watch the best ski and snowboard movies featuring Canada on Red Bull TV right now. |url=https://www.redbull.com/ca-en/best-new-snowboard-and-ski-movies-on-red-bull-tv |website=Red Bull |access-date=7 November 2023 |language=en |date=26 March 2020}}{{cite web |title=Ski Movies Featuring Bella Coola |url=https://www.bellacoolaheliskiing.com/media-hub/bella-coola-ski-movies/ |website=Bella Coola Heli Sports |access-date=7 November 2023}} The nearby Clayton Falls Creek provides public access to the North Bentinck Arm for the community.{{cite report|author=BC Hydro Project Team|title=Clayton Falls Water Use Plan Consultative Committee: Clayton Falls Water Use Plan|url=https://www.bchydro.com/content/dam/BCHydro/customer-portal/documents/corporate/environment-sustainability/water-use-planning/northern-interior/clayton-wup-cc-isbn-july-2003.pdf|date=2003|publisher=BC Hydro}}

"Bella Coola" is an exonym and corruption of the Heiltsuk bḷ́xʷlá, meaning "somebody from Bella Coola" or "stranger". The Nuxalk endonym for the local region is "Nuxalk", and the endonym for the specific village site of Bella Coola is "Q'umk'uts"{{cite book|last1=Nater|first1=H.F.|title=The Bella Coola Language|url=https://archive.org/details/bellacoolalangua1984nate|url-access=registration|date=1984|publisher=National Museums of Canada|page=XVII}} 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 referred to it as 'Rascal's Village'.{{Citation | last1 =Akrigg | first1 =G.P.V. | last2 =Akrigg | first2 =Helen B. | title =British Columbia Place Names | place =Vancouver | publisher =UBC Press | year =1986 | edition =3rd, 1997 | isbn =0-7748-0636-2 | url-access =registration | url =https://archive.org/details/britishcolumbiap0000akri_w1q9 }}{{rp|19}}

Bella Coola's climate is a moderate oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb) due to its proximity to the Pacific Ocean, falling exactly on the borderline with the warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb) and close to the warm-summer Mediterranean climate (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 highest temperature ever recorded in Bella Coola was {{convert|41.2|C|1}} on 30 July 2009.{{cite web

|url= http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_data/daily_data_e.html?hlyRange=1983-02-01%7C2013-08-15&dlyRange=1983-02-01%7C2016-06-04&mlyRange=1983-01-01%7C2007-02-01&StationID=381&Prov=BC&urlExtension=_e.html&searchType=stnName&optLimit=yearRange&StartYear=1840&EndYear=2016&selRowPerPage=25&Line=1&searchMethod=contains&Month=7&Day=6&txtStationName=bella+coola&timeframe=2&Year=2009

|title=July 2009

|work=Canadian Climate Data

|date=31 October 2011

|publisher= Environment Canada

|access-date=6 June 2016 }} The coldest temperature ever recorded was {{convert|-28.9|C|0}} on 15 January 1950.

