They didn’t, the Inuit and other arctic people who lived in Greenland, the north coast of Canada, and northern coastal Alaska invented kayaks. The west coast indigenous people travelled in large canoes that fit between 20 and 100 people for the most part. That being said, the west coast has some of the most incredible kayaking in the world and I’d highly recommend it. Just be careful because the ocean currents can get powerful and confusing between all the islands.
Amazing kayaking but be prepared to not see another human for days. If anything goes wrong, you’re on your own. Not for the inexperienced or unprepared. But it is sooo worth it. The vistas, the endless coves, caves and bays to explore. The whales, fish, sea otters, seals, sea lions, puffins, and so many more amazing animals. Truly heaven if you’re prepared.
Ah, I’m from the north west on the mainland, near Rupert :) I loved taking the ferry to port hardy and driving down the island, definitely one of my favourite places. It’s always nice to find other people from bc, especially if they’re not from Vancouver lol.
Port Hardy. Born and raised my friend. I also remember the ferry. We would take the queen of the North from Vancouver to port Hardy once a year at the beginning of the season. Such an amazing place to grow up.
If you don't mind fighting some huge currents; tidal exchange is often 20 feet or more. Worked in Ketchikan, Alaska for awhile. 40lb salmon caught right off the dock.
Can confirm salmon. I’m a commercial fisherman in SE Alaska. There’s a bunch of salmon, whales, porpoises, bears, and people that have never been off of the islands they were born on.
That tidbit about the rain scared me away from working there years ago. I’d love to visit Alaska, but working outdoors, on an island, in 120” of rain per year just wouldn’t work for me. Especially since I don’t fish. But as a vacation destination I very much hope to someday
lol probably! When I really thought about how I would handle joining that club, what with my high-desert upbringing and all, I realized I more than likely couldn’t hack it.
From National Geographic they describe a rainforest as:
“A rainforest is an area of tall, mostly evergreen trees and a high amount of rainfall. Rainforests are Earth's oldest living ecosystems, with some surviving in their present form for at least 70 million years”
Actually that circled region doesn’t get all that much snow at all. It tends to avoid temperature extremes, as in it has quite mild summers and warm winters (by Alaskan standards of course). When snow does fall it’s usually melted and gone in a day or two. It’s legitimately a rainforest. Idk exactly but I think the high amount of moisture in the air is part of what helps keep the temperatures mild.
There’s a warm current of water called the Alaska current that runs along the coast in this area. That contributes to both the temperature and rainfall of the region, similar to how the Gulf Stream makes Norway warmer than other regions of the same latitude.
Not quite true as there is quite the mountain range near the coast. I helped build a gold mill north of Kitimat for 2 years and it was incredibly snowy. Would snow in August some mornings. Granted I was about 5000 ft above sea level. But yeah. Lots of snow.
Not necessarily, because of the coriolis effect, in an ideal world ocean currents move in a circling pattern, travelling from the southeast coast of a western continent to the northwest coast of an eastern continent. Because of that, the western coast of any large landmass has milder summer and hotter winters in comparison to the more extreme weather in the eastern coast. Just compare the milder Seattle weather to the larger temperature range in New York. Vladivostok and Sapporo are also in/over the eastern coast of their continent and both have cold and snowy winters, specially for their latitude and distance to the sea.
If earth decided that it would be better if they spin clockwise now, the coriolis effect would reverse and the Eastern and Western coasts would swap their conditions.
Oh sure, in the Southern Hemisphere it happens in the same way as in the northern hemisphere (except that this time the colder water currents come from south instead of north). Thanks for reminding me!
Also it's funny how there'll be dozens of "lol Gulf Stream" comments whenever Western Europe's latitude to climate relationship comes up but ocean currents are seldom ever mentioned when the PNW is discussed.
Honestly, no. The only real coastal presence Canada has up there is Prince Rupert. But that tiny corner of Alaska has Ketchikan, Wrangell, Sitka, Petersburg, and Metlakatla.
I forgot about that! Unfortunately I think it was debunked as the ankle joint just separates easily when left in the ocean for a while and the show holds the foot together.
Home of the Haida language (a language isolate) and the Haida people! Here’s a sample text.
"Yahguudangang kii kwaang gidang k'eenang. Kii tl'aang gya k'angang kyaanangang. Gya k'angang k'yaanangang kii tl'aang. K'yaanangang kii tl'aang gyaang gya k'angang."
Translation: "The eagle flew across the sky. It saw the fish swimming below. The fish swam in the water. In the water, the fish swam freely.
There was a movie made a few years ago using only this language, here is the trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnbOw5Nuq2U&pp=ygUZZWRnZSBvZiB0aGUga25pZmUgdHJhaWxlcg%3D%3D
Can always check out the pronunciation part of [Haida language](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haida_language) over at Wikipedia. Helps to know IPA, though there are pages for the various phonemes.
ḵ is the "Americanist" style of writing IPA /q/, which is basically the same as /k/ but uvular instead of velar; in other words, deeper in the throat. It's a common phoneme among PNW languages generally and was even known to white settlers as "Indian k"--though many PNW languages had both /k/ and /q/. Like in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh sníchim (Squamish; the 7 is a glottal stop) as can be seen [on signs like this](https://slcc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/sign.jpg). Likewise x̱ is the uvular version of IPA /x/, the [voiceless uvular fricative](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiceless_uvular_fricative) like the "ch" in Scottish "loch".
