Haida Gwaii, Queen Charlotte Islands History, Culture, weather, Climate, information, BC, Canada

HAIDA GWAII: OUR ISLANDS HISTORY AND CONDITIONS

CLIMATE & WEATHER

NATURAL HISTORY

CULTURAL HISTORY

FURTHER READING

CLIMATE & WEATHER

The climate of the Islands is strongly influenced by the maritime conditions of their location and the prevailing westerly winds.

Winters are mild and summers cool with little temperature variance between them.

A North Pacific High Pressure system dominates weather along the BC Coast and provides dry, sunny conditions on the Islands between mid-May through mid-September although precipitation is common throughout the year.

During the winter months a Low Pressure system dominates the weather. This Low Pressure system causes a succession of storms providing heavy precipitation and strong winds.

August is the warmest month on the Islands, although May gets more hours of sunshine. January is the coldest month, but also provides the best opportunities for storm watching.

Storms moving west over the islands are forced to rise and drop much of their precipitation as they cross the Queen Charlotte mountain range which runs north/south along the west coast of the Islands. These mountains shield the Islands east coast from much of the precipitation and makes the east coast of the Islands considerably drier than the west coast. Annual precipitation of the Islands east Coast is ~52 inches compared with ~168 found along the Islands west coast.

The Queen Charlotte Islands, along with coastal BC have a higher mean temperature during the winter than any other part of Canada and annual snowfall is less than 30 inches, although winter precipitation is heavy.

Measurable precipitation occurs on ¾ of the days between Oct and March and ~ ½ of the other days.

Due to their Northerly latitude, summer on the Islands is characterized by long days with as little as 6 hours of darkness in June and July. Winter days on the other hand can offer as much as 17 hours of darkness, but under the clear skies one can often catch glimpses of the Northern Lights.

Cape St James, located at the southern tip of the Islands is one of the windiest weather stations in Canada and has recorded the strongest winds in Canada. Southeast winds are strongest in all months except for July when Northwest winds are strongest.

What Visitors should expect: Visitors should be prepared for comfortable temperatures and some rain regardless of the time of year they visit. Precipitation is generally short lived and a common local saying is if you don’t like the weather to wait 10 minutes!

This is quite true and illustrates the strong influence of the prevailing winds, continually blowing different weather systems across the Islands. It is not until crossing Hecate Straight that these systems join as they back-up against the Coastal Mountains near Prince Rupert and the Skeena River.

Summer to winter temperatures vary little and the temperatures along the coast rarely drops below freezing. Summer temperatures are considered “hot” in the mid-twenties and winter temperatures are considered “cold” at 5 degrees Celsius.

- © Andrew Merilees 2010

_____________________________________________________________

NATURAL HISTORY

Situated in isolation off the west coast of British Columbia, the Islands occupy a unique location in world geography. The most remote archipelago in Canada, the Islands consist of about 150 individual islands of various sizes lying alongside the edge of the continental shelf. Here, within only a few kilometers of land the ocean floor drops from a hundred to more than 1,000 meters and provides an upwelling of currents rich in marine life.

The Islands found their current geographic location about 20 million years ago but are comprised of materials as old as 250 million years in age. Several geologic transformations and adaptations have occurred contributing to the development of the present landscape including plate tectonics, seismic activity, glacial erosion and a continuously changing sea level.

Similar to many of the landscapes found on mainland British Columbia, the Islands include alpine mountains, sub-alpine plateaus, forest plains and muskeg bogs. While the Islands share many similar landscapes with the rest of the Province, the Islands are home to about 40 unique species or sub-species of plants and animals. It is this diverse concentration that has given the Islands the moniker the “Galapagos of the North”.

Much of this uniqueness has been explained through the theory that the Islands served as a refugia, or escape, from the last Ice Age that wrapped most of Canada and the United States in a blanket of ice 15,000 years ago. It was within these ice free areas that many of the plants and animals of the Islands adapted characteristics separate from their mainland counterparts today.

The topography of the Islands can be divided into 3 regions: The Queen Charlotte Ranges stretching from Port Louis on the mid west coast, south to Kunghit Island at the southern tip of the Islands, the Skidegate Plateau, that stretches from Langara Island in the North, southeast to Louise Island, and the Queen Charlotte Lowlands encompassing the north east corner of Graham Island from Naden Harbour to just north of Skidegate.

Three fault lines run through the Islands making them prone to seismic activity and the Islands hold the dubious record for the strongest recorded earthquake in Canada. An 8.1 shaking that hit in 1949.

The Islands are separated from mainland British Columbia by Hecate Strait, a shallow body of water averaging about 100 km between shores. During periods in the Islands’ history a portion of this area was exposed and a large grassland stretched at least half way across the Strait.

Today the Islands draw tourists from around the world lured by the isolation, landscape, and outdoor activities that are offered here. The scenery of the Islands is diverse and spectacular and offers remnants of a time before human arrival. The rugged shorelines, stands of huge trees and kilometer upon kilometer of vast, sandy, unpopulated beaches offer the visitor a relaxed atmosphere where one can easily find solitude in natural surroundings.

- © Andrew Merilees 2010

______________________________________________________________

CULTURAL HISTORY

THE HAIDA

There is some debate about how people arrived on the Islands but what is certain is that possibly as far back as 13,000 years ago a group of people inhabited these Islands and developed a culture made rich by the abundance of the land and sea. These people became the Haida, a linguistically distinct group with a complex class and rank system consisting of two main clans; Eagles and Ravens.

