Cape Scott Provincial Park

History

Cape Scott was named in 1786 in honour of David Scott, a Bombay merchant who was one of the principal backers of a trading voyage to this area. The naming was done by Captain Guise and Captain Lowrie of, respectively, the Experiment and the Captain Cook. Remote and inhospitable, the history of Cape Scott has been shaped by its heavy rainfalls and violent windstorms.

Cultural buffs will appreciate the rich history of the area, which was first inhabited by the Nahwitti people prior to white settlement. From 1897 to 1907, Danish pioneers from Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa and North Dakota attempted to settle in the area around Hansen Lagoon, but were unable to survive without a direct supply and trade route. After several years of hardship - sparked by annual rainfall that often reaches 500 centimeters and frequent severe storms - the Danes had their dreams dashed. Forced by the harshness of nature and other conditions beyond their control, they finally gave up their struggles and left.

By 1913 another wave of settlers had arrived from Washington State, Eastern Canada and Europe, establishing themselves in the homes vacated by the Danes six years earlier. In 1917, facing the same hardships as the Danes and battling violent winds and rainstorms, the new settlers also deserted the area. Today, little remains of the Danish settlement except the names - Nels Bight, Hansen Lagoon, Frederiksen Point - and a few fragile buildings and other man-made relics.

Requirements of national security during the Second World War led to the construction of a small radar station at Cape Scott in 1942, which remained in operation until 1945. Today, remnants of human activity can be seen throughout Cape Scott Provincial Park. Please be careful when exploring historic sites. Rusting tools and implements, dilapidated buildings and old wells can be hazardous. Please do not remove artifacts or disturb sites.

Cultural Heritage

Three native peoples - the Tlatlasikwala, Nakumgilisala and Yutlinuk - shared the Cape Scott area prior to white settlement. The Yutlinuk of the Scott Islands died out in the early 1800s. The Nakumgilisala and Tlatlasikwala amalgamated in the mid-1850s and moved to Hope Island, where they remained until 1954. That year, numbering only 32, they joined with the Koskimo people and moved to Quatsino Sound. Today they are known collectively as the Nahwitti. They have six reserves, three of which are within the boundaries of Cape Scott Provincial Park.

Conservation

Upland areas of the park are forested with red and yellow cedar, lodge pole pine, hemlock and true fir. The rugged coastline of the park is dominated by concentrations of old-growth Sitka spruce A thick undergrowth is made up mostly of salal, salmonberry, evergreen huckleberry and fern. The highest point in Cape Scott Provincial Park is Mt. St. Patrick, which rises 422 meters above sea level. Eric Lake, at 44 hectares, is the largest body of fresh water.

Wildlife

Hansen Lagoon is a stopping place for Canada geese and a variety of wildfowl traveling the Pacific Flyway. The ubiquitous gull and other sea birds frequent the shoreline. Coastal black-tailed deer, Roosevelt elk, black bears, cougars and wolves are found in the forested and open uplands. Seals, sea lions, sea otters, killer whales and gray whales all inhabit the waters offshore. Visitors to San Josef Bay will often see river otters and mink in the river and estuary, as well as Canada geese, common merganser and, in the winter, Trumpeter swans.

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