Port Clements

Port Clements
Village
Village of Port Clements[1]
Location of Port Clements in British Columbia
Coordinates: 53°41′16″N 132°10′8″W / 53.68778°N 132.16889°WCoordinates: 53°41′16″N 132°10′8″W / 53.68778°N 132.16889°W
Country	Canada
Province	British Columbia
Region	Haida Gwaii
Regional district	Skeena-Queen Charlotte
Founded	1907
Incorporated	1975
Government
• Governing body	Port Clements Village Council
• Mayor	Ian Gould
Area
• Total	13.59 km^2 (5.25 sq mi)
Elevation	5 m (16 ft)
Population (2006)
• Total	440
• Density	32/km^2 (84/sq mi)
Time zone	PST (UTC-8)
Highways	16
Waterways	Masset Inlet
Website	Port Clements

Port Clements is an incorporated village situated at the east end of Masset Inlet in Haida Gwaii (formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands) off the coast of the Province of British Columbia in Canada. Founded by Eli Tingley in 1907, it was once known under the name Queenstown, but renamed to Port Clements in 1914 after Herb S. Clements, the local MP at the time^[2] (for Comox—Atlin, then 1917-1921 for Comox—Alberni), when the name "Queenstown" duplicated and therefore became unusable for the post office.

The highway leading to Port Clements from Tlell and from Port Clements to Masset was paved in 1969 and soon after completion the village became incorporated in 1975. The other main road that heads west to Juskatla Camp and back south to Queen Charlotte City is still gravel and mainly a logging road only open to public traffic after working hours.

Port Clements was and still is to a lesser extent the centre of the remaining logging on northern Graham Island. In this community 29.2% of the labour force works in the forest industry.^[3]
Most of the processing takes place in Juskatla Camp.

Past tourist attractions were Kiidk'yaas (The Golden Spruce) which was illegally felled by Grant Hadwin in 1997, and the White Raven, which has died.

Today, Port Clements and the nearby mouth of the Yakoun River attract visitors intending to fish for steelheads, chinook and other salmon or to go kayaking.^[4]

There are a few camp and picnic sites as well as hiking trails in and around Port Clements, which also has one gas station, one grocery store, a public library, a Canada Post office, a bar, a museum, a motel, a grade school, a church and a wharf. Businesses include mechanics, small farmers and forestry contractors.

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. The Village of Port Clements - History
3. BC Stats community facts - Port Clements
4. BritishColumbia.com - Regions & Towns - Port Clements

External links

• Port Clements
• Touristic Info
• "Port Clements (village)". BC Geographical Names.