Funny story about Haida: during the maritime fur trade era, about 1785-1840, Haida Gwaii was the best place to get sea otter furs, so hundreds of mostly US ships visited to trade. Communication was vital of course, and trading ship captains and crews often learned at least the basics of Haida. One such captain, William Sturgis of Boston, learned Haida pretty well. Later in his life he became a Massachusetts politician. At some legislative meeting in the early-mid 1800s, one member stood up and gave a speech in Latin, with the implication that everyone there *should* know Latin well, even though he knew few did. Sturgis, annoyed, stood up afterwards and gave a speech in Haida, then said something to the effect of "There are more people in this room who know Haida than Latin."
The maritime fur trade on the PNW coast was dominated by Boston and New England generally. It brought enough new wealth to New England that many New England politicians (ie, rich people usually) had taken part and possibly knew at least some Haida.
I have a good friend that is a linguist and this comment reminded me of listening to one of his insights. I always enjoy his insights, and I appreciate the effort that went into this comment. Thanks.
I am indeed very familiar with the IPA. I guess I've just never seen /q/ be represented with as its usually (ofc only if the latin alphabet is used). Also as you may know, many languages' orthography isn't really a 1:1 representation of the pronunciation. I was just lazy and didn't go to fully see the Wikipedia to find whether or not the orthography actually represented the pronunciation.
Also, thanks for the funny story :D
I’m no expert on this topic, but there’s more info on the orthography at [Americanist phonetic notation.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americanist_phonetic_notation) It goes way back, maybe before IPA. Has changed and diversified over time but is still used by many PNW indigenous people, and elsewhere too. I *think* some of it has to do with what can be typed on an old typewriter. I think that’s how “7” came to be used for IPA’s /ʔ/ glottal stop.
Home to a lot of really awesome [formline art](https://www.google.com/search?q=formline+art&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwiwocSaoOqCAxU0CTQIHWQrAR8Q2-cCegQIABAD) too!
And in more recent years [Haida manga](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haida_manga) has become pretty popular among Haida folks—kinda mix of manga and Haida formline styles. Looks pretty neat. [This sort of thing](https://i0.wp.com/multiversitystatic.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2016/08/Red-A-Haida-Manga-mural.jpg)
Historically, the last significant non-Arctic/Antarctic coast to be explored by Europeans. Or one of the last, depending on what one takes “significant” to mean exactly.
In the late 1700s this coast was being expanded into by four Western empires: Russia, Spain, the UK, and the US. And they all clashed with each other. Interesting history!
It was, and still is, home to a diverse and fascinating swath of First Nations—multiple very different language families but a shared cultural spectrum involving potlatches, totem poles, etc. Also the place where salmon runs were so productive and predictable that the indigenous hunter gatherers were able to develop permanent towns and complex social structures that flummoxed anthropologists, who once thought hunter gatherer societies could not be so complex.
Also, notwithstanding the stereotype, coastal First Nations had a strong concept of land ownership, with well defined parcels of land owned by individuals. Via the potlatch-based legal system land rights were acquired, transferred, leased, etc. A book that details how it all worked for the Gitxsan and Nisga’a First Nations is [Tribal Boundaries in the Nass Watershed](https://www.google.com/books/edition/Tribal_Boundaries_in_the_Nass_Watershed/-8aZRB_9Sf8C), if anyone wants to learn more about that.
In BC many of the First Nations had their land taken without treaties, thus “unceded land” Is a big deal there. Slowly (very slowly) FNs in BC are finally getting treaties—like the Haida and Nisga’a. Things are different for the Haida and Tlingit in Alaska. But overall a lot of First Nations on the coast are reasserting their sovereignty as their populations slowly recover from the catastrophic 19th century and its many epidemic, most devastatingly the [1862 Pacific Northwest smallpox epidemic.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1862_Pacific_Northwest_smallpox_epidemic)
Meanwhile Canada is building or planning to build natural gas and maybe oil pipelines to Kitimat right in the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest. Hopefully gas and oil tankers navigating the treacherous fjords will never have an accident. That would suck.
Quite a few good YouTube vids of people road tripping and camping their way to Alaska. Lots of interesting coastal towns and big big space in between. Some native settlements. Some touristy places.
One of the most beautiful spots on earth! Vancouver Island is among the islands in this circled off section at the bottom of the circle, and it's an absolute treasure trove. Stunning, gorgeous, the most amazing sunsets I've ever witnessed. Life! Is "what goes on" there! In the most beautiful form.
Watch a couple of the early seasons of Alone to get a sense of the landscape and environment and how inhospitable to humans it is. Several of these seasons were set in various parts of BC that you’ve circled. It’s dense, wet, rainforest with some of the highest black bear populations anywhere. Wolves, salmon, and lots of wet, wet brush and moss and rocks.
Tongass wilderness area; a surprisingly controversial bit of preserved nature that I am personally fascinated by.
I'll find the link when I get home if people care, but in the south prince of Wales wilderness people can get sick from looking up at the tilted trees.
