Nootka Island History

In March 1778, Captain James Cook of the Royal Navy became the first European to set foot on British Columbian soil when he visited Friendly Cove on Nootka Island. While anchoring in Resolution Cove on Bligh Island, across from Friendly Cove, the natives hollered "itchme nutka, itchme nutka", meaning "go around" (to Yuquot), but Cook misinterpreted their calls, believing the name of the area to be Nootka.

Yuquot, also known as Friendly Cove, was the summer home of Chief Maquinna and the Mowachaht/Muchalaht people for millennia, and retains historic significance today as the site of the first contact between Europeans and First Nations people in British Columbia.

A Spanish trading post, Santa Cruz de Nutka, was maintained here between 1789 and 1795, with Nootka becoming an important focal point for English, Spanish and American traders and explorers. The Canadian government declared Friendly Cove a National Historic Site in 1923, with recognition of the significance of the First Nations history following in 1997.

Location: Nootka Sound is located on the west coast of North Vancouver Island, approximately 45 miles (70 km) north of Tofino. From Gold River and Tahsis you can travel to points in Nootka Sound and neighbouring Kyuquot Sound to the north on the MV Uchuck lll, a converted minesweeper that carries passengers, freight and kayakers into the sound. The Gold River Highway 28 runs the width of central Vancouver Island, linking Campbell River on the east coast with Gold River and Nootka Sound on the rugged and windswept Pacific coast.