Tofino facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tofino
Načiks
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District municipality
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| District of Tofino | |
View toward Meares Island in August 2005
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 Tofino
Location in Vancouver Island
Tofino
Location in British Columbia
Tofino
Location in Canada
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| Country | Canada |
| Province | British Columbia |
| Regional District | Alberni-Clayoquot |
| Incorporated | 1932 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 10.53 km2 (4.07 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 10 m (30 ft) |
| Population
(2021)
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| • Total | 2,516 |
| • Density | 238.3/km2 (617/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC−08:00 (PST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−07:00 (PDT) |
| Postal code span |
V0R 2Z0
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| Area code(s) | 250 |
| Climate | Cfb |
Tofino (
i/təˈfiːnoʊ/ tə-FEE-noh) is a small town in British Columbia, Canada. It is located on the west coast of Vancouver Island. About 2,516 people live there.
Tofino is at the very end of Highway 4. It sits on the Esowista Peninsula. This area is the traditional land of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations.
Many people visit Tofino all year round. In summer, the population grows a lot. Visitors enjoy surfing, hiking, and watching nature. They also like bird watching, camping, whale watching, and fishing. Even though it's small, Tofino has many great restaurants.
In winter, Tofino is quieter. But some people still visit to watch storms from the coast. Nearby is Long Beach, a beautiful spot in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. You can also visit Maquinna Marine Provincial Park. It has natural hot springs. This park is about 45 kilometers north of Tofino. You can reach it by boat or floatplane.
Contents
What's in a Name?
Tofino got its name in 1909. This was when the Tofino Post Office opened. The town was named after the nearby Tofino Inlet.
The inlet was named in 1792 by Spanish explorers. These explorers were Galiano and Valdés. They named it after Admiral Vicente Tofiño de San Miguel y Wanderiales. Galiano learned how to make maps from him.
Who Lives in Tofino?
In 2021, Tofino had 2,516 residents. This was a jump from 1,967 people in 2016. The town covers about 10.56 square kilometers of land.
Most people in Tofino do not follow a specific religion. About 80.5% of residents said they had no religion in 2021. About 17.3% were Christian. A small number followed Indigenous Spirituality or other religions.
Getting Around Tofino
Tofino has an airport called Tofino-Long Beach Airport (YAZ). It is about 6 nautical miles southeast of town. Small planes and commercial flights use it. Floatplanes can land on the water right in town. Sometimes, morning fog can make flying difficult.
The town is at the western end of Highway 4. This road connects Tofino to Port Alberni. It also links to other towns on the east coast of Vancouver Island. A sign in Tofino says it's the western end of the Trans-Canada Highway. However, the highway officially ends in Victoria.
Water taxis connect Tofino to other coastal places. These include Ahousat and Hot Springs Cove. You can also take boat tours to see wildlife.
Fun Things to Do in Tofino
Tofino has many exciting events and festivals:
- Pacific Rim Whale Festival: Every March, people celebrate the migration of thousands of grey whales.
- Tofino Shorebird Festival: This festival used to happen in late April. It focused on shorebirds.
- Tofino Food and Wine Festival: In early June, this event showed off British Columbia wines. Chefs from Tofino also shared their amazing food.
- Tofino Market: You can find this market on the Village Green every Saturday. It runs from May to early October.
- Tofino Lantern Festival: This popular event was a fundraiser. It happened every August.
- Race for The Blue Tuna Shoot-Out: This week-long fishing competition takes place in early September.
- Queen of the Peak Women's Surf Championship: This surfing contest usually happens in late September.
- O'Neill Coldwater Surf Classic: In 2010, this was the first professional ASP surf event in Canada. Tofino surfer Pete Devries won it!
- Clayoquot Oyster Festival: This festival usually takes place in November.
- Rip Curl Pro Tofino: This is Canada's official surfing championship. It has been held every May since 2007.
Unique Living Spaces
- Poole's Land: From 1988 to 2020, Tofino was home to Poole's Land. This was a special community. It offered free places to stay for seasonal workers. It was also a hub for different ways of living.
- Freedom Cove: Near Tofino, you can find the floating island of Freedom Cove. Wayne Adams and Catherine King built it in 1992. It's their home, an art gallery, and a tourist spot. They try to live in a very eco-friendly way. They use solar power, recycle, compost, and drink rainwater. They also eat food they grow or catch themselves.
Tofino's Weather
Tofino has a marine west coast climate. This means it has mild winters and cool summers. Most of the rain falls in winter. Tofino gets a lot of rain, about 3,270.7 millimeters each year. For comparison, Victoria, which is only 203 kilometers away, gets only 607.6 millimeters.
Because it's close to the Pacific Ocean, Tofino's temperatures stay mild. Summer highs are around 19.1°C, and winter highs are about 8.1°C. This is much warmer in winter than places like Winnipeg, Manitoba, which is at a similar latitude.