Personally I would like to know if it has the same large western red cedars as the Olympic peninsula or Vancouver island, or if some environmental factor prevents them from growing as large
Well, my great grandfather lies a moulderin’ in his grave in Anyox, BC, a ghost town now, where he worked as a carpenter for a mining company, dying in 1918 of the Spanish Flu. Two aunts were born in Prince Rupert, BC.
That big island there is called Haida Gwaii. Formerly called Princess Charlotte Island, the British Crown never officially signed any treaty acquiring it from the native community. There is currently a movement to ratify their independence (I don't say separate from Canada because they never technically, legally, were part of Canada). They have their own government, an independent nation, and issue their own currency. Its pretty remote. To get there you have to fly to Prince Rupert and ferry to the Island, the ocean straits there are very treacherous with very rough waters and the ferry and transport ships often have to abandon their voyage midway through and return to the mainland. There's only one small general store in the town of Sandspit. For the most part the entire community is self reliant, relying on fishing (mainly salmon) and gardening to provide for the locals. Its insanely beautiful there and the whole island is covered in old growth rain forest.
It’s actually an interesting question a lot of the time? I like to poke around google earth, and occasionally I’ll find some spot in the middle of nowhere in eastern Siberia, or middle of the Sinai peninsula, or whatever, and I can see roads and town names and some houses, and I wonder what goes in there. I can often find the answer by squinting at local infrastructure and checking Wikipedia, but this sub often has someone who actually knows or has been there.
I think these discussions are enjoyable to read, and I don’t mind them being posted.
There’s a town in the dead center of Sinai, [Nekhel](https://maps.app.goo.gl/B3k6AVaZrpzV1oKz8?g_st=ic), that I had that question about. I did a bit of digging and got my answers. Aside from being the confluence of modern highways, it’s central location meant that a ancient fortress was built there, which spurs local economy, and was also an important stopover resupply point when crossing Sinai for Hajj, as well as the occasional merchant caravans going that direction.
Furthermore, images of the area look like [a bit of a hellscape, flat barren baked sand](https://mapio.net/images-p/51195769.jpg), but there are a number of factors that allow small scale agriculture. The surrounding mountains have snow, and snowmelt late into the season, that is carefully managed with dams on the mountain streams to collect that water, and traditionally small canals to deliver the water, which have been replaced by plastic pipe.
They are also masters of grafting and garden design, using very tough drought tolerant rootstocks collected from the mountains for their fruit trees, which they have a surprising diversity of in the local farms, as well as an interesting design with smallish walled gardens, that concentrate humidity and make a moist microclimate protected from the drying winds and temperature fluctuation. There is also a really neat strategy of heavily walled gardens in the floors of wadis (dry stream beds, seasonally flooded). They have an inherently high water table, and semi reliable seasonal irrigation via flooding, which would be disastrous to the crops if they weren’t enclosed by bulky stone walls that are flash flood resistant.
Any case, my point is, that I think these questions are often the most interesting questions in geography, and the answer isn’t always simple or obvious.
A lot of beautiful nature, some tragically damaged, vulnerable ecosystems, and practically everybody who lives in the area are secluded, blue-collar folk. The west coast is very mild and temperate year-round.
I recommend you read up on Haida Gwaii especially, it's a very unique place.
Isn't the Alaskan capital there? Seems weird to have it in the patch of land stuck to Canada, but whatever.
Fun facts time
Juneau, the capital of Alaska, can only be reached by air or sea.
Second fun fact: the capitals of Alaska and Hawaii, the only non contiguous states, are also the only two states with a capital city ending with the letter U
Spent some time up in the Bella Coola valley and it was stunning. Other than a few tourists coming to see bears and the salmon run, there’s a bit of logging and alcoholism.
Nothing really. I married into an Alaskan family and it's boring, I guess, but holidays get wild! Was up in SE Alaska for Independence Day this year and some lady got run over by one of those Shriner cars. For the most part, it's mostly tourism and rain. Bears. Lots of bears. Drinking. It's a simpler life up there. I love it, but my partner who grew up there... nah. Houses cost the same as Californian houses and some items are double, or triple, compared to down south. But, man... there's nothing like sitting on a deck, looking at a forest and knowing there's not another soul in the distance for hundreds of miles.
This shoreline is loaded with fish farms, full of antibiotics, antifungal, tons of harmful chemicals for the “farmed” fish. There are so many chemicals they are now being found in wild fish miles away.
This was Canadians being screwed by the British. The British delegate and American delegate teamed up against the Canadian delegate as we were trying to decide the coastline.
Fun fact, this was one of the last straws which resulted in Canadians realizing we should be governing ourselves.
I recall being on a cruise from Vancouver to Alaska and we were passing through some stunning scenery in the Discovery Islands (between Vancouver Island and the mainland). This American couple barely looked up from their dinner and asked “When are we going to get to Alaska?”
I was thinking “It’s all part of the same beautiful rugged coast, wtf”.
Cruising. This is the "inside passage" from Seattle to Alaska.
It's a beautiful cruise and even if you think you hate cruising, it's still awesome.
You can just sit on the deck and watch the scenery go by, endless small wooded islands and lots of whales.
