Flores Island, British Columbia
| Flores Island | ||
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| Waters | Pacific Ocean | |
| Geographical location | 49 ° 20 ′ N , 126 ° 10 ′ W | |
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| surface | 153.74 km² | |
| Highest elevation | Mount Flores 886 m |
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Flores Island is a 153.74 km² island off the west coast of Vancouver Island off the Canadian Pacific coast and belongs to the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District . It is located north of Tofino and has a circumference of 82 km. Her name refers to Manuel Antonio Flórez , the 51st Viceroy of Mexico (1787–1789). There is only one major settlement called Ahousaht (Village) plus Marktosis (on the McNeil Peninsula). Both settlements are in the south of the island. In Ahousaht there is a post office and a general store. The Anderson Lake is the main drinking water reservoir.
The island can be reached by water taxi (Ahousaht Pride) twice a day from Tofino and Hot Springs.
The island represents the main part of the reserve in which the Ahousaht live, the largest sub-tribe of the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nation . Almost a third of the more than 2,000 Ahousaht live within the reserve, which is connected to Tofino by seaplane and boat . In addition to Maaktosis Indian Reservation 15, the reservation also includes Kutcous Point Indian Reservation 33 and Tootoowiltena Indian Reservation 28.
Climate, geology, flora and fauna
The climate on Flores is very humid with annual rainfall of around 3,000 mm, the temperatures on average moderate. They are 5 ° C in January and 15 ° C in July. Numerous streams drain the island, as well as smaller lakes, the largest of which is Riley Lake. At 886 m, Mount Flores is the highest mountain on the island. It belongs to the Vancouver Island Ranges and offers a magnificent view of Clayoquot Sound and the neighboring islands.
The surface of the island is characterized by boulder clay , kolluvisol , sea and river sediments (see sedimentation ). The heavy rains promote a corresponding erosion , which is slowed down considerably by the vegetation - it is much stronger on the south and south-east coast.
Over 96% of the island is made up of primeval forest, most of which is more than 140 years old. Here dominate Western Hemlock ( Western hemlock ) and Western Red Cedar ( Thuja plicata ), to come Yellow Cedar (Nootka cypress, Callitropsis nootkatensis ) and Pacific Silver Fir ( Abies amabilis ). A number of rare plants also grow on Flores.
The Marmelalk should meanwhile represent one of the best-known among the threatened bird species in America. The birds were counted primarily at Arnet Creek and near Cow Bay. In addition a large number of hummingbirds (humming birds) and eagles. Black bears are rarer here due to a lack of food, and wolves appear occasionally.
The four largest creeks (Cow Bay, Arnet, Riley Creek and Hootla-Kootla), plus three other creeks on the south coast are considered to be the areas with the highest salmon. These include Coho or Silver Salmon ( Oncorhynchus kisutch ), Chum ( Oncorhynchus keta ) and Chinook ( Oncorhynchus tshawytscha ). The endangered cutthroat trout ( Oncorhynchus clarki ) occur in at least 19 places on the island, dolly-varden trout ( Salvelinus malma ) only on the upper Cow Creek and the upper Arnet Creek, where it has been isolated for thousands of years. Different types of salmon inhabit the streams and lakes. Exclusively on Riley Creek and Riley Lake come Peamouth Chub (Cyprinidae) and Kokanee Salmon before, an endemic subspecies of Rotlachses ( Sockeye Salmon , Oncorhynchus nerka ). On Heydon Lake it is an unidentified type of Stickleback give that to the family of sticklebacks counts.
Parks
No less than 41.44 km², plus 29.69 km² of sea area, belong to the Flores Island Marine Provincial Park . The Gibson Marine Provincial Park was established already on 30 November 1967 under the Matilda Cove on the south end of the island.
Particularly noteworthy is the protection of rare animal species, which in 1995 also predominantly established protection, including bats, the northern sea lions, orcas, sea otters, gray whales, cutthroat trouts (a species of sea trout) and the Coho salmon, as well as endemic plant species. The Marmelalk , more precisely the Brachyramphus marmoratus marmoratus, is considered to be particularly endangered . Wolves have recently appeared on the island.
