Langara Island, known as Kiis Gwaii to the Haida ( Haida: ''Ḵ'íis Gwáayaay''), is the northernmost

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

Haida Gwaii Haida Gwaii (; hai, X̱aaydag̱a Gwaay.yaay / , literally "Islands of the Haida people") is an archipelago located between off the northern Pacific coast of Canada. The islands are separated from the mainland to the east by the shallow Heca ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Canada. The island is approximately in size. It is located approximately south of Alaska.

History

Abandoned Haida village of Dadens on Langara Island, British Columbia (268)

Little is known about its history. It is named after

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

naval commander

Juan de Lángara Juan Francisco de Lángara y Huarte (''Juan Francisco Langara Uharte'' in Basque) (1736 in Coruña, Galicia – 1806 in Madrid) was a Spanish naval officer and Minister of Marine. By all accounts, Lángara was a highly skilled, brave and s ...

. 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 Juan José Pérez Hernández (born Joan Perés c. 1725 – November 3, 1775), often simply Juan Pérez, was an 18th-century Spanish explorer. He was the first known European to sight, examine, name, and record the islands near present-day Br ...

was the first

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

to sight, examine, name, and record these islands. His

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

was the ''Santiago'', which was crewed mostly by

Mexicans Mexicans ( es, mexicanos) are the citizens of the United Mexican States. The most spoken language by Mexicans is Spanish language, Spanish, but some may also speak languages from 68 different Languages of Mexico, Indigenous linguistic groups ...

. In July 1774, he briefly met a group of Haida off the northwestern tip of Langara Island. In 1913 the

Langara Light The Langara Point Lighthouse is a manned lighthouse located atop a scenic bluff on the northwest corner of Langara Island. It is one of only two lighthouses in Haida Gwaii – the other being at Cape St. James (now an automated station), at the ...

was lit at the northwest corner of the island. It is one of the largest islands from which

Norway rat The brown rat (''Rattus norvegicus''), also known as the common rat, street rat, sewer rat, wharf rat, Hanover rat, Norway rat, Norwegian rat and Parisian rat, is a widespread species of common rat. One of the largest muroids, it is a brown o ...

s 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. On 6 September 2018, the '' Haida Legend'' sank off Langara Island. The vessel had been fishing

halibut Halibut is the common name for three flatfish in the genera '' Hippoglossus'' and ''Reinhardtius'' from the family of right-eye flounders and, in some regions, and less commonly, other species of large flatfish. The word is derived from ''h ...

and the cause of the sinking is unknown. All members of the crew were rescued.

Climate

Langara Island has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...

( Cfb) with cool to mild summers and very cool, rainy winters with chilly nights.

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

External links

SPREP
{{Authority control Islands of Haida Gwaii Island restoration

History

Climate

See also

Publications

References

External links