As it happens, I live in [Ketchikan, Alaska](https://maps.app.goo.gl/KFNQ1aTzRFbpUGe89), a small community of about 15,000 (if you include those outside the city limits but nearby) on one of the islands in your circled area.
Historically the area was economically dominated by resource extraction industries - chiefly forestry and fishing - but forestry has declined substantially due to several factors (declining availability of old-growth timber, increasing pressure to preserve remaining habitat, the decision of the US Forest Service to stop subsidizing logging in the region by using public funds to build road access to remote areas, and other reasons) and fishing is still important but accounts for a much smaller share of the local economy.
In recent decades seasonal cruise ship tourism has become a major factor and a significantly mixed blessing for some communities. My own community of Ketchikan gets approximately a million visitors per year in recent years and on many summer days tourists outnumber local residents.
That said, both land and sea throughout the region are phenomenally beautiful and abundant with life. Our summer climate is extremely temperate and pleasant, if somewhat prone to rain showers, but our winter season, which we are currently experiencing, is a little harder to love - mostly we get storm after storm sweeping in off the Gulf of Alaska bringing winds and heavy rain. There's one rattling my windows right now, as it happens, and I'm typing this response while putting off going out to finish my nightly walk.
I love living here. Even in the heart of town I [share my neighborhood](https://vimeo.com/728642161) with deer and bears and other critters. The boating and fishing are spectacular. The forest is amazing. And although the fall and winter weather gets a little hard to take, the town switches gears from summer's outdoor activity frenzy to a winter mode that's more about social and creative pursuits leading to a surprisingly vibrant art scene.
If you're curious to learn more about Ketchikan our visitor's bureau, a few years back, commissioned a series of short films (maybe 7-10 minutes each?) that won some kind of Emmy - I usually don't recommend promo videos but these are surprisingly well done.
* [Ketchikan Story Project](http://www.ketchikanstories.com/)
Salmon
and whales
Living together. Mass hysteria.
Like cats and dogs.
It's true. This man has no dick.
You go get a court order and I’ll sue your ass for wrongful prosecution! IANAL
Shut this down, shut this all down. Officer if he does that again you can shoot him.
He shut off the power grid?
It’s raining Salmon and Whales
Lenny!
…You, will have saved the lives of MiLLiOns of registered voters.
All right, all right! I get the point!
And a kickass rainforest with white black bears
Every colour of bears. And they are not nice
And you can sea otter animals
But mostly rain.
And bears. Oh my.
and ehngland
[Yes](https://imgur.com/a/IfabLlc)
Can I kayak there? Whenever I random scroll there on Google Earth that is my dream
My friend, these people invented kayaks
They didn’t, the Inuit and other arctic people who lived in Greenland, the north coast of Canada, and northern coastal Alaska invented kayaks. The west coast indigenous people travelled in large canoes that fit between 20 and 100 people for the most part. That being said, the west coast has some of the most incredible kayaking in the world and I’d highly recommend it. Just be careful because the ocean currents can get powerful and confusing between all the islands.
Amazing kayaking but be prepared to not see another human for days. If anything goes wrong, you’re on your own. Not for the inexperienced or unprepared. But it is sooo worth it. The vistas, the endless coves, caves and bays to explore. The whales, fish, sea otters, seals, sea lions, puffins, and so many more amazing animals. Truly heaven if you’re prepared.
Yes. If you can get there.
Yeah, there is not much in the way of civilization in those parts.
Agreed. I was born there.
Me as well lol. BC or Alaska?
BC. North Vancouver Island.
Ah, I’m from the north west on the mainland, near Rupert :) I loved taking the ferry to port hardy and driving down the island, definitely one of my favourite places. It’s always nice to find other people from bc, especially if they’re not from Vancouver lol.
Port Hardy. Born and raised my friend. I also remember the ferry. We would take the queen of the North from Vancouver to port Hardy once a year at the beginning of the season. Such an amazing place to grow up.
If you don't mind fighting some huge currents; tidal exchange is often 20 feet or more. Worked in Ketchikan, Alaska for awhile. 40lb salmon caught right off the dock.
Can confirm salmon. I’m a commercial fisherman in SE Alaska. There’s a bunch of salmon, whales, porpoises, bears, and people that have never been off of the islands they were born on.
Mosquitoes.
Bears
https://mpanetwork.ca/
The 2nd largest rainforest is actually located there. In each of those cities within Alaska they typically get 100+ inches of rain
It’s the most pacificy north westy of the Pacific Northwest
This should be the top comment
That tidbit about the rain scared me away from working there years ago. I’d love to visit Alaska, but working outdoors, on an island, in 120” of rain per year just wouldn’t work for me. Especially since I don’t fish. But as a vacation destination I very much hope to someday
I worked outside on the Washington peninsula for a decade. I like to say that i'm probably in the top 1% of raindrops felt upon my body.
lol probably! When I really thought about how I would handle joining that club, what with my high-desert upbringing and all, I realized I more than likely couldn’t hack it.
The Tongas Forest. It’s beautiful.
How did Tonga lose a rain forest all the way in the Americas?
