Gwaii Haanas << gwy HAH nuhs >> National Park Reserve, National Marine Conservation Area Reserve, and Haida Heritage Site is a forested, mountainous area of Haida Gwaii (formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands) in British Columbia, Canada. It includes the southern part of Moresby Island and a number of smaller islands, including Burnaby, Kunghit, and Lyell. Haida Gwaii is the traditional home of the Haida, one of Canada’s First Nations (native) peoples, who still live there today. In the Haida language, Gwaii Haanas means islands of beauty.
Gwaii Haanas covers 364,200 acres (147,400 hectares). The San Christoval Mountains extend down the western side of Moresby Island. Mount de la Touche, at 3,684 feet (1,123 meters), is the highest peak in Gwaii Haanas. The mountaintops have a cold, treeless landscape called alpine tundra. Lower elevations have thick forests of cedar, hemlock, pine, and spruce trees. In general, the climate is cool and wet. The west coast of Gwaii Haanas can receive as much as 315 inches (800 centimeters) of rain annually.
Animals at Gwaii Haanas include black bears, black-tailed deer, and pine martens. Many seabirds nest along the coast during the summer months. Dolphins, harbor seals, humpback whales, killer whales, minke whales, and porpoises live in the surrounding waters.
Visitors can reach Gwaii Haanas by boat or floatplane. Fishing, sailing, sea kayaking, and wilderness camping are popular activities. Individuals known as Haida Watchmen welcome visitors to ancient Haida village sites, which feature carved cedar poles and the remains of longhouses.
In 1985, the Haida Nation, seeking to discourage commercial logging in the area, designated southern Moresby Island a Haida Heritage Site. In 1988, the Canadian government made the area a national park reserve. Since 1993, the Archipelago Management Board—with equal representation from the Haida Nation and the Canadian government—has managed Gwaii Haanas. The Gwaii Haanas National Marine Conservation Area Reserve was established in 2010.
See also Haida .
