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The Queen Charlotte Islands or Haida Gwaii are an archipelago off the north-west coast of British Columbia, Canada, consisting of two main islands: Graham Island in the North, and Moresby Island in the south.
The islands are separated from the British Columbia mainland on the east by the Hecate Strait. They are separated from Alaska on the north by the Dixon Entrance and from Vancouver Island on the south by the Queen Charlotte Sound.
Some of the land, including the homelands of the Haida people, is protected as Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site. The islands are home to much wildlife, including the largest subspecies of black bear (Ursus americana carlottae) and the subspecies of stoat Mustela erminea haidarum. The black-tailed deer and raccoon are introduced species which have become abundant.
Haida Gwaii is the site of Kiidk'yaas, a rare golden Sitka Spruce sacred to the Haida, which was cut down in 1997 but is now being replaced with a young tree grown from cuttings. Other large native trees of the Queen Charlotte Islands are Western Redcedar, Nootka Cypress, Shore Pine, Western Hemlock, Mountain Hemlock, and Red alder.
Some 6,000 people live on the islands. Their economy is resource-based with logging, commercial fishing and mining most important. Service industries and government jobs maintain about one-third of the employment rolls. The archipelago is a popular destination for adventurous tourists.
The archipelago was visited in 1774 by Juan Pérez and in 1778 by Capt. James Cook. In 1787 the islands were surveyed by Capt. George Dixon. The islands were named by Capt. Dixon after one of his ships, the Queen Charlotte, which was named after Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III of the United Kingdom.
The archipelago seems to have escaped much of the glaciation of the last Ice age. That, and its subsequent isolation from the mainland, has produced what some call the "Galapagos of the North", a unique biological zone with many unusual animals and plants. Its climate, like that of the rest of the British Columbia and Alaskan coast in the area, is moderated by the Kuroshio Current, and features considerable precipitation and relatively mild temperatures year round.
The artwork known as Haida Gwaii, by Bill Reid, is featured on the reverse side of the Canadian $20 bill. The piece depicts the Spirit of Haida Gwaii in a canoe, accompanied by the mythic messengers.
Reference
The Queen Charlotte Islands (http://www.purewest.com/bluewater/charlotte.html)
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