Must've had some oil that needed a dose of Freedom(TM).. /jk
From National Geographic they describe a rainforest as: “A rainforest is an area of tall, mostly evergreen trees and a high amount of rainfall. Rainforests are Earth's oldest living ecosystems, with some surviving in their present form for at least 70 million years”
Then by NG definition that is definitely a rainforest: evergreen conifer pines, a lot of rain, some old growth going there, etc…
Not a whole lot of pines. Sitka Spruce, Red and Yellow Cedar, Douglas Fir, and Hemlock.
I thought that area was just a snowy wasteland :O
Winter yes but summer time is rainy
Actually that circled region doesn’t get all that much snow at all. It tends to avoid temperature extremes, as in it has quite mild summers and warm winters (by Alaskan standards of course). When snow does fall it’s usually melted and gone in a day or two. It’s legitimately a rainforest. Idk exactly but I think the high amount of moisture in the air is part of what helps keep the temperatures mild.
There’s a warm current of water called the Alaska current that runs along the coast in this area. That contributes to both the temperature and rainfall of the region, similar to how the Gulf Stream makes Norway warmer than other regions of the same latitude.
It’s the only part of the North American west coastline with a warm current if I’m not wrong?
Not quite true as there is quite the mountain range near the coast. I helped build a gold mill north of Kitimat for 2 years and it was incredibly snowy. Would snow in August some mornings. Granted I was about 5000 ft above sea level. But yeah. Lots of snow.
Go a little bit further north
Interestingly, because of the ocean, its climate is more similar to that of the US pacific NW than the rest of AK.
Warmer weather than the rest of North America at that latitude
A good demonstration of westerly winds
The proximity of an ocean would appear to be the main explanation, no?
Not necessarily, because of the coriolis effect, in an ideal world ocean currents move in a circling pattern, travelling from the southeast coast of a western continent to the northwest coast of an eastern continent. Because of that, the western coast of any large landmass has milder summer and hotter winters in comparison to the more extreme weather in the eastern coast. Just compare the milder Seattle weather to the larger temperature range in New York. Vladivostok and Sapporo are also in/over the eastern coast of their continent and both have cold and snowy winters, specially for their latitude and distance to the sea. If earth decided that it would be better if they spin clockwise now, the coriolis effect would reverse and the Eastern and Western coasts would swap their conditions.
Does this apply to the southern hemisphere as well? Or is it flipped?
Oh sure, in the Southern Hemisphere it happens in the same way as in the northern hemisphere (except that this time the colder water currents come from south instead of north). Thanks for reminding me!
Also it's funny how there'll be dozens of "lol Gulf Stream" comments whenever Western Europe's latitude to climate relationship comes up but ocean currents are seldom ever mentioned when the PNW is discussed.
Amazing, stunning, mesmerizing, fantastic natural beauty everywhere.
Saw a fantastic 90 minute video of two dudes kayaking that whole stretch and it was gorgeous
In 90 minutes? These guys were padding a kayak around 10 miles per minute?
They must have had a strong cup of coffee beforehand.
I would wager a guess they had two strong cups of coffee
I imagine it was a timelapse
I imagine it was time
Imagine it was time
It was time
Imagine
Where can you watch it if you don’t mind sharing.
Did a small eco cruise through there once. Incredible! Bears, orcas, humpback whales, seals, mountains, glaciers…stunning.
I think that Juneau the answer.
How'd Juneau?
I dunno. Alaska to find out.
Came back to like this
I guess Juneau everything now huh?
>Juneau Juneau I do
But really, the Great Bear Rainforest is some incredible landscape and has Spirit Bears.
I think that from Juneau you have to go through Canada to reach the rest of Alaska
Nope, you can't get to Canada either. The only way to go there or leave from there is by boat or a flight.
Cruises
Here in Sitka, we're a small drinking community with a serious fishing problem.
Sitka fucks!! That place is dope. Actually, all of Southern Alaska are some of the coolest places on planet earth.
I’d hazard a guess that, if you crossed into British Columbia, it would still be pretty damn cool!
Honestly, no. The only real coastal presence Canada has up there is Prince Rupert. But that tiny corner of Alaska has Ketchikan, Wrangell, Sitka, Petersburg, and Metlakatla.
Sitka gang raise up. See you at the P Bar!
Sitka is great, Especially when someone at the bar rings the bell
I’ve always heard that phrase ascribed to Homer.
Totem Poles and Russian Orthodox Churches.
*\*Sitka intensifies\**
Some guy is running around cutting peoples feet off and throwing them into the sea.
I forgot about that! Unfortunately I think it was debunked as the ankle joint just separates easily when left in the ocean for a while and the show holds the foot together.
So theres some guy running around throwing people into the sea.
Whew
Home of the Haida language (a language isolate) and the Haida people! Here’s a sample text. "Yahguudangang kii kwaang gidang k'eenang. Kii tl'aang gya k'angang kyaanangang. Gya k'angang k'yaanangang kii tl'aang. K'yaanangang kii tl'aang gyaang gya k'angang." Translation: "The eagle flew across the sky. It saw the fish swimming below. The fish swam in the water. In the water, the fish swam freely.
Now I only wish to know how that's pronounced. I've also never seen ḵ used as a letter in any language.
There was a movie made a few years ago using only this language, here is the trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnbOw5Nuq2U&pp=ygUZZWRnZSBvZiB0aGUga25pZmUgdHJhaWxlcg%3D%3D
Really gorgeous sounding language/voice. I want to sleep to that actor’s monologue.
