Haida Gwaii - Environment

Environment

The last Pleistocene glaciation receded from the archipelago about 16,000 BCE, about 2,000 years earlier than the rest of the British Columbia Coast's ice age. That, and its subsequent isolation from the mainland, encouraged Haida and environmental activists in the 1970s to use the term "Galápagos of the North", a unique biocultural zone with many endemic kinds of plants and animals. The climate of this temperate north hemisphere forested region, like that of much of the British Columbia and Alaskan coast in the area, is moderated by the North Pacific Current, with heavy rainfall and relatively mild temperatures throughout the year.

The islands are home to a wide variety of large endemic trees, including the Sitka spruce, western red cedar, yellow cedar (Nootka cypress), shore pine, western hemlock, mountain hemlock, and red alder. The Flora of the Queen Charlotte Islands describes plants known from the islands.

Kiidk'yaas (The Golden Spruce), a naturally occurring genetic-variant yellow-coloured Sitka spruce tree, was located near the Yakoun River, the largest on Graham Island. It was a popular tourist attraction until it was illegally cut down in 1997 as a protest against the industrial logging practices.

For a very short time a popular attraction for tourists to the islands was the White Raven. This was an albino raven with unusual colouring. The White Raven lived around Port Clements and would commonly be seen taking food handouts from locals and visitors alike. It died after making contact with an electrical transformer.