Ucluelet

Ucluelet lies beside a sheltered harbour at the entrance to Barkley Sound, on the outer coast of Vancouver Island. Its name is associated with the Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ, the people of the safe harbour, whose homeland includes the peninsula and neighbouring waters. Forested shores and islands give way here to the open Pacific, while the sound reaches inland towards Alberni Inlet.

In 1787 Charles William Barkley brought the trading vessel Imperial Eagle into the sound while seeking sea otter pelts. The waterway came to bear his name as ships from distant ports entered the coastal fur trade. Their arrival brought new exchanges to a shore already occupied by Nuu-chah-nulth peoples, whose knowledge of the harbour and its waters long preceded the visitors.