Queen Charlotte Islands

Queen Charlotte Islands, archipelago in western British Columbia, Canada, in the Pacific Ocean, separated from the mainland by Hecate Strait. The group includes two large islands, Graham Island and Moresby Island, and about 150 small islands. The main settlement is Massett, on Graham Island. Unlike most of Canada, the Queen Charlotte Islands experienced very little glacial activity in the past. This, coupled with their relative isolation, has made the islands a biologically unique area within Canada, containing some vegetation that can be found only there or in distant locations such as Japan, as well as several unique subspecies of mammals and birds, including large numbers of nesting seabirds.

Archaeological evidence indicates that humans inhabited the islands at least 6,000 years ago. The islands were sighted by the Spanish explorer Juan Pérez in 1774 and the English explorer Captain James Cook in 1778. In 1787 Captain George Dixon surveyed and named the islands for the wife of King George III of England. At that time, the islands were populated extensively by members of the Haida tribe, but the number of aboriginal inhabitants decreased dramatically, largely as a result of diseases brought by Europeans. Most early residents of the islands were employed in logging, fishing, or mining. More recently, the islands have been visited by increasing numbers of scientists and tourists, who come to see the wildlife and remaining Haida totem poles, and to enjoy the islands' mountain scenery, forests, beaches, and hot springs. In the mid-1980s the islands were the focus of a controversial struggle between logging interests and members of the Haida nation. In 1987 an agreement was reached that turned the 138 islands at the southern end of the archipelago (known as South Moresby) into Gwaii Haanas/South Moresby National Park Reserve. Area, 9,600 sq km (3,710 sq mi).