Tofino

Tofino is a district of approximately 1,932 residents on the west coast of Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The district is located at the western terminus of Highway 4 on the tip of the Esowista Peninsula at the southern edge of Clayoquot Sound.

Tofino
District of Tofino[1]
View toward Meares Island
Tofino
Location of Tofino
Tofino
Tofino (Canada)
Coordinates: 49°08′38″N 125°53′30″W
CountryCanada
ProvinceBritish Columbia
Regional DistrictAlberni-Clayoquot
Incorporated1932
Government
  MayorActing Mayor
  MPGord Johns
  MLAScott Fraser
Area
  Total10.53 km2 (4.07 sq mi)
Elevation
10 m (30 ft)
Population
 (2016)
  Total1,932
  Density183.1/km2 (474/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC−08:00 (PST)
  Summer (DST)UTC−07:00 (PDT)
Postal code span
V0R 2Z0
Area code(s)250
ClimateCfb
Websitetofino.ca

A popular tourist destination in the summer, Tofino's population swells to many times its winter size. It attracts surfers, hikers, nature lovers, bird watchers, campers, whale watchers, fishers, or anyone just looking to be close to nature. In the winter, it is not as bustling, although many people visit Tofino and the West Coast to watch storms on the water. Close to Tofino is Long Beach, a scenic and popular year-round destination, at the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. With its natural hot springs, Maquinna Marine Provincial Park[2] is a popular day-trip destination for tourists. Reachable by boat or floatplane, the park is located about 45 kilometres (28 mi) north of Tofino.

Etymology

The settlement acquired its name in 1909 with the opening of the Tofino Post Office, named after the nearby Tofino Inlet.[3] This geographical feature had been named in 1792 by the Spanish explorers Galiano and Valdés, in honour of Admiral Vicente Tofiño de San Miguel y Wanderiales (or Vanderiales), under whom Galiano had learned cartography.[4]

Transportation

Tofino Airport, 11 km (6.8 mi) south of the town, is accessible to private and commercial aircraft. Floatplanes land on the inlet in town. Coastal fog is a common morning phenomenon in the summer, complicating access by air until the weather clears.

Tofino is located at the western end of Highway 4 that connects the community with Port Alberni and the population centres on the east coast of Vancouver Island. There are no roads connecting Tofino along the west coast of Vancouver Island, except to the nearby community of Ucluelet.

Boat services connect Tofino with coastal communities such as Ahousat and Hot Springs Cove. Wildlife-watching tour boats operate in the area. In October 2015, a whale watching vessel capsized off the coast of Tofino, which resulted in the deaths of 6 passengers.

Culture

Festivities and events

Every March, the migration of thousands of grey whales is celebrated with the Pacific Rim Whale Festival. The last weekend of April is the Tofino Shorebird Festival. The first weekend of June brings the Tofino Food and Wine Festival, featuring British Columbia wines and showcasing the creations of Tofino chefs. The end of August brings the Tofino Lantern Festival (voted Tofino's most popular event by Tofino Time Magazine), early September has the week long Race for The Blue Tuna Shoot-Out[5] from 7 – 15 September, and mid-September brings "Art in the Gardens," a two-day arts and music festival. The O'Neill Coldwater Surf Classic was held 25–31 October, the first professional ASP surf event ever held in Canada. In November is the Clayoquot Oyster Festival,[6] as well as the Queen of the Peak all-female surf competition.[7] Rip Curl Pro Tofino, the official Canadian surfing championship, has been held each year in May, since 2007.[8]

Poole's Land

Between 1988 and 2020, Tofino was home to Poole's Land, an ecovillage and "Hippie Commune" run on Anarchist principles. The Commune provided free accommodation to seasonal workers who would come to Tofino in the summer months as well as being a centre of counterculture in the region.

Freedom Cove

Located within the Tofino vicinity is the man-made floating Island of Freedom Cove. Constructed by Wayne Adams and Catherine King in 1992, the mostly wooden structure is both home to Adams and King as well as a tourist attraction and an art gallery. Freedom Cove attempts to live as sustainably as possible by such means as by using solar power, recycling waste, composting, drinking rainwater, and eating locally grown or caught food.[9][10][11]

Climate

The climate is marine west coast (Köppen: Cfb, clearly included in the temperate zone). Precipitation is concentrated in the winter, which is a characteristic of Coastal British Columbia; however, the annual amount of 3,270.7 mm (128.77 in) far exceeds nearby areas. By comparison, Victoria, British Columbia, which is located only 203 km (126 mi) away, receives only 607.6 mm (23.92 in).