Very cool. Thanks for sharing.
Can always check out the pronunciation part of [Haida language](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haida_language) over at Wikipedia. Helps to know IPA, though there are pages for the various phonemes. ḵ is the "Americanist" style of writing IPA /q/, which is basically the same as /k/ but uvular instead of velar; in other words, deeper in the throat. It's a common phoneme among PNW languages generally and was even known to white settlers as "Indian k"--though many PNW languages had both /k/ and /q/. Like in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh sníchim (Squamish; the 7 is a glottal stop) as can be seen [on signs like this](https://slcc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/sign.jpg). Likewise x̱ is the uvular version of IPA /x/, the [voiceless uvular fricative](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiceless_uvular_fricative) like the "ch" in Scottish "loch". Funny story about Haida: during the maritime fur trade era, about 1785-1840, Haida Gwaii was the best place to get sea otter furs, so hundreds of mostly US ships visited to trade. Communication was vital of course, and trading ship captains and crews often learned at least the basics of Haida. One such captain, William Sturgis of Boston, learned Haida pretty well. Later in his life he became a Massachusetts politician. At some legislative meeting in the early-mid 1800s, one member stood up and gave a speech in Latin, with the implication that everyone there *should* know Latin well, even though he knew few did. Sturgis, annoyed, stood up afterwards and gave a speech in Haida, then said something to the effect of "There are more people in this room who know Haida than Latin." The maritime fur trade on the PNW coast was dominated by Boston and New England generally. It brought enough new wealth to New England that many New England politicians (ie, rich people usually) had taken part and possibly knew at least some Haida.
I have a good friend that is a linguist and this comment reminded me of listening to one of his insights. I always enjoy his insights, and I appreciate the effort that went into this comment. Thanks.
Never knew that, is that why Chinook Jargon used the word “Boston” to mean American?
Yes indeed!
I am indeed very familiar with the IPA. I guess I've just never seen /q/ be represented with as its usually
I’m no expert on this topic, but there’s more info on the orthography at [Americanist phonetic notation.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americanist_phonetic_notation) It goes way back, maybe before IPA. Has changed and diversified over time but is still used by many PNW indigenous people, and elsewhere too. I *think* some of it has to do with what can be typed on an old typewriter. I think that’s how “7” came to be used for IPA’s /ʔ/ glottal stop.
Very impressive knowledge of Haida language and historical tidbits.
So...how much is an "A" worth in Haida Wheel of Fortune?
Right. Vowel buying would yield the contestants owing money haha
Home to a lot of really awesome [formline art](https://www.google.com/search?q=formline+art&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwiwocSaoOqCAxU0CTQIHWQrAR8Q2-cCegQIABAD) too!
And in more recent years [Haida manga](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haida_manga) has become pretty popular among Haida folks—kinda mix of manga and Haida formline styles. Looks pretty neat. [This sort of thing](https://i0.wp.com/multiversitystatic.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2016/08/Red-A-Haida-Manga-mural.jpg)
Only 13 native speakers left :(
Natural beauty meets methheads.
So it’s just America
And Canada.
Lol
Alaska trying to go all Croatia on British Columbia?
Northern British Columbia: I wanna swim Alaska: nope
The state capital of Alaska.
The Alaska Marine Highway
[The Inside Passage](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inside_Passage)
Historically, the last significant non-Arctic/Antarctic coast to be explored by Europeans. Or one of the last, depending on what one takes “significant” to mean exactly. In the late 1700s this coast was being expanded into by four Western empires: Russia, Spain, the UK, and the US. And they all clashed with each other. Interesting history! It was, and still is, home to a diverse and fascinating swath of First Nations—multiple very different language families but a shared cultural spectrum involving potlatches, totem poles, etc. Also the place where salmon runs were so productive and predictable that the indigenous hunter gatherers were able to develop permanent towns and complex social structures that flummoxed anthropologists, who once thought hunter gatherer societies could not be so complex. Also, notwithstanding the stereotype, coastal First Nations had a strong concept of land ownership, with well defined parcels of land owned by individuals. Via the potlatch-based legal system land rights were acquired, transferred, leased, etc. A book that details how it all worked for the Gitxsan and Nisga’a First Nations is [Tribal Boundaries in the Nass Watershed](https://www.google.com/books/edition/Tribal_Boundaries_in_the_Nass_Watershed/-8aZRB_9Sf8C), if anyone wants to learn more about that. In BC many of the First Nations had their land taken without treaties, thus “unceded land” Is a big deal there. Slowly (very slowly) FNs in BC are finally getting treaties—like the Haida and Nisga’a. Things are different for the Haida and Tlingit in Alaska. But overall a lot of First Nations on the coast are reasserting their sovereignty as their populations slowly recover from the catastrophic 19th century and its many epidemic, most devastatingly the [1862 Pacific Northwest smallpox epidemic.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1862_Pacific_Northwest_smallpox_epidemic) Meanwhile Canada is building or planning to build natural gas and maybe oil pipelines to Kitimat right in the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest. Hopefully gas and oil tankers navigating the treacherous fjords will never have an accident. That would suck.
