Tofino, British Columbia
Encyclopedia
Tofino is a district
District
Districts are a type of administrative division, in some countries managed by a local government. They vary greatly in size, spanning entire regions or counties, several municipalities, or subdivisions of municipalities.-Austria:...
of about 1,650 residents on the west coast of Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
, in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, located at the western terminus of Highway 4, on the tip of the Esowista Peninsula, at the southern edge of Clayoquot Sound
Clayoquot Sound
Clayoquot Sound is located on the west coast of Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is bordered by the Esowista Peninsula to the south, and the Hesquiaht Peninsula to the North. It is a body of water with many inlets and islands. Major inlets include Sydney Inlet,...
.
The settlement of Tofino first acquired the name in 1909 with the opening of the Tofino Post Office, named in association with Tofino Inlet nearby. Tofino Inlet was named in 1792 by the Spanish commanders Galiano
Dionisio Alcalá Galiano
Dionisio Alcalá Galiano was a Spanish naval officer, cartographer, and explorer. He mapped various coastlines in Europe and the Americas with unprecedented accuracy, using new technology such as chronometers...
and Valdés
Cayetano Valdés y Flores
Cayetano Valdés y Flores Bazán was a commander of the Spanish Navy, explorer, and captain general who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, fighting for both sides at different times due to the changing fortunes of Spain in the conflict...
, in honor of Admiral Vicente Tofiño, under whom Galiano had learned cartography.
A popular tourist destination in the summer, Tofino's population swells to many times its winter size. It attracts surfers
Surfing
Surfing' is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides a surfboard on the crest and face of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore...
, nature lovers, campers, whale
Whale
Whale is the common name for various marine mammals of the order Cetacea. The term whale sometimes refers to all cetaceans, but more often it excludes dolphins and porpoises, which belong to suborder Odontoceti . This suborder also includes the sperm whale, killer whale, pilot whale, and beluga...
watchers, fishermen, 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
Pacific Rim National Park Reserve
Pacific Rim National Park Reserve is a Canadian national park reserve in British Columbia made up of three separate regions: Long Beach, the Broken Group Islands, and the West Coast Trail. The entire park encompasses 511 km² of land and ocean. The park is characterized by rugged coasts and...
. Nearby Maquinna Marine Provincial Park
Maquinna Marine Provincial Park
Maquinna Marine Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, located northwest of Tofino in the Clayoquot Sound region of the West Coast of Vancouver Island, protecting Ramsay Hot Springs, which is the name-source of the cove, settlement and former post office of Hot Springs...
, with its natural hot springs, is located about 45 kilometres (28 mi) north of Tofino and is also a popular day-trip destination for tourists although it is only reachable by boat or float plane.
Transportation
Tofino has a small airport about ten minutes' drive from town. Tofino AirportTofino Airport
Tofino/Long Beach Airport, , is located southeast of Tofino, British Columbia, Canada.It is used by private and small commercial planes. Coastal fog is a common morning phenomenon in the summer, complicating access by air until the weather clears. Several IFR approaches are available including GPS...
is accessible to private and commercial aircraft. Floatplanes land on the inlet in town. Coastal fog
Fog
Fog is a collection of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. While fog is a type of stratus cloud, the term "fog" is typically distinguished from the more generic term "cloud" in that fog is low-lying, and the moisture in the fog is often generated...
is a common morning phenomenon in the summer, complicating access by air until the weather clears.
Accessing Tofino by car from the North American mainland involves taking a ferry to Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
from Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, Powell River
Powell River, British Columbia
Powell River is a city on the northern Sunshine Coast of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Most of its population lives near the eastern shores of Malaspina Strait, that part of the larger Georgia Strait between Texada Island and the Mainland...
, Seattle or Port Angeles to Nanaimo, then driving a little over 3 hours northwest across the island, along Highway 4. Ferry access from Vancouver to the island is provided by BC Ferries
BC Ferries
British Columbia Ferry Services Inc. or BC Ferries is a de facto Crown Corporation that provides all major passenger and vehicle ferry services for coastal and island communities in the Canadian province of British Columbia...
.
Tofino Bus http://www.tofinobus.com also services Tofino from Victoria, Vancouver, Nanaimo, Parksville, Coombs and Port Alberni.
