Port Alice

Port Alice
Village
Village of Port Alice[1]
Port Alice

Location of Port Alice in British Columbia

Coordinates: 50°25′36″N 127°29′17″W / 50.42667°N 127.48806°W / 50.42667; -127.48806
Country  Canada
Province  British Columbia
Regional district Mount Waddington
Government
  Governing body Port Alice Village Council
Area
  Total 7.04 km2 (2.72 sq mi)
Population (2011)
  Total 805
  Density 110/km2 (300/sq mi)
Time zone PST (UTC-8)
Website www.portalice.ca

Port Alice is a village of approximately 805 (2011 census) located off on Neroutsos Inlet, northwest of Port McNeill, on Vancouver Island, originally built by Whalen Pulp and Paper Mills of Vancouver. The community is known for its natural beauty, pulp mill, and salt water fishing.

History

It was named after Alice Whalen, the founders' mother. The brothers Whalen began their construction of the mill at its present site in 1917, with first pulp produced in 1918. The mill at Swanson Bay, on the Inside Passage farther north, was also a Whalen operation. Port Alice bears a remarkable resemblance to Port Annie, the fictional town described by Vancouver Island author Jack Hodgins in his novel The Resurrection of Joseph Bourne. The new orchid hybrid "Port Alice" has been officially listed at London England in the Royal Horticultural Society's "Book of Registered Orchid Hybrids". This slipper-type flower is the result of crossing a complex hybrid Paphiopedilum "Western Sky" with a species Paphiopedilum appletonianum.

Notable people

Climate

Port Alice has an oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb) and is one of the mildest and wettest places in Canada, receiving 3.3 metres (130 in) of actual rainfall per year and exceptionally little snow, which amounts to as much as 33 percent more rainfall than infamously wet Prince Rupert and only marginally less than Southeast Alaska’s wettest cities of Ketchikan and Yakutat which each average around 3.8 metres (150 in) and receive much more snowfall.

Climate data for Port Alice
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 20.5
(68.9)
19.0
(66.2)
21.5
(70.7)
26.0
(78.8)
31.5
(88.7)
33.5
(92.3)
35.5
(95.9)
34.5
(94.1)
29.5
(85.1)
26.5
(79.7)
22.8
(73)
17.2
(63)
35.5
(95.9)
Average high °C (°F) 7.4
(45.3)
8.0
(46.4)
9.9
(49.8)
12.2
(54)
15.6
(60.1)
18.1
(64.6)
20.8
(69.4)
20.9
(69.6)
18.4
(65.1)
13.3
(55.9)
9.2
(48.6)
7.0
(44.6)
13.4
(56.1)
Daily mean °C (°F) 4.9
(40.8)
5.1
(41.2)
6.4
(43.5)
8.3
(46.9)
11.3
(52.3)
13.8
(56.8)
16.1
(61)
16.4
(61.5)
14.1
(57.4)
10.2
(50.4)
6.6
(43.9)
4.6
(40.3)
9.8
(49.6)
Average low °C (°F) 2.4
(36.3)
2.2
(36)
3.0
(37.4)
4.2
(39.6)
6.9
(44.4)
9.5
(49.1)
11.4
(52.5)
11.8
(53.2)
9.7
(49.5)
7.0
(44.6)
4.0
(39.2)
2.2
(36)
6.2
(43.2)
Record low °C (°F) −12.2
(10)
−11.5
(11.3)
−5.5
(22.1)
−1.7
(28.9)
0.5
(32.9)
1.1
(34)
5.0
(41)
4.5
(40.1)
0.0
(32)
−4.0
(24.8)
−11.5
(11.3)
−12.8
(9)
−12.8
(9)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 492.2
(19.378)
354.0
(13.937)
320.4
(12.614)
258.3
(10.169)
147.3
(5.799)
100.1
(3.941)
59.5
(2.343)
94.6
(3.724)
130.2
(5.126)
417.6
(16.441)
561.4
(22.102)
491.2
(19.339)
3,426.8
(134.913)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 484.1
(19.059)
345.3
(13.594)
316.1
(12.445)
257.8
(10.15)
147.3
(5.799)
100.1
(3.941)
59.5
(2.343)
94.6
(3.724)
130.2
(5.126)
417.5
(16.437)
559.1
(22.012)
487.0
(19.173)
3,398.6
(133.803)
Average snowfall cm (inches) 8.1
(3.19)
8.7
(3.43)
4.3
(1.69)
0.5
(0.2)
0.0
(0)
0.0
(0)
0.0
(0)
0.0
(0)
0.0
(0)
0.1
(0.04)
2.4
(0.94)
4.2
(1.65)
28.3
(11.14)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) 23.3 19.7 22.7 20.1 17.0 16.0 10.4 11.9 14.6 22.2 24.1 22.8 224.7
Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) 22.8 19.5 22.5 20.1 17.0 16.0 10.4 11.9 14.6 22.2 24.0 22.3 223.3
Average snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm) 2.2 2.2 1.7 0.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.8 1.8 9.2
Source: [2]

Around the area

The Sea Walk is a pathway that follows the coastline near town. It offers beautiful scenery and picnic areas.

There are many hiking destinations in the area. They include Devil’s Bath, Eternal Fountain, Vanishing River & Reappearing River. These are a series of ancient karst and limestone formations. The access is through dirt roads.

Devil’s Bath, a flooded sinkhole, is an example of a cenote [3] and is the largest in Canada at 359 meters in diameter and 44 meters in depth.[4]

References

  1. "British Columbia Regional Districts, Municipalities, Corporate Name, Date of Incorporation and Postal Address" (XLS). British Columbia Ministry of Communities, Sport and Cultural Development. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  2. "Calculation Information for 1981 to 2010 Canadian Normals Data". Environment Canada. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
  3. map of the area
  4. Port Alice Tourism Vancouver Island North
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