ROSE HARBOR TO SGANG GWAAY JULY 25TH

We motored to Rose Harbor where we could leave Seventh Heaven on a mooring ball. Rafting would be too dangerous with the open ocean swell off of Sgang Gwaay. We were very excited to see this site. There are more standing poles here that any other Heritage Site. Between 1790 and 1890 thousands Haida died of the epidemics introduced when they made contact with the Europeans against which they had no defense. On Sgang Gwaay many hundred are buried in caves, in mortuary poles and in the earth. This site is very sacred to the Haida people. The islands have been home to the Haida people for as long as oral history and archaeology have recorded occupation of the north which is at least 10,000 years. Approximately 14,000 people have lived in over 126 known village sites. Following first contact with Europeans, the population plummeted to 589 by 1911.
These islands were visited and recorded by Spanish explorer Juan Perez in July 1774 and in 1778 Captain Cook visited.
There are 1,884 islands in the archipelago, a mixture of snow-top mountains and fiords that plunge into the sea, mist-enshrouded forests and windswept sandy beaches. It is said the submerged mountain chain rises at the rate a human fingernail grows with the tallest peaks perpetually capped in snow. Just a mile or two offshore, the continental shelf falls away dramatically to the immense depths of the Pacific Ocean. Haida Gwaii is the most active earthquake area in Canada. Natural landslides are a common occurrence, and scarred mountainsides are visible from the fjord-like inlets. The total land area of Haida Gwaii is approximately 3,840 square miles; 156 miles (250 km) from north to south.
The isolation of this island group and the absence of mammalian predators make this an incredibly important seabird nesting area. Despite its small size, it supports over 40,000 breeding pairs of 10 different species of birds.
In 1985 the Haida took their stand over logging on Lyell Island. Their peaceful protest ultimately led to the protection of the area and the creation of the Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site. The unusual and abundant flora and fauna that thrive in this Galapagos of the North and the marine and wildlife diversity of the surrounding waters and forests make it an ecological marvel. The Ice Age of 15,000 years ago did not reach most of the islands.