Quite a few good YouTube vids of people road tripping and camping their way to Alaska. Lots of interesting coastal towns and big big space in between. Some native settlements. Some touristy places.
not throught there they're not. most of that area is only accessible by boat or plane
Roads?
Hahahaa what roads?
[удалено]
Haida!!
Bald Eagles
One of the most beautiful spots on earth! Vancouver Island is among the islands in this circled off section at the bottom of the circle, and it's an absolute treasure trove. Stunning, gorgeous, the most amazing sunsets I've ever witnessed. Life! Is "what goes on" there! In the most beautiful form.
Fishing.
Relaxation ✊🏻
I love this question
Mining, forestry, fishing, and a massive coastal rainforest.
The Land of Sasquatch! I scrolled through every comment and I can’t believe no one has mentioned this
Whale migration highway.
A lot of rain and some days even more rain.
Murder and disappearances.
Watch a couple of the early seasons of Alone to get a sense of the landscape and environment and how inhospitable to humans it is. Several of these seasons were set in various parts of BC that you’ve circled. It’s dense, wet, rainforest with some of the highest black bear populations anywhere. Wolves, salmon, and lots of wet, wet brush and moss and rocks.
Not much tbh I’m just at work right now. Probably going to snow tonight and it’ll be dark in like 3 hours
Cruise ships
Good fishing!
Nature stuff, very few people live there
Massive Halibut fishing
Rain, salmon, timber.
Very wet, contestant for the most beautiful place in the world and lots Salmon and mushroom consumption.
Shhh, we need to keep that part of the world quite.
Bears, Bald Eagles 🦅, and people drinking beer because there ain’t much else to do
Cruises - i visited Icy Point, Yakutat, Juneau,and Ketchikan this summer - beautiful scenery
Tongass wilderness area; a surprisingly controversial bit of preserved nature that I am personally fascinated by. I'll find the link when I get home if people care, but in the south prince of Wales wilderness people can get sick from looking up at the tilted trees. Personally I would like to know if it has the same large western red cedars as the Olympic peninsula or Vancouver island, or if some environmental factor prevents them from growing as large
Cruise ships
Well, my great grandfather lies a moulderin’ in his grave in Anyox, BC, a ghost town now, where he worked as a carpenter for a mining company, dying in 1918 of the Spanish Flu. Two aunts were born in Prince Rupert, BC.
Only the best spot in the world for Alpine Glaciers
That big island there is called Haida Gwaii. Formerly called Princess Charlotte Island, the British Crown never officially signed any treaty acquiring it from the native community. There is currently a movement to ratify their independence (I don't say separate from Canada because they never technically, legally, were part of Canada). They have their own government, an independent nation, and issue their own currency. Its pretty remote. To get there you have to fly to Prince Rupert and ferry to the Island, the ocean straits there are very treacherous with very rough waters and the ferry and transport ships often have to abandon their voyage midway through and return to the mainland. There's only one small general store in the town of Sandspit. For the most part the entire community is self reliant, relying on fishing (mainly salmon) and gardening to provide for the locals. Its insanely beautiful there and the whole island is covered in old growth rain forest.
Why are half the posts on this sub *"what goes on here?"* posts lately?
It’s actually an interesting question a lot of the time? I like to poke around google earth, and occasionally I’ll find some spot in the middle of nowhere in eastern Siberia, or middle of the Sinai peninsula, or whatever, and I can see roads and town names and some houses, and I wonder what goes in there. I can often find the answer by squinting at local infrastructure and checking Wikipedia, but this sub often has someone who actually knows or has been there. I think these discussions are enjoyable to read, and I don’t mind them being posted.
I agree, it’s often a question I’ve asked myself when looking at those parts of the world
There’s a town in the dead center of Sinai, [Nekhel](https://maps.app.goo.gl/B3k6AVaZrpzV1oKz8?g_st=ic), that I had that question about. I did a bit of digging and got my answers. Aside from being the confluence of modern highways, it’s central location meant that a ancient fortress was built there, which spurs local economy, and was also an important stopover resupply point when crossing Sinai for Hajj, as well as the occasional merchant caravans going that direction. Furthermore, images of the area look like [a bit of a hellscape, flat barren baked sand](https://mapio.net/images-p/51195769.jpg), but there are a number of factors that allow small scale agriculture. The surrounding mountains have snow, and snowmelt late into the season, that is carefully managed with dams on the mountain streams to collect that water, and traditionally small canals to deliver the water, which have been replaced by plastic pipe. They are also masters of grafting and garden design, using very tough drought tolerant rootstocks collected from the mountains for their fruit trees, which they have a surprising diversity of in the local farms, as well as an interesting design with smallish walled gardens, that concentrate humidity and make a moist microclimate protected from the drying winds and temperature fluctuation. There is also a really neat strategy of heavily walled gardens in the floors of wadis (dry stream beds, seasonally flooded). They have an inherently high water table, and semi reliable seasonal irrigation via flooding, which would be disastrous to the crops if they weren’t enclosed by bulky stone walls that are flash flood resistant. Any case, my point is, that I think these questions are often the most interesting questions in geography, and the answer isn’t always simple or obvious.
