Kitimat, British Columbia |
The sportsman's paradise and industry hub of Kitimat is embraced by the lush wilderness of the northwest of British Columbia, nestled in the majestic valley at the head of the Douglas Channel.
Built in the 1950s for the world's largest aluminum smelter, the Aluminum Company of Canada (Alcan), the town of Kitimat looks like it was planned down to the very last brick ... and it certainly was! The community was pre-planned, with defined residential areas and a centralized urban core.
Drawing its name from the nearby Haisla community of Kitamaat, and meaning people of the snow, Kitimat is both an inland and a coastal settlement, in that the sportfishing haven sits on an arm of the Pacific Ocean that reaches 88 miles (140 km) inland, cutting deep into the Coast Mountains.
The Haisla and Henaaksaila, closely related but distinct First Nations peoples, have inhabited this area of the coast for as long as 8,000 to 12,000 years. The oral histories of the Haisla, and anthropological studies, tell of thriving communities of up to 10,000 Haisla here in the Kitimat Valley, and between 5,000 and 10,000 Henaaksaila centred on the Kitlope River watershed, about 100 km south east of Kitimat on the Gardner Canal. The Haisla and the Henaaksaila joined together in 1947, in a special ceremony in which the matriarchs of both communities accepted and sealed the amalgamation. Kitamaat Village is now the home base for many Haisla and Henaaksaila.
The moderate climate and unique geography of the northwest offers a front-row seat to one of Canada's last true wilderness frontiers. Hikers and campers delight in the cool forest trails and secluded campsites, beachcombers and picnickers savour the sandy beaches, and the vistas of the rugged Coast Mountains are a photographer's dream.
Population: 9,000
Location: Kitimat is nestled among the Coastal Mountains at the mouth of the Kitimat River, at the head of the Douglas Channel. Kitimat is accessed via Highway 37, heading south off Highway 16 near the town of Terrace.
|
