Kilbella Bay Central Coast Regional District, British Columbia

Landing (1) - A coastal or shore location where boats may put in to load or unload. On Northland Navigation Company, East side of Kilbella Bay, head of Rivers Inlet, Range 2, Coast Land District

Mapped Location

Kilbella Bay: The mapped location is an approximation and should not be used for navigation or wayfinding.

 

Information

General information on Kilbella Bay

  • Feature Type: Place

 

Official, historical, colloquial and alternative toponyms for Kilbella Bay

A brief list of names that this geographic feature has been named

Name Description
Kilbella Bay Official

 

Origin Notes and History of Kilbella Bay

References to Kilbella Bay that document the origin of its place name

Adopted 28 March 1967 on Map 92M, as established in Northland Navigation Co. Ltd. T.T.29, 16 May 1966. Named in association with Kibella Bay.

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
BC place name cards & correspondence, and/or research by BC Chief Geographer & Geographical Names Office staff.  |  Province of British Columbia

Kilbella means “long river” in the Oowekyala language, which is spoken by members of the Wuikinuxv or Oweekeno First Nation (the name of the adjacent Chuckwalla R, by comparison, means “Short River”). The Wuikinuxv First Nation reserve at this location, however, is spelled Kiltala. This confusion over the spelling of First Nation names may explain why the cannery (and, later, the logging camp) located on this bay at the mouth of the river was named Kildala. Built in 1906 by George Dawson and Alfred Buttimer, with Dan Grooves as manager, Kildala Cannery was sold in 1925 to the Canadian Fishing Co. It ceased canning in the 1940s but was used as a gillnet camp until 1960. The Kilbella and Chuckwalla rivers are home to famous races of Chinook salmon.

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
Scott, Andrew; "The Encyclopedia of Raincoast Place Names"; Harbour Publishing, Madeira Park, 2009, page 307.  |  Province of British Columbia

Not Kildala (Steamer Landing), which was a different, nearby feature that has its name rescinded in 1955.

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
BC place name cards & correspondence, and/or research by BC Chief Geographer & Geographical Names Office staff.  |  Province of British Columbia

 

Central Coast Regional District

Political Boundaries

Last updated: 2023-09-26