Langara Island
Encyclopedia
Langara Island is the northernmost Island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...

 of the Queen Charlotte Islands
Queen Charlotte Islands
Haida Gwaii , formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands, is an archipelago on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada. Haida Gwaii consists of two main islands: Graham Island in the north, and Moresby Island in the south, along with approximately 150 smaller islands with a total landmass of...

 in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. The island is approximately 8080 acres (3,270 ha) in size. It is located approximately 45 kilometres (28 mi) south of Alaska.

History

Little is known about its history. It is named after Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 naval commander Juan de Lángara
Juan de Lángara
Juan Francisco de Lángara y Huarte was a Spanish naval officer and Minister of Marine.-Life and career:He was born at Coruña, Galicia, the son of a renowned Basque family...

. 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
Juan José Pérez Hernández , often simply Juan Pérez, was an 18th century Spanish explorer. He was the first European to sight, examine, name, and record the islands near present-day British Columbia, Canada...

 was the first European
European ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....

 to sight, examine, name, and record these islands. His frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...

 was the Santiago, which was manned mostly by Mexicans
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

. 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 island 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).

Climate

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.

External links

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