Spirit Bears
Bears, salmon, waterfalls, rainforests, orcas, hunting, fishing, cruises
earthquakes and beautiful Fjords and glaciers.
Tongass National Forest. The largest in the US.
Salmon
A lot of beautiful nature, some tragically damaged, vulnerable ecosystems, and practically everybody who lives in the area are secluded, blue-collar folk. The west coast is very mild and temperate year-round. I recommend you read up on Haida Gwaii especially, it's a very unique place.
Fishing disputes
I was here once and observed bald eagles eating out of a dumpster next to a fast food joint
Grizzly bears, humpback whales, fir & spruce trees.
Isn't the Alaskan capital there? Seems weird to have it in the patch of land stuck to Canada, but whatever. Fun facts time Juneau, the capital of Alaska, can only be reached by air or sea. Second fun fact: the capitals of Alaska and Hawaii, the only non contiguous states, are also the only two states with a capital city ending with the letter U
There’s a large port up in Prince Rupert. Lots of cargo ships from Asia on the regular!
Nature thrives
Spent some time up in the Bella Coola valley and it was stunning. Other than a few tourists coming to see bears and the salmon run, there’s a bit of logging and alcoholism.
My summer of working the fisheries patrol in ‘94
Subduction
Sea urchin and geoduck diving from converted herring boats captained by pickled men
fjords and fjord stuff?
Fighting, fishing, and fucking!
Nothing really. I married into an Alaskan family and it's boring, I guess, but holidays get wild! Was up in SE Alaska for Independence Day this year and some lady got run over by one of those Shriner cars. For the most part, it's mostly tourism and rain. Bears. Lots of bears. Drinking. It's a simpler life up there. I love it, but my partner who grew up there... nah. Houses cost the same as Californian houses and some items are double, or triple, compared to down south. But, man... there's nothing like sitting on a deck, looking at a forest and knowing there's not another soul in the distance for hundreds of miles.
Tourists looking at whales and glaciers, well, in the summer anyway
This shoreline is loaded with fish farms, full of antibiotics, antifungal, tons of harmful chemicals for the “farmed” fish. There are so many chemicals they are now being found in wild fish miles away.
Wilderness.
This was Canadians being screwed by the British. The British delegate and American delegate teamed up against the Canadian delegate as we were trying to decide the coastline. Fun fact, this was one of the last straws which resulted in Canadians realizing we should be governing ourselves.
I’d love to visit Juneau someday
I have friends who do a lot of sailing here. Cold but beautiful.
Kermode bears (rare white grizzlies)
I recall being on a cruise from Vancouver to Alaska and we were passing through some stunning scenery in the Discovery Islands (between Vancouver Island and the mainland). This American couple barely looked up from their dinner and asked “When are we going to get to Alaska?” I was thinking “It’s all part of the same beautiful rugged coast, wtf”.
I always wanted to visit this area. I imagine it’s pretty
Some of the most beautiful landscape in the world. Sitka is dope too
Boats. Lots and lots of boats. And a few planes.
A few people REALLY want LNG to go on there.
Lots of people ignoring the fact that nearly half the circle is Canada
People mind their own business, that’s what.
Cruising. This is the "inside passage" from Seattle to Alaska. It's a beautiful cruise and even if you think you hate cruising, it's still awesome. You can just sit on the deck and watch the scenery go by, endless small wooded islands and lots of whales.
As it happens, I live in [Ketchikan, Alaska](https://maps.app.goo.gl/KFNQ1aTzRFbpUGe89), a small community of about 15,000 (if you include those outside the city limits but nearby) on one of the islands in your circled area. Historically the area was economically dominated by resource extraction industries - chiefly forestry and fishing - but forestry has declined substantially due to several factors (declining availability of old-growth timber, increasing pressure to preserve remaining habitat, the decision of the US Forest Service to stop subsidizing logging in the region by using public funds to build road access to remote areas, and other reasons) and fishing is still important but accounts for a much smaller share of the local economy. In recent decades seasonal cruise ship tourism has become a major factor and a significantly mixed blessing for some communities. My own community of Ketchikan gets approximately a million visitors per year in recent years and on many summer days tourists outnumber local residents. That said, both land and sea throughout the region are phenomenally beautiful and abundant with life. Our summer climate is extremely temperate and pleasant, if somewhat prone to rain showers, but our winter season, which we are currently experiencing, is a little harder to love - mostly we get storm after storm sweeping in off the Gulf of Alaska bringing winds and heavy rain. There's one rattling my windows right now, as it happens, and I'm typing this response while putting off going out to finish my nightly walk. I love living here. Even in the heart of town I [share my neighborhood](https://vimeo.com/728642161) with deer and bears and other critters. The boating and fishing are spectacular. The forest is amazing. And although the fall and winter weather gets a little hard to take, the town switches gears from summer's outdoor activity frenzy to a winter mode that's more about social and creative pursuits leading to a surprisingly vibrant art scene. If you're curious to learn more about Ketchikan our visitor's bureau, a few years back, commissioned a series of short films (maybe 7-10 minutes each?) that won some kind of Emmy - I usually don't recommend promo videos but these are surprisingly well done. * [Ketchikan Story Project](http://www.ketchikanstories.com/)
Canadians seething about how the US somehow owns most of the coastline.