Proximity to the Pacific Ocean keeps temperatures cool in the summer and mild in the winter. Average high temperatures in the summer and winter are relatively stable and cool, coming in at 19.1 °C (66.4 °F) and 8.1 °C (46.6 °F), respectively. Compared to the Canadian city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, which rests on a similar latitude, Tofino's average high temperature is 6.8 degrees cooler in the summer and a whopping 19.4 degrees warmer in the winter.

During the cooler season, there is a lot of precipitation, with 492.1 mm (19.37 in) in November alone. Nearly all of the precipitation that falls throughout the year is rain, with 203 days with rain and only 7.8 days with snowfall. Due to its location on the westernmost part of Vancouver Island, Tofino faces the Pacific Ocean, unimpeded by any mountains to the west (and therefore not subject to a rain shadow effect like much of the eastern island and the BC interior). Winter cyclonic storms frequently pass over the town deluging it with rain, making it one of the wettest locations in Canada. The month of November alone brings more precipitation to Tofino than that received for an entire year in parts of the BC interior such as Kamloops and Penticton.[12] Like the rest of coastal BC, summer brings relative dryness; even so, it still receives much more summertime precipitation than the interior (which can often be susceptible to drought-like conditions until the onset of autumn).[12]

The highest temperature ever recorded in Tofino was 33.9 °C (93 °F) on 15 July 1941.[13] The coldest temperature ever recorded was −15.0 °C (5 °F) on 30 January 1969.[14]

Climate data for Tofino Airport, 1981–2010 normals, extremes 1896–present[lower-alpha 1]
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high humidex 18.3 18.4 18.1 23.0 27.6 32.9 35.5 42.7 33.6 25.9 20.6 15.2 42.7
Record high °C (°F) 20.1
(68.2)
19.4
(66.9)
19.4
(66.9)
24.4
(75.9)
29.4
(84.9)
32.2
(90.0)
33.9
(93.0)
32.8
(91.0)
29.4
(84.9)
25.6
(78.1)
21.1
(70.0)
19.4
(66.9)
33.9
(93.0)
Average high °C (°F) 8.3
(46.9)
9.0
(48.2)
10.1
(50.2)
11.9
(53.4)
14.5
(58.1)
16.8
(62.2)
18.9
(66.0)
19.1
(66.4)
17.8
(64.0)
13.6
(56.5)
10.0
(50.0)
8.1
(46.6)
13.2
(55.8)
Daily mean °C (°F) 5.3
(41.5)
5.4
(41.7)
6.5
(43.7)
8.0
(46.4)
10.5
(50.9)
12.9
(55.2)
14.7
(58.5)
15.0
(59.0)
13.4
(56.1)
10.0
(50.0)
6.8
(44.2)
5.0
(41.0)
9.5
(49.1)
Average low °C (°F) 2.3
(36.1)
1.9
(35.4)
2.7
(36.9)
4.0
(39.2)
6.5
(43.7)
8.9
(48.0)
10.5
(50.9)
10.8
(51.4)
9.0
(48.2)
6.3
(43.3)
3.6
(38.5)
1.9
(35.4)
5.7
(42.3)
Record low °C (°F) −15.0
(5.0)
−11.1
(12.0)
−6.1
(21.0)
−3.3
(26.1)
−1.1
(30.0)
1.1
(34.0)
3.3
(37.9)
3.3
(37.9)
−0.6
(30.9)
−3.5
(25.7)
−12.7
(9.1)
−12.2
(10.0)
−15.0
(5.0)
Record low wind chill −18 −17 −9 −6 0 0 0 0 0 −6 −14 −16 −18
Average precipitation mm (inches) 486.6
(19.16)
336.1
(13.23)
329.8
(12.98)
269.9
(10.63)
153.0
(6.02)
129.7
(5.11)
71.0
(2.80)
88.1
(3.47)
132.8
(5.23)
341.9
(13.46)
492.1
(19.37)
440.0
(17.32)
3,270.7
(128.77)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 477.4
(18.80)
327.3
(12.89)
325.7
(12.82)
269.2
(10.60)
153.0
(6.02)
129.7
(5.11)
71.0
(2.80)
88.1
(3.47)
132.8
(5.23)
341.8
(13.46)
489.4
(19.27)
432.0
(17.01)
3,237.2
(127.45)
Average snowfall cm (inches) 9.2
(3.6)
8.7
(3.4)
4.0
(1.6)
0.7
(0.3)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0.1
(0.0)
2.8
(1.1)
7.9
(3.1)
33.3
(13.1)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) 22.7 18.7 21.7 18.4 15.7 13.8 10.0 10.9 11.7 19.4 22.9 21.9 207.8
Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) 22.1 18.4 21.5 18.4 15.7 13.8 10.0 10.9 11.7 19.4 22.6 21.6 205.9
Average snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm) 1.9 1.5 1.3 0.4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.9 2.0 7.8
Average relative humidity (%) 83.6 76.7 75.6 73.2 71.3 71.7 71.7 74.8 73.2 79.3 82.9 84.6 76.5
Mean monthly sunshine hours 58.6 81.6 126.3 170.3 203.1 190.9 226.7 199.6 175.8 116.1 62.5 56.5 1,668.1
Percent possible sunshine 21.7 28.5 34.3 41.5 42.9 39.4 46.4 44.8 46.4 34.6 22.7 22.0 35.4
Source: Environment Canada[14][15]
A cold front edge moving over Cox Bay