{{Weather box

|location = Bella Coola Airport, 1981–2010 normals, extremes 1895–present

|metric first = Y

|single line = Y

|Jan maximum humidex = 15.3

|Feb maximum humidex = 16.6

|Mar maximum humidex = 23.0

|Apr maximum humidex = 28.5

|May maximum humidex = 36.0

|Jun maximum humidex = 37.0

|Jul maximum humidex = 42.7

|Aug maximum humidex = 39.1

|Sep maximum humidex = 33.7

|Oct maximum humidex = 26.4

|Nov maximum humidex = 14.9

|Dec maximum humidex = 13.6

|year maximum humidex = 42.7

|Jan record high C = 18.9

|Feb record high C = 17.3

|Mar record high C = 25.0

|Apr record high C = 29.4

|May record high C = 37.8

|Jun record high C = 36.3

|Jul record high C = 41.2

|Aug record high C = 37.8

|Sep record high C = 33.3

|Oct record high C = 25.0

|Nov record high C = 20.0

|Dec record high C = 16.0

|year record high C = 41.2

|Jan high C = 3.0

|Feb high C = 5.9

|Mar high C = 9.9

|Apr high C = 14.3

|May high C = 18.1

|Jun high C = 20.7

|Jul high C = 23.0

|Aug high C = 22.7

|Sep high C = 18.7

|Oct high C = 12.2

|Nov high C = 5.5

|Dec high C = 2.4

|year high C = 13.0

|Jan mean C = 0.2

|Feb mean C = 2.1

|Mar mean C = 5.0

|Apr mean C = 8.6

|May mean C = 12.1

|Jun mean C = 15.1

|Jul mean C = 17.3

|Aug mean C = 17.0

|Sep mean C = 13.4

|Oct mean C = 8.3

|Nov mean C = 2.8

|Dec mean C = 0.0

|year mean C = 8.5

|Jan low C = -2.6

|Feb low C = -1.8

|Mar low C = 0.1

|Apr low C = 2.9

|May low C = 6.1

|Jun low C = 9.5

|Jul low C = 11.4

|Aug low C = 11.2

|Sep low C = 8.0

|Oct low C = 4.3

|Nov low C = 0.1

|Dec low C = -2.4

|year low C = 3.9

|Jan record low C = -28.9

|Feb record low C = -24.4

|Mar record low C = -20.6

|Apr record low C = -9.4

|May record low C = -6.1

|Jun record low C = -1.1

|Jul record low C = 1.1

|Aug record low C = -1.1

|Sep record low C = -4.4

|Oct record low C = -14.0

|Nov record low C = -24.5

|Dec record low C = -24.4

|year record low C = -28.9

|Jan chill = -32.7

|Feb chill = -36.8

|Mar chill = -26.2

|Apr chill = -9.7

|May chill = 0.0

|Jun chill = 0.0

|Jul chill = 0.0

|Aug chill = 0.0

|Sep chill = -2.6

|Oct chill = -21.8

|Nov chill = -39.4

|Dec chill = -30.6

|year chill = -39.4

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 157.2

|Feb precipitation mm = 87.6

|Mar precipitation mm = 76.4

|Apr precipitation mm = 55.7

|May precipitation mm = 47.8

|Jun precipitation mm = 51.1

|Jul precipitation mm = 42.3

|Aug precipitation mm = 60.3

|Sep precipitation mm = 90.1

|Oct precipitation mm = 194.9

|Nov precipitation mm = 204.9

|Dec precipitation mm = 130.8

|year precipitation mm = 1199.1

|rain colour = green

|Jan rain mm = 131.1

|Feb rain mm = 72.4

|Mar rain mm = 71.2

|Apr rain mm = 55.2

|May rain mm = 47.8

|Jun rain mm = 51.1

|Jul rain mm = 42.3

|Aug rain mm = 60.3

|Sep rain mm = 90.1

|Oct rain mm = 193.1

|Nov rain mm = 180.4

|Dec rain mm = 102.8

|year rain mm = 1097.8

|snow colour = green

|Jan snow cm = 30.3

|Feb snow cm = 17.2

|Mar snow cm = 5.7

|Apr snow cm = 0.6

|May snow cm = 0.0

|Jun snow cm = 0.0

|Jul snow cm = 0.0

|Aug snow cm = 0.0

|Sep snow cm = 0.0

|Oct snow cm = 2.2

|Nov snow cm = 26.0

|Dec snow cm = 30.1

|year snow cm = 112.0

|Jan humidity = 78.5

|Feb humidity = 65.5

|Mar humidity = 55.9