In 1993, a 32 km long ecological and cultural hiking trail was created that connects Ahousaht with bays, forests, the highest mountain on the island (Mount Flores, 886 m) and other natural attractions. At the same time you get explanations about the customs and history of the Ahousaht. It eventually leads to Cow Bay, where gray whales congregate. In addition, it serves as a kind of memory, if you will of a historical source collection. It attracted 8,000 visitors in the first year. According to the Ahousaht, 69.25 km² of the island are culturally significant areas.
economy
Raw materials have been mined on the island since 1902, mainly copper, but also gold, silver, lead and zinc.
In addition to increasing tourism, logging is still one of the more important branches of the economy, despite severe restrictions. The Ahousaht hold Woodlot License 0019 , an area of 267 hectares near Ahousaht village. A large part of the Tree Farm License 57 is held by Iisaak Forest Resources , a joint venture of the MaMook Development Corporation, which is owned by the Central Region First Nations ( i.e. the Ahousaht, Hesquiaht , Tla-o-qui-aht , Toquaht and Ucluelet ) and Weyerhaeuser Ltd. Only a small area belongs to the Arrowsmith Timber Supply Area. Large-scale deforestation has only taken place in the 1970s and 1980s. However, Iisaak has applied for a logging license for 2011, which various organizations, including the Western Canada Wilderness Committee, are resisting. The permit was granted on April 1, 2011, so that a logging road can be built in the previously untouched area.
history
Numerous historical relics can be found on Flores Island. These include 71 so-called Culturally Modified Trees , i.e. trees on which processing can be proven, some villages, shell middens , i.e. large clam mounds that represent important archaeological sources, as they allow statements about the diet of the residents, for example, canoe docks and fish traps, Rock paintings and a burial place.
The Ahousaht originally lived on the west coast of nearby Vargas Island , and in the Calmus Passage and around Cyprus Bay in Clayoquot Sound . In 1824 they moved to Flores, where they fought a 14-year war with the Otsosaht. When Ahousaht attacked a merchant sloop in 1864 and put down the crew, a punitive expedition followed, in the course of which 15 men died.
In 1874, Father AJ Brabant evangelized among the Ahousaht, accompanied by the Bishop of Victoria . In 1888 the first mission station was established in Clayoquot. From 1890 the children were increasingly sent to mission schools and in 1899 the Christian Indian Residential School was established on neighboring Meares Island . A Presbyterian mission arose in Ahousaht on Flores Island .
Around 1880, the Celtsomaht joined the Ahousaht after the majority of the men had died in a hunt in the Pacific. These themselves were already amalgamated with the Quatswaht and the Owinmitisaht . Commissioner Peter O'Reilly assigned them their reservations in the 1880s. In the 1940s, the few remaining Manhousaht also joined.
Today the Ahousaht, who came from a total of six tribes, live in Marktosis (Maaktusiis) on Flores. In November 2007, 1852 people, in November 2009 as many as 1905, were considered to be Ahousaht. In March 2018, the number had grown to 2,183, of which 734 lived in their own reservations and 99 in other reservations.
literature
- Juliet Craig: “Nature was the provider”: traditional ecological knowledge and inventory of culturally significant plants and habitats in the Atleo River Watershed , Ahousaht Territory, Clayoquot Sound, Victoria: University of Victoria 1998, Diss.
- Stanley Sam Sr., Ahousaht Wild Side Heritage Trail Guidebook, Vancouver 1997 ISBN 1-895123-40-2
- Stanley Sam Sr., History of Ahousaht, 1993 (unpublished)
Web links
- Flores Island . In: BC Geographical Names (English)
- Homepage of the Ahousaht
- Side of Flores Island Provincial Park
- Map of the park, PDF 133 kB
- cards
- Website of the Humming Bird Hostel, which is run by a Japanese
Remarks
- ^ Walbran, John T. British Columbia Coast Names, 1592-1906: their origin and history. Ottawa, 1909
- ↑ Mount Flores in the Internet version of the Canadian Mountain Encyclopedia
- ^ Origin Notes and History. Flores Island Park. GeoBC , accessed October 29, 2012 .
- ^ First Nation Profile - Registered Population. Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada , accessed April 9, 2018 .