Salish Sea

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The Salish Sea, Georgia Basin, or Whulge are conventional names for the great inland waterway stretching from Tumwater, Washington to before the Johnstone Strait, British Columbia that was the central resource of the First Nations Coast Salish peoples who historically and presently inhabit the area.

The khWuhlch[1] (Whulge) is the indigenous Lushootseed name for what is now known in the US as the Salish Sea and as the Georgia Basin in Canada. The large, dilute, estuarial inland sea includes what is now called Puget Sound, the Strait of Georgia, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, connecting the sea with the Pacific Ocean.[2][3]

Image:Eol jsc nasa gov (western WA & southern B.C.) ISS004-E-10921.jpg
Western Washington, southwest British Columbia, largely centered on the Salish Sea. The Olympic Peninsula, Vancouver Island, and the Cascade Range are apparent. Urban Everett-Seattle-Tacoma is due east of the white of the Olympics. Vancouver is visible in the upper center. Mt. Rainier is the brightest white, relatively round near the bottom, middle. Mt. Baker is the white at top middle, separated from the white of the Cascades by dark, forested valleys. Source: Image Science & Analysis Laboratory, NASA Johnson Space Center.[1].

The lands of this inland sea have been inhabited since they emerged with the end of the last glacial period (c. 8,000 B.C.E. — 10,000 years ago).[4] The khWuhlch was the primary waterway interconnecting the greater Lushootseed Coast Salish Nations. (Culture area languages and dialects had variations on the name.)[1][4]

The Whulge, Salish Sea, or Georgia Basin encompasses the inland sea and the land around it. It is one of the most spectacular settings in the world.[5] Temperate for its latitude, the Olympic Mountains and Vancouver Island Ranges[6] shield from the Pacific Ocean, the Cascade Mountain Range from continental weather; together they surround the Salish Sea, contributing most of the entering fresh water (windward of the Salish Sea lie two of the few temperate rain forests in the world).[2] The largest ecoregion of the Georgia Basin is the Lower Mainland Ecoregion which encompasses the lowlands on the mainland in the southwestern corner of British Columbia.

The area is in the rainshadow of the mountains on Vancouver Island and the Olympic Mountains in the state of Washington, USA. Its climate is characterized by warm dry summers and cool wet winters. Like most of the west coast of BC, Coastal Douglas fir forests are typical of this area. However, much of this part of BC is dry, flat and low elevation, with unique plant and animal habitats.

Humpback and gray whales, resident and migratory pods of orca dolphins are found in its waters. Mile-high granite faces tower beside deep, indigo fjords, remnants of uncut, low-elevation old growth forest survive on its northern islands. The Spirit Bear is found only in the remaining wild forests of the northern Georgia Basin.[5] The sea and its shores provide vital habitat for the millions of birds that migrate each year along the Pacific Flyway. More waterbirds and raptors winter here than anywhere else in Canada, and five species of salmon use the waters as the gateway to their spawning grounds.[7] (The Pacific Northwest fisheries was once one of the richest in the world, second only to the Grand Banks.)

Vancouver, British Columbia and Seattle, Washington are world-scale urban metropolises in the watershed. The human population of the khWuhlch, Georgia Basin, or Salish Sea has more than doubled between 1980 and 2005. If this rate of growth continues (as it shows consistent signs of doing), the pressures on wildlife, migratory birds and migratory fish, and the habitats these species require in order to survive, will need to be carefully managed to ensure the overall well-being of the ecosystem — as well as quality of life for the human inhabitants.

To preserve, protect, and restore, efforts are underway among federal and provincial governments of Canada, and, under the aegis of Environment Canada, in subsequent cooperation with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), (intergovernmental Joint Statement signed 2000). Government entities include Environment, Fisheries and Oceans, Parks, First Nations, and more than 100 departments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and academic institutions. US agencies in addition to the EPA include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and analogs to Canadian organizations.[7]

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes and references

  1. ^ a b "The people and their land". "Puget Sound Native Art and Culture". Seattle Art Museum (2003-07-04 per "Native Art of the Northwest Coast: Collection Insight"). Retrieved on 2006-04-21.
  2. ^ a b "Part One: Where in the world is the Salish Sea?". Washington. estuaries.gov (2004-08-04, revised). Retrieved on 2006-05-21.
  3. ^ (1985) "North America", Rand McNally Cosmopolitan World Atlas, 68. ISBN. 
  4. ^ a b Dailey)
  5. ^ a b Lucas)
  6. ^ of the Pacific Coast Ranges
  7. ^ a b "Map of Georgia Basin". Georgia Basin Action Plan. Pacific & Yukon Regional, Environment Canada, Government of Canada (2005-10-17, updated). Retrieved on 2006-05-21.

[edit] Bibliography

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