|Apr humidity = 50.3

|May humidity = 50.3

|Jun humidity = 53.5

|Jul humidity = 53.3

|Aug humidity = 56.0

|Sep humidity = 61.9

|Oct humidity = 72.9

|Nov humidity = 82.4

|Dec humidity = 82.4

|year humidity = 63.6

|unit precipitation days = 0.2 mm

|Jan precipitation days = 18.2

|Feb precipitation days = 13.3

|Mar precipitation days = 16.1

|Apr precipitation days = 14.7

|May precipitation days = 15.7

|Jun precipitation days = 15.8

|Jul precipitation days = 13.4

|Aug precipitation days = 12.9

|Sep precipitation days = 14.6

|Oct precipitation days = 21.1

|Nov precipitation days = 21.1

|Dec precipitation days = 18.3

|year precipitation days = 195.1

|unit rain days = 0.2 mm

|Jan rain days = 14.8

|Feb rain days = 11.6

|Mar rain days = 15.5

|Apr rain days = 14.7

|May rain days = 15.7

|Jun rain days = 15.8

|Jul rain days = 13.4

|Aug rain days = 12.9

|Sep rain days = 14.6

|Oct rain days = 21.0

|Nov rain days = 19.5

|Dec rain days = 14.9

|year rain days= 184.3

|unit snow days = 0.2 cm

|Jan snow days = 6.0

|Feb snow days = 3.5

|Mar snow days = 1.5

|Apr snow days = 0.3

|May snow days = 0.0

|Jun snow days = 0.0

|Jul snow days = 0.0

|Aug snow days = 0.0

|Sep snow days = 0.0

|Oct snow days = 0.4

|Nov snow days = 4.4

|Dec snow days = 7.0

|year snow days = 23.1

|Jan sun = 16.8

|Feb sun = 68.8

|Mar sun = 119.6

|Apr sun = 160.2

|May sun = 203.7

|Jun sun = 198.2

|Jul sun = 231.8

|Aug sun = 206.8

|Sep sun = 156.6

|Oct sun = 80.8

|Nov sun = 20.2

|Dec sun = 7.8

|year sun = 1471.4

|Jan percentsun = 6.5

|Feb percentsun = 24.6

|Mar percentsun = 32.6

|Apr percentsun = 38.4

|May percentsun = 41.8

|Jun percentsun = 39.5

|Jul percentsun = 46.0

|Aug percentsun = 45.4

|Sep percentsun = 41.1

|Oct percentsun = 24.5

|Nov percentsun = 7.7

|Dec percentsun = 3.2

|year percentsun = 29.3

|source 1 = {{cite web |url= http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_1981_2010_e.html?stnID=381&autofwd=1|title=Calculation Information for 1981 to 2010 Canadian Normals Data |publisher= Environment Canada |access-date=July 9, 2013 }}{{cite web

|url= http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_1981_2010_e.html?stnID=380&autofwd=1

|title=Bella Coola

|work=1981 to 2010 Canadian Normals Data

|date=25 September 2013

|publisher= Environment Canada

|access-date=6 June 2016 }}{{cite web

|url= http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_data/daily_data_e.html?hlyRange=1983-02-01%7C2013-08-15&dlyRange=1983-02-01%7C2016-06-04&mlyRange=1983-01-01%7C2007-02-01&StationID=381&Prov=BC&urlExtension=_e.html&searchType=stnName&optLimit=yearRange&StartYear=1840&EndYear=2016&selRowPerPage=25&Line=1&searchMethod=contains&Month=3&Day=6&txtStationName=bella+coola&timeframe=2&Year=2016

|title=March 2016

|work=Canadian Climate Data

|date=31 October 2011

|publisher= Environment Canada

|access-date=6 June 2016 }}

|date=9 March 2013

}}

Image:Bella coola docks.jpg

There is a 454 km mostly paved road connection by Highway 20 to Williams Lake. The 137 kilometre section from Bella Coola to Anahim Lake was built in 1953 by local residents, and features a 15 km ascent from the Valley floor to the Chilcotin plateau, gaining 1600 metres 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".