Festivities and events
Every March, the migration of thousands of grey whales is celebrated with the Pacific Rim Whale Festival.http://www.pacificrimwhalefestival.com The last weekend of April is the Tofino Shorebird Festival. The first week-end 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), and mid-September brings "Art in the Gardens," a two-day local arts and music festival.http://www.tbgf.org/gardens/art.php The O'Neill Coldwater Surf Classic was held October 25–31, the first professional ASP surf event ever held in Canada.http://www.oneill.com/cwc/canada The highlight of November is the Clayoquot Oyster Festival, which hosts the annual and popular Oyster Gala, an evening of local chefs competing for the favorite oyster creation, slurping contests, British Columbia wines and beers, and live music.http://www.oystergala.com/Music
- MontrealMontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
third wave ska band The Planet SmashersThe Planet SmashersThe Planet Smashers are a ska punk band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Since their formation in 1994, they have been a staple of the Montreal music scene. During the third wave of ska, they quickly rose to national, and eventual international fame, with tours in the United States, Europe, and Japan...
recorded a song on their album Life of the Party entitled "Surfin' in Tofino". - The punk band GobGob (band)Gob is a Canadian punk band from Langley, British Columbia formed in 1993, The Band consists of Tom Thacker, Theo Goutzinakis, Gabe Mantle and Steven Fairweather. Gob's most successful album is World According to Gob and their most successful song to date is I Hear You Calling...
filmed their music video "No Regrets", directed by William MorrisonWilliam Morrison (director)William Morrison , is a Canadian born Juno Award-nominated music video director, documentary film director, and musician...
, on Long Beach. - Canadian band Prairie Dance Club recorded a song entitled "Tofino".
Film and television
- The Big YearThe Big YearThe Big Year is a 2011 comedy film starring Steve Martin, Jack Black, Owen Wilson, Jim Parsons, Rashida Jones, Anjelica Huston, Dianne Wiest, JoBeth Williams, Brian Dennehy, Rosamund Pike and Tim Blake Nelson. The Big Year was directed by David Frankel and written by Howard Franklin...
- A comedy about three birders competing to see the most birds in a single year, was filmed in Tofino in May 2010. Starring Jack Black, Owen Wilson, and Steve Martin.
- One WeekOne Week (2008 film)One Week is a 2008 Canadian film directed by Michael McGowan and starring Joshua Jackson, Liane Balaban, and Campbell Scott. The film debuted at the Toronto Film Festival on September 8, 2008 and was released theatrically on March 6, 2009....
- Directed by Michael McGowen and starring Joshua Jackson. Jackson plays a man, Ben Tyler, who has been diagnosed with cancer. After reading a Tim Horton's Roll Up The Rim To Win reading "Go west, young man" he purchases a motorcycle and goes from Toronto to Tofino, along the way re-evaluating his life and his relationship. He ends up eating at Tuff Beans, a popular visitor and local coffee stop. While inside, his bike is run over by accident by a local's pickup truck. Near the end, Jackson is seen sitting on a surfboard at a local beach when a humpback whale breaks.
- The FogThe Fog (2005 film)The Fog is a 2005 horror film directed by Rupert Wainwright and starring Tom Welling, Selma Blair and Maggie Grace. It is a remake of John Carpenter's 1980 film of the same name, but this time made more in the vein of a "teen horror film" .Both Carpenter and Debra Hill The Fog is a 2005 horror film...
- Remake of John Carpenter's The FogThe FogThe Fog is a 1980 horror film directed by John Carpenter, who also co-wrote the screenplay and composed the music for the film. It stars Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Atkins and Janet Leigh...
(1980). The beach scenes were filmed on MacKenzie Beach, in Tofino.
- Going the Distance - The opening scenes take place in Tofino. It is the home of the main trio of characters and it is the starting point for their trans-Canada road trip that takes place in the movie. The movie was released in the United States as National Lampoon's Going The Distance.
- AlaskaAlaska (film)Alaska is a 1996 action-adventure film that centers on two children who search through the Alaskan wilderness for their lost father. During their journey they find a polar bear that helps lead them to their father...
(1996) - Tofino fills in as the quaint Alaskan village, from which the adventure stems. Utilizes many of the stunning aspects of Clayoquot's scenery.
Climate
Telecommunications
Tofino has modern cell phone and land line access (including Internet, ADSL) -- as well as television relays of CBCCBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
-SRC
SRC
-Education:* Sulaiman Al Rajhi Colleges, a private, non-profit university comprising three graduate colleges, located in Al Bukayriyah, Saudi Arabia* Sid Richardson College, one of nine residential colleges on the Rice University campus in Houston, Texas, USA...
.
Health & Education
Public education is offered by the School District 70 AlberniSchool District 70 Alberni
School District 70 Alberni is a school district on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia. The board office and the majority of the schools are located in Port Alberni but the district extends to the west to include Ucluelet, Tofino, and Bamfield.-Schools:...
, through the Wickaninnish Community School in Tofino and Ucluelet Secondary School in Ucluelet
Ucluelet, British Columbia
Ucluelet is a district municipality on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. Ucluelet means "people of the safe harbour" in the indigenous Nuu-chah-nulth language.- Geography :...
. The town's hospital is the Tofino General Hospital, operated by the Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA).