Langara Island

Langara Island, known as Kiis Gwaii to the Haida, is the northernmost island of Haida Gwaii in British Columbia, Canada. The island is approximately 8,080 acres (3,270 ha) in size. It is located approximately 45 kilometres (28 mi) south of Alaska.

Langara Island
Geography
Coordinates54°14′03″N 133°01′13″W
ArchipelagoHaida Gwaii
Area8,080 acres (3,270 ha)
Administration
Demographics
Population460

History
Dadens, Langara Island, 1878

Little is known about its history. It is named after Spanish naval commander Juan de Lángara. During Lángara's period at the head of the Spanish navy, Spanish explorers were charting the coast of what is now British Columbia, and, in their charts, named some land formations after him. Juan José Pérez Hernández was the first European to sight, examine, name, and record these islands. His frigate was the Santiago, which was manned mostly by Mexicans. In July 1774, he briefly met a group of Haida off the northwestern tip of Langara Island. In 1913 the Langara Light was lit at the northwest corner of the island. It is one of the largest islands from which Norway rats have been eradicated. The eradication campaign for R. norvegicus was begun in July 1995 using anti-coagulant bait and the island was declared free of rats in May 1997 (Kaiser et al. 1997).

On September 6, 2018, the Haida Legend sank off Langara Island.[1] The vessel had been fishing halibut and the cause of the sinking is unknown. All members of the crew were rescued.

Climate

Langara Island has an oceanic climate (Cfb) with cool to mild summers and very cool, rainy winters with chilly nights.

Climate data for Langara Island (1981-2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 13.7
(56.7)		 12.8
(55.0)		 14.4
(57.9)		 19.4
(66.9)		 25
(77)		 25.6
(78.1)		 22.2
(72.0)		 25.4
(77.7)		 22.8
(73.0)		 20
(68)		 15
(59)		 12.8
(55.0)		 25.6
(78.1)
Average high °C (°F) 5.8
(42.4)		 6.0
(42.8)		 6.9
(44.4)		 8.9
(48.0)		 11.0
(51.8)		 13.2
(55.8)		 14.8
(58.6)		 15.8
(60.4)		 14.5
(58.1)		 11.2
(52.2)		 7.5
(45.5)		 6.1
(43.0)		 10.1
(50.2)
Daily mean °C (°F) 4.0
(39.2)		 4.1
(39.4)		 4.8
(40.6)		 6.3
(43.3)		 8.5
(47.3)		 10.8
(51.4)		 12.7
(54.9)		 13.6
(56.5)		 12.3
(54.1)		 9.2
(48.6)		 5.6
(42.1)		 4.3
(39.7)		 8.0
(46.4)
Average low °C (°F) 2.2
(36.0)		 2.1
(35.8)		 2.5
(36.5)		 3.7
(38.7)		 6.0
(42.8)		 8.4
(47.1)		 10.6
(51.1)		 11.4
(52.5)		 10.0
(50.0)		 7.1
(44.8)		 3.7
(38.7)		 2.5
(36.5)		 5.9
(42.6)
Record low °C (°F) −14.4
(6.1)		 −12
(10)		 −11.7
(10.9)		 −3.3
(26.1)		 0
(32)		 3.3
(37.9)		 5.6
(42.1)		 5.6
(42.1)		 1.1
(34.0)		 −4.5
(23.9)		 −15.9
(3.4)		 −12.8
(9.0)		 −15.9
(3.4)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 205.8
(8.10)		 140.6
(5.54)		 149.8
(5.90)		 139.8
(5.50)		 109.3
(4.30)		 94.2
(3.71)		 93.5
(3.68)		 134.0
(5.28)		 190.5
(7.50)		 256.6
(10.10)		 230.0
(9.06)		 223.2
(8.79)		 1,967.2
(77.45)
Source: Environment Canada[2]

See also

Publications
  • Kaiser, G.W.; Taylor, R.H.; Buck, P.D.; Elliott, J.E.; Howald, G.R.; Drever, M.C. 1997. The Langara Island Seabird Habitat Recovery Project: Eradication of Norway Rats – 1993–1997. Technical Report Series No. 304, Canadian Wildlife Service, Pacific and Yukon Region, British Columbia.

References
  1. Andrew Hudson (14 September 2018). "Fishing boat 'Haida Legend' sinks off Langara Island". Haida Gwaii Observer. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  2. Environment Canada—, accessed 3 September 2017

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.