Quatsino is a small hamlet of 91 people located on

Quatsino Sound Quatsino Sound is a complex of coastal inlets, bays and islands on northwestern Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is the northernmost of the five sounds that pierce the west coast of Vancouver Island, the others bei ...

in Northern

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

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

only accessible by boat or float plane. Its nearest neighbour is

Coal Harbour Coal Harbour is a section of Burrard Inlet lying between Vancouver's Downtown Peninsula and the Brockton Point of Stanley Park. It has also now become the name of the neighbourhood adjacent to its southern shoreline. Neighbourhood Coal Harbou ...

, to the east, about 20 minutes away by boat, and

Port Alice Port Alice is a village of approximately 739 (2021 census) located on Neroutsos Inlet, southwest of Port McNeill, on Vancouver Island, originally built by Whalen Pulp and Paper Mills of Vancouver. The community is known for its natural enviro ...

, to the south, about 40 minutes away by boat. The largest town in the region,

Port Hardy Port Hardy is a district municipality in British Columbia, Canada located on the north-east tip of Vancouver Island. Port Hardy has a population of 3,902 as of the 2021 census. It is the gateway to Cape Scott Provincial Park, the North Coast Tr ...

, is located about an hour northeast by boat and motor vehicle.

Description

The village is known to have one of

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

's only still-used public one-room schoolhouses, a two-story wooden building built in 1935. The oldest building on the North Island is also located in Quatsino, a woodland chapel called St. Olaf's Anglican Church, a popular site for weddings. It was built in 1897. Quatsino was originally settled by Norwegian farmers from North Dakota who arrived via steamship in 1894 to homestead and farm thirty lots offered free through Crown Grants- publicized at the Chicago World Exposition of 1893. Soon freight service to Victoria was established, along with a post office and customs office and a government wharf. The area grew as resources were developed and the area boasted numerous mines, canneries, general stores, rental cabins, a hotel, a saloon, telegraph office and an Imperial Oil fuel station. The village was a thriving community up until the 1940s. The post office is still in operation and two cemeteries mark the history of the community. Located approximately north of the community is Colony Lake, a favorite swimming spot and a popular destination for canoeing and lake trout fishing. Quatsino town directions sign post

High speed internet via satellite arrived in the mid-spring of 2007, replacing slow speed dial up in most of the community. The new destination for visitors to the area is the Quatsino Museum, which opened in the summer of 2007.

Tourism

Since 2003, Quatsino has become an increasingly popular destination for sports fishing, kayaking, bird watching and whale watching. There are numerous sports fishing lodges that have opened as a result.

Featured in media

'' Alone'', an American reality television series, was filmed on Vancouver Island in Quatsino Territory for its first, second and fourth seasons, shot between 2015-2017. Caiette, a setting in the novel

The Glass Hotel ''The Glass Hotel'' is a 2020 novel by Canadian writer Emily St. John Mandel. It is Mandel's fifth novel, and the first since winning the Arthur C. Clarke Award in 2015. It follows the aftermath of a disturbing graffiti incident at a hotel on Va ...

, was based on Quatsino.

Climate

Quatsino has a rainy

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Cfb'') with cool and generally very rainy winters and mild, somewhat drier (though much wetter than Vancouver or eastern island communities) summers. Cold outbreaks that produce cold and dry winter weather over coastal communities are less effective over Vancouver Island.

References

*''The Quatsino Chronicle'' by Gwen Hansen *''Norwegians in the Northwest'' by Eric Faa *''History of Quatsino Colony'' by George Nordstrom *''Dreams of Freedom'' by Gordon Fish {{VancouverIslandCommunities Designated places in British Columbia Unincorporated settlements in British Columbia Norwegian Canadian settlements Populated places in the Regional District of Mount Waddington Quatsino Sound region