Haida Gwaii is an archipelago located between 55–125 km (34–78 mi) off the northern Pacific coast of Canada. The islands are separated from the mainland to the east by the shallow Hecate Strait. Queen Charlotte Sound lies to the south, with Vancouver Island beyond. To the north, the disputed Dixon Entrance separates Haida Gwaii from the Alexander Archipelago in the U.S. state of Alaska.
Hecate Strait is a wide but shallow strait between Haida Gwaii and the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It merges with Queen Charlotte Sound to the south and Dixon Entrance to the north. About 140 kilometres (87 mi) wide at its southern end, Hecate Strait narrows in the north to about 48 kilometres (30 mi). It is about 260 kilometres (160 mi) in length.
Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, National Marine Conservation Area, and Haida Heritage Site, usually referred to simply as Gwaii Haanas, is located in southernmost Haida Gwaii, 130 kilometres off the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Gwaii Haanas protects an archipelago of 138 islands, the largest being Moresby Island and the southernmost being Kunghit Island. "Gwaii Haanas" means "Islands of Beauty" in X̱aayda kíl, the language of the Haida people.
Cyanolichens are lichens that apart from the basic fungal component ("mycobiont"), contain cyanobacteria, otherwise known as blue-green algae, as the photosynthesizing component ("photobiont"). Overall, about a third of lichen photobionts are cyanobacteria and the other two thirds are green algae.
The North Coast Regional District is a quasi-municipal administrative area in British Columbia. It is located on British Columbia's west coast and includes Haida Gwaii, the largest of which are Graham Island and Moresby Island. Its administrative offices are in the City of Prince Rupert.
The Village of Daajing Giids, previously known as Queen Charlotte, is a village municipality on Haida Gwaii in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is located on the southern end of Graham Island at Skidegate Inlet and is a member municipality of the North Coast Regional District.
Moresby Island is a large island that forms part of the Haida Gwaii archipelago in British Columbia, Canada, located at 52°45′00″N131°50′00″W. It is separated by the narrow Skidegate Channel from the other principal island of the group to the north, Graham Island.
Bowie Seamount is a large submarine volcano in the northeastern Pacific Ocean, located 180 km (110 mi) west of Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, Canada.
Tow Hill is a large isolated volcanic plug located 21 km (13 mi) east of Masset on the north end of the Naikoon Peninsula of northeast Graham Island in Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, Canada, east of McIntyre Bay and near the mouth of the Hiellen River, which is the site of Hiellen, a now-abandoned Haida village and of the Hiellen Indian Reserve No. 2, on the site of that village. Formerly Tow Hill Provincial Park, it is now part of Naikoon Provincial Park, which covers most of the northeastern flatland of Graham Island.
The 1949 Queen Charlotte Islands earthquake struck Haida Gwaii and the Pacific Northwest coast at 8:01 p.m. PDT on August 21. The earthquake had a moment magnitude of 8.0 and a surface wave magnitude of 8.1. The maximum Mercalli Intensity in the event was VIII (Severe).
SG̱ang Gwaay Llanagaay, commonly known by its English name Ninstints, is a village site of the Haida people and part of the Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site on Haida Gwaii on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada.
Lobaria pulmonaria is a large epiphytic lichen consisting of an ascomycete fungus and a green algal partner living together in a symbiotic relationship with a cyanobacterium—a symbiosis involving members of three kingdoms of organisms. Commonly known by various names like tree lungwort, lung lichen, lung moss, lungwort lichen, oak lungs or oak lungwort, it is sensitive to air pollution and is also harmed by habitat loss and changes in forestry practices. Its population has declined across Europe and L. pulmonaria is considered endangered in many lowland areas. The species has a history of use in herbal medicines, and recent research has corroborated some medicinal properties of lichen extracts.
Nephroma is a genus of medium to large foliose lichens. The genus has a widespread distribution. They are sometimes called kidney lichens, named after the characteristic kidney-shaped apothecia that they produce on the lower surface of their lobe tips, which often curl upwards and thus are visible from above. Sterile specimens that do not have apothecia can look somewhat like Melanelia, Peltigera, Platismatia, or Asahinea. Most species grow either on mossy ground or rocks, or on trees.
Cephalodia are small gall-like structures found in some species of lichens that contain cyanobacterial symbionts. Cephalodia can occur within the tissues of the lichen, or on its upper or lower surface. Lichens that have both green algal and cyanobacterial symbionts restrict the cyanobacteria to cephalodia. Lichens that have only cyanobacterial symbionts do not have cephalodia: instead the cyanobacteria are widely distributed throughout the lichen. Lichens with cephalodia can fix nitrogen, and can be an important contributor of nitrogen to the ecosystem.
Gwaii Haanas National Marine Conservation Area Reserve and Haida Heritage Site is a National Marine Conservation Area of Canada. It is located off the coast of the southernmost Haida Gwaii, 130 kilometres off the mainland of British Columbia. It is immediately adjacent to Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site. The level of protection differs from that of the National Park Reserve, however, allowing sustainable use of some natural resources in the area. Gwaii Haanas National Marine Conservation Area Reserve, which covers 3,400 square kilometres, is "a primary feeding habitat" of the humpback whale protected by Canada's Species at Risk Act (SARA).
Pilophorus acicularis, commonly known as the nail lichen or the devil's matchstick lichen, is a species of matchstick lichen in the family Cladoniaceae.
Some types of lichen are able to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere. This process relies on the presence of cyanobacteria as a partner species within the lichen. The ability to fix nitrogen enables lichen to live in nutrient-poor environments. Lichen can also extract nitrogen from the rocks on which they grow.
Spilonema maritimum is a species of lichen in the family Coccocarpiaceae. Found in Alaska, it was described as a new species in 2020 by lichenologists Toby Spribille and Alan Fryday. The type specimen was collected in Juneau Borough, on the west side of Douglas Island. Here it was found growing on exposed seashore rocks roughly 2 m (6.6 ft) above the high tide line. Its specific epithet maritimum alludes to its close association with maritime rocks.
Rhizocarpon haidense is a species of crustose lichen in the family Rhizocarpaceae. Found in Canada, it was described as a new species in 2020 by lichenologists Irwin Brodo and Alan Fryday. The type specimen was collected from the Skincuttle Inlet area of Moresby Island. Here it was found on the edge of a beach, growing on a rock at the base of a cliff. The specific epithet haidense references the type locality in Haida Gwaii.
The following outline provides an overview of and topical guide to lichens.