November is the wettest month, with about 492.1 millimeters of rain. Most of the precipitation is rain, with very little snow. Tofino faces the Pacific Ocean directly. This means it gets a lot of rain from winter storms. It is one of the wettest places in Canada. Even in summer, Tofino gets more rain than inland areas of British Columbia.
The hottest temperature ever recorded in Tofino was 35.4°C on June 28, 2021. The coldest was -15.0°C on January 30, 1969.
| Climate data for Tofino (Tofino-Long Beach Airport) Climate ID: 1038205; coordinates 49°04′56″N 125°46′21″W / 49.08222°N 125.77250°W; elevation: 24.5 m (80 ft); 1981–2010 normals, extremes 1896–present |
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 20.1 (68.2) |
19.4 (66.9) |
24.4 (75.9) |
24.4 (75.9) |
29.4 (84.9) |
35.4 (95.7) |
33.9 (93.0) |
32.8 (91.0) |
29.4 (84.9) |
25.6 (78.1) |
21.1 (70.0) |
19.4 (66.9) |
35.4 (95.7) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 8.3 (46.9) |
9.0 (48.2) |
10.1 (50.2) |
11.9 (53.4) |
14.5 (58.1) |
16.8 (62.2) |
18.9 (66.0) |
19.1 (66.4) |
17.8 (64.0) |
13.6 (56.5) |
10.0 (50.0) |
8.1 (46.6) |
13.2 (55.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 5.3 (41.5) |
5.4 (41.7) |
6.5 (43.7) |
8.0 (46.4) |
10.5 (50.9) |
12.9 (55.2) |
14.7 (58.5) |
15.0 (59.0) |
13.4 (56.1) |
10.0 (50.0) |
6.8 (44.2) |
5.0 (41.0) |
9.5 (49.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 2.3 (36.1) |
1.9 (35.4) |
2.7 (36.9) |
4.0 (39.2) |
6.5 (43.7) |
8.9 (48.0) |
10.5 (50.9) |
10.8 (51.4) |
9.0 (48.2) |
6.3 (43.3) |
3.6 (38.5) |
1.9 (35.4) |
5.7 (42.3) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −15.0 (5.0) |
−11.1 (12.0) |
−6.1 (21.0) |
−3.3 (26.1) |
−1.1 (30.0) |
1.1 (34.0) |
3.3 (37.9) |
3.3 (37.9) |
−0.6 (30.9) |
−3.5 (25.7) |
−12.7 (9.1) |
−12.2 (10.0) |
−15.0 (5.0) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 486.6 (19.16) |
336.1 (13.23) |
329.8 (12.98) |
269.9 (10.63) |
153.0 (6.02) |
129.7 (5.11) |
71.0 (2.80) |
88.1 (3.47) |
132.8 (5.23) |
341.9 (13.46) |
492.1 (19.37) |
440.0 (17.32) |
3,270.7 (128.77) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 477.4 (18.80) |
327.3 (12.89) |
325.7 (12.82) |
269.2 (10.60) |
153.0 (6.02) |
129.7 (5.11) |
71.0 (2.80) |
88.1 (3.47) |
132.8 (5.23) |
341.8 (13.46) |
489.4 (19.27) |
432.0 (17.01) |
3,237.2 (127.45) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 9.2 (3.6) |
8.7 (3.4) |
4.0 (1.6) |
0.7 (0.3) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.1 (0.0) |
2.8 (1.1) |
7.9 (3.1) |
33.3 (13.1) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 22.7 | 18.7 | 21.7 | 18.4 | 15.7 | 13.8 | 10.0 | 10.9 | 11.7 | 19.4 | 22.9 | 21.9 | 207.8 |
| Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 22.1 | 18.4 | 21.5 | 18.4 | 15.7 | 13.8 | 10.0 | 10.9 | 11.7 | 19.4 | 22.6 | 21.6 | 205.9 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm) | 1.9 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.9 | 2.0 | 7.8 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 83.6 | 76.7 | 75.6 | 73.2 | 71.3 | 71.7 | 71.7 | 74.8 | 73.2 | 79.3 | 82.9 | 84.6 | 76.5 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 58.6 | 81.6 | 126.3 | 170.3 | 203.1 | 190.9 | 226.7 | 199.6 | 175.8 | 116.1 | 62.5 | 56.5 | 1,668.1 |
| Percent possible sunshine | 21.7 | 28.5 | 34.3 | 41.5 | 42.9 | 39.4 | 46.4 | 44.8 | 46.4 | 34.6 | 22.7 | 22.0 | 35.4 |
| Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada | |||||||||||||
Tofino in the News
Tofino has its own newspaper, the Tofino-Ucluelet Westerly News. There is also a monthly magazine called Tofino Time. It shares local news and stories about the area.
For radio, Tofino has CHMZ-FM on 90.1 FM, also known as Tuff City radio. You can also listen to CBC Radio One on 91.5 FM.
Famous People from Tofino
- Andrew Oye (born 1974), a composer.
- Sanoa Dempfle-Olin (born 2005), the first surfer to compete for Canada at the Olympics.
See also
In Spanish: Tofino para niños