Links and diversity within the Haida Nation was gained through a cross lineal marriage system between the clans. This system was also important for the transfer of wealth within the Nation, with each clan reliant on the other for the building of longhouses, the carving of totem poles and other items of cultural importance.

Noted seafarers, the Haida occupied more than 100 seasonal sites and villages throughout the Islands and were skilled traders, with established trade links with their neighboring First Nations on the mainland and farther a field. The Haida had a stable existence and vibrant culture at the time of European contact.

EUROPEAN DISCOVERY

It was a Spaniard, Juan Perez, who first sighted the Islands on July 17th 1774. Blown off course, his crew aboard the Santiago had not seen land for several days when they sighted the area now known as Langara Island, a small island off the northwest tip of the archipelago. Perez was under orders to claim new lands in the name of Spain to prevent the feared expansion of Russian territory south along the coast. Perez ventured close enough to observe several large buildings along the shore and to conduct some trade with local Haida who paddled out in enormous canoes each carved from a single tree. Due to poor weather Perez soon departed, returning south without setting foot on shore or recording a name for his “discovery”.

The Islands were left unnamed until 1787 when Captain George Dixon, under orders to claim new lands and to investigate trade opportunities for Britain, named them after his ship the Queen Charlotte.

CONTACT AND TRADE

Little interest was paid to the Islands until their value was realized in the pelts of the Sea Otter. This resource, each worth a small fortune and highly prized in China, initiated a flourishing trade between European traders and the Haida who quickly realized the potential to amass considerable wealth to enhance their persona and status within the Nation. Europeans set up trading alliances to take control of the areas fur resources which contributed to the exchange of cultures and trade goods.

The trade in Sea Otter pelts was at first, only harmful for the Sea Otter but as this resource became scarce, trade became more cutthroat. The Haida, being experienced traders did well in initial trading which brought almost overnight wealth, sparking a surge in cultural traditions. Clan chiefs spent their new found wealth, commissioning longhouses, totem poles and potlatching, the name given to the ceremonial feasting, entertaining and witnessing of important events within the Nation. This ceremony concludes with the distribution of gifts to the attendees, a demonstration of the host clans wealth and confidence in their ability to re-amass this wealth. An attendee’s gift would be proportionate to their class and status within the Nation.

Greed on all sides soon led to the extinction of the Sea Otter from the waters around the Islands and trade changed to cultural objects and furs of lesser value. With the decline of the Sea Otter, trading slowed and missionaries filled the void eager to convert a Nation that didn’t fit into European experience or understanding.

The cross cultural trade left the Haida with more than the ability for a rapid rise in social standing. European diseases, like Tuberculosis and Small Pox never before encountered on the coast, were transferred to the Haida who, with no inherited immunity rapidly succumbed to the ravages of the diseases. Within a few decades the Haida Nation, which experienced an initial cultural boom was decimated with mass deaths and the loss of entire villages.

Outside pressures from missionaries, an instituted colonial government combined with the death of so many members eventually forced the abandonment of almost all of the Nations villages and the settlement of the remaining members to the communities of Old Massett and Skidegate Mission. From an estimated 7,000 Haida at contact, fewer than 700 found their way to these two villages.

SETTLEMENT

With the Haida Nation in a state of upheaval and suppressed through various methods of forced assimilation, the Islands were at the mercy of a newly formed Canadian Government acquiring lands and populating them with immigrants to prevent a feared U.S. expansion into this yet to be populated territory. Returning veterans of WW I and agrarian immigrants were encouraged to settle the areas of the Islands and were given large land grants with hopes they would settle and develop an agricultural base for the Islands. Many settlers attempted farming but the distance from markets, poor world-wide economic climate and lack of quality agricultural lands doomed these ventures. Within a few decades nearly all had been abandoned.

Those settlers who took up fishing had better prospects. The Islands proximity to the nutrient richness of the continental shelf made the area a center for the fishing industry. Salmon, Halibut, Crab, Razor Clams, and other species all contributed to the development of a lucrative local industry. Many canneries and processing plants developed around the Islands including whaling stations in Naden and Rose Harbours. With their maritime background many Haida were able to adapt to this new economy and began profitable ventures building boats and fishing. Masset developed a lively harbour where work was abundant and profitable.

The readily accessible monumental stands of Western Red Cedar and Sitka Spruce provided another catalyst for European settlement to the area. During WWII the tight grained, shatter resistant Sitka Spruce was of particular importance for airplane manufacturing and logging increased significantly to support the Allied war effort. Communities like Sandspit, Queen Charlotte City, and Port Clements developed to meet the world demand for wood and thrived, attracting families and establishing services.

PRESENT

Logging continued at a rapid pace for decades, until blockades by the Haida Nation and international pressure forced the governments of British Columbia and Canada to slow the allowed cut rate of the Islands forests and led to the creation of the Gwaii Haanas National Park and Haida Heritage Site. This National Park has continued with the unique style of the Islands by being the first National Park to be co-managed by a joint board of a First Nation and the Canadian Government. The isolation and ruggedness, unique natural endowments, intertwined with the ancient Haida village sites scattered throughout are some of the reasons that led to Gwaii Haanas, (Islands of Wonder) being named the best National Park in North America in 2005. The Park also protects the island of SGaang Gwaay a UNESCO World Heritage Site that features some of the best preserved totems and longhouse remains in their natural setting.

______________________________________________________________