Telecommunications

Tofino has modern cell phone and land line access (including Internet and ADSL).

Media

Tofino has one newspaper, the Tofino-Ucluelet Westerly News. Tofino Time is a monthly magazine that publishes local new and articles about Tofino and the surrounding areas. CHMZ-FM on 90.1 FM, nicknamed Tuff City radio, is a local radio station. Tofino also receives CBC Radio One via CBXZ-FM on 91.5 FM.

Health and education

Public education is offered by the School District 70 Alberni, through the Wickaninnish Community School in Tofino and Ucluelet Secondary School in Ucluelet. The town's hospital is the Tofino General Hospital, operated by the Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA).[16]

Cultural references

Sand dollar on a Tofino beach

Music

Film and television

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 2 November 2014.
  2. "redirect". Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  3. "Tofino". BC Geographical Names.
  4. Dionisio Alcalá Galiano: The Canadian Adventure of a Spanish Naval Hero, Malaspina University-College
  5. "Blue Tuna Shoot-Out". Tofino Resort + Marina. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  6. Trefler, C., ed. (2008). Fodor's Vancouver and Victoria (illustrated ed.). Fodor's Travel Publications. p. 262. ISBN 1400019184.
  7. "Storm watching is catching on". Toronto Star, 5 November 2016, page T1, Emma Yardley.
  8. "Rip Curl Pro Tofino - Announces Dates for 2017". Rip Curl. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  9. "Freedom Cove, B.C. Float Home, Is A Whole New Level Of Off-Grid Living". Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  10. "Freedom Cove A floating sanctuary provides artistic inspiration". Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  11. "Living on water: Welcome to Freedom Cove". Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  12. "Canadian Climate Normals 1971-2000". Environment Canada. Retrieved 16 February 2011.
  13. "Daily Data Report for July 1941". Environment Canada. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  14. "Calculation Information for 1981 to 2010 Canadian Normals Data". Environment Canada. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  15. "Clayoquot". Environment Canada. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  16. Tofino General Hospital. Retrieved 2011-10-24
  17. Huey, Steve. "The Life of the Party". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  18. "Prairie Dance Club - Prairie Dance Club | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  19. "Tofino provides perfect setting for Twilight's vampires". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  20. "Long Beach Lodge Resort Tofino | Apes invade Tofino!". www.longbeachlodgeresort.com. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  21. "One Week: Canada rides along on this odyssey | The Star". thestar.com. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  22. Drews, Keven (13 April 2010). "Steve Martin, Jack Black, Owen Wilson have Tofino chef checking recipes". CP24. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  1. Extreme high and low temperatures in the table below were recorded at Clayoquot from December 1896 to June 1943 and at Tofino Airport from July 1943 to present.
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