Bella Coola is served by the Bella Coola Airport (on Highway 20, in Hagensborg), 14 km distant from the townsite which has a 1,280 metre runway made of asphalt. Pacific Coastal Airlines offers scheduled traffic to Vancouver and Anahim Lake. Charter services by both plane and helicopter are also available.[http://www.centralcoastbc.com/bellacoola/airport.asp Website describing the Bella Coola airport]

BC Ferries provides service from Bella Coola. Since its re-establishment in 1998, this service has connected to Bella Bella, and usually to Port Hardy on Vancouver Island, with various other intermediate destinations served at different times. Currently (2023), using the vessel Northern Sea Wolf, the service includes regular (once per week or more often) voyages to Port Hardy (Bear Cove), Bella Bella (McLoughlin Bay) and Ocean Falls, with greater frequency in the summer.

The sailing schedule varies throughout the season.[http://www.bcferries.com/schedules/inside/prph.html BC Ferries schedule for winter involving Bella Coola]

{{unreferenced section|date=November 2011}}

The Nuxalk people were present in the Bella Coola valley prior to any formal written history 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 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 of the 1860s. In the 1870s, the valley was surveyed as a potential Pacific terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway; (Burrard Inlet was the eventual choice, its selection giving birth to the city of Vancouver).

In 1894, after their previously-existing community in Minnesota suffered an internal conflict, a group of Norwegian Lutheran settlers were given land grants 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 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 Hagensborg 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, 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 Ocean Falls 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.

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 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.

The Bella Coola Valley is not incorporated as a municipality. Its local government representation is provided through the Central Coast Regional District (CCRD). CCRD Electoral Areas "C", "D" and "E" each include parts of the Bella Coola Valley. The eastern portion is part of Electoral Area "C", the center portion is part of Electoral Area "D", and the western portion being Electoral Area "E".{{Cite web |title=Board of Directors {{!}} Central Coast Regional District |url=https://www.ccrd.ca/governance/board-directors |access-date=2025-01-22 |website=www.ccrd.ca}}

• Electoral Area C director: Jayme Kennedy (chair)
• Electoral Area D director: Lawrence Northeast
• Electoral Area E director: Leslie Harestad

The Bella Coola Valley is located within the North Coast-Haida Gwaii electoral district of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly. The riding is represented by New Democratic MLA Tamara Davidson since 2024.{{Cite web |date=2024-10-20 |title=Tamara Davidson cruises to victory in North Coast-Haida Gwaii |url=https://www.thenorthernview.com/local-news/breaking-tamara-davidson-elected-in-north-coast-haida-gwaii-7599940 |access-date=2025-01-22 |website=The Northern View |language=en}}

The Bella Coola Valley lies within the Canadian Parliamentary riding of Skeena-Bulkley Valley, currently represented by New Democratic MP Taylor Bachrach since 2019.{{Cite web |date=2019-10-22 |title=Skeena-Bulkley Valley once again goes NDP |url=https://www.terracestandard.com/news/skeena-bulkley-valley-once-again-goes-ndp-6043169 |access-date=2025-01-22 |website=Terrace Standard |language=en}}

• Banchi Hanuse, film maker
• Anna Höstman, composer

== See also ==

• Bella Coola Music Festival

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

{{Reflist}}

• {{Official website}}
• {{Wikivoyage inline|Bella Coola}}
• {{BCGNIS|3350|Bella Coola}}
• [http://www.bellacoola.ca/ Bella Coola Valley Tourism association official website]
• [http://britishcolumbia.com/plan-your-trip/regions-and-towns/cariboo-chilcotin-coast/bella-coola/ Bella Coola and its environs, a description]

{{Subdivisions of British Columbia}}

{{authority control}}

Category:Populated places on the British Columbia Coast

Category:Unincorporated settlements in British Columbia

Category:Nuxalk

Category:Bella Coola Valley

Category:Populated places in the Central Coast Regional District

Category:Designated places in British Columbia