Nanoose Bay Regional District of Nanaimo, British Columbia

Community - An unincorporated populated place, generally with a population of 50 or more, and having a recognized central area that might contain a post office, store and/or community hall, etc, intended for the use of the general public in the region. Head of Nanoose Harbour, SE side Vancouver Island between Lantzville and Parksville, Nanoose Land District

Mapped Location

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

 

Information

General information on Nanoose Bay

  • Feature Type: Place

 

Official, historical, colloquial and alternative toponyms for Nanoose Bay

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

Name Description
Nanoose Bay Official

 

Origin Notes and History of Nanoose Bay

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

Nanoose (station & farming settlement) was adopted in the 1930 BC Gazetteer. Name changed to Nanoose Bay (Post Office) 11 December 1952 on 92F/8, located at 49º16' 124º11'. Form of name changed to Nanoose (Post Office & railway point) and location adjusted 4 September 1980 on 92F/8. Form of name changed to Nanoose (Community) 28 February 1983 on 92F/8.

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office  |  Province of British Columbia

Arlington Hotel Post Office opened here 1 November 1906; name changed to Nanoose Bay Post Office 1 April 1916.

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office  |  Province of British Columbia

Nanoose Bay refers to the community, Nanoose Harbour to the body of water. The word is a corruption of the name of the original Island Halkomelem inhabitants of the region, the Snaw Naw As, who have a reserve on the harbour. This Lantzville-Nanaimo First Nation is related to the Snuneymuxw of the Nanaimo region; its members were frequently known as Nonooas in earlier times. BC historians Helen and Philip Akrigg give two possible translations for the name: “a collection of families at one place” or “pushing inward” (referring to the shape of Nanoose Harbour). White agricultural settlement began in the area in the 1880s; several small communities and a large sawmill sprang up. The harbour is HQ for the controversial Canadian Force base used by the US Navy to test torpedoes and other naval weaponry in the nearby Strait of Georgia. In 1999, after a series of protects and attempts by the province to prevent nuclear-powered vessels entering the region, the federal government expropriated 217sqkm of ocean floor and signed a long-term agreement allowing the US to continue testing. Nanoose Creek and Nanoose Hill (formally known as Notch Hill) also derive their names from the Snaw Naw As people, as does Nonooa RK in Nanoose Harbour.

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
Scott, Andrew; "The Encyclopedia of Raincoast Place Names"; Harbour Publishing, Madeira Park, 2009, pp. 418.  |  Province of British Columbia

 

Regional District of Nanaimo

Political Boundaries

Last updated: 2023-09-27