164 



NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS 



Island and the mainland differs in many 

 respects from that found on the West 

 Coast of Vancouver Island, and on the 

 northern part of the mainland. The 

 Gulf receives great quantities of fresh 

 water from many rivers draining the 

 western slopes of the Coast Range. 

 The mighty Fraser River, which drains 

 the largest river basin in the Interior of 

 British Columbia, debouches here, car- 

 rying thousands of tons of sand and silt, 

 discoloring the sea water for miles, and 

 leaving a deposit of fine silty mud on 

 the adjacent sea-shores. This muddy 

 deposit is absent from the shores of the 

 west coast of Vancouver Island and 

 northern mainland; these shores, facing 

 the Ocean, are frequently lashed by 

 the full force of gales and storms of the 

 Pacific. 



The rocky parts of the coast abound 

 with a great variety of brown and red 

 seaweeds, giant kelps occasionally oc- 

 cupying large areas. The most con- 

 spicuous kelp in these waters is the 

 "Sea-pear" (Nereocystis luetkeana) 

 whose huge thalli, each with a large 

 pear-shaped float attached to a stipe 

 often more than forty feet in length, 

 may be seen in great profusion. This 

 kelp, and Macrocystis which is not so 

 abundant here, was collected on a com- 

 mercial scale during the period of the 

 "world war," and prepared as a ferti- 

 lizer to overcome the shortage of potash 

 for agricultural purposes. 



In shallow brackish bays, the inter- 

 tidal area is often covered with eel grass 

 (Zostera marina) ; while on rocky shores, 

 this is replaced by its larger relative 

 false eel grass (Phyllospadix scouleri). 

 The sheltered waters of the Gulf, the 

 diminished salinity, and the deposition 

 of beds of silt in bays and at the estuaries 

 of rivers, are all conducive to the building 

 up of salt marshes with their characteris- 

 tic halophytic flora. 



Marine mammals (E. A. P.). The 

 sea otter (Latax lutris] formerly common 

 along the entire coast is now nearly 

 extirpated. The fur seal (Callorhinus 

 alascanus), which breeds only on the 

 Pribilof Islands, Alaska, is found in 



migration along the entire coast, but is 

 not known to land. The spotted harbor 

 seal (Phoca richardii) is rather common 

 and breeds in certain favorable places. 

 The southern sea lion (Zalophus calif or- 

 nianus) barely enters our southern coast 

 waters, while the northern sea lion 

 (Eumetopias jubata) breeds in consid- 

 erable colonies in many places along 

 the coast. 



The cetaceans known to inhabit the 

 coast waters include the killer whale 

 (Orcinus rectipinna); Pacific right whale 

 (Balaena seiboldii)', California gray 

 whale (Rhachianectes glaucus) ; Pacific 

 humpback whale (Megaptera versabilis) ; 

 Davidson's finback whale (Balaenoptera 

 davidsoni) ; Pacific sulphur-bottom whale 

 (Balaenoptera sulfur eus) ; Pacific finback 

 whale (Balaenoptera velifera) ; sperm 

 whale (Physeter macrocephalus] ; Pacific 

 blackfish (Globiocephala scammoni], and 

 common porpoise (Phocaena phocaena). 



III. PRESENT BIOTA (E. A. P.) 



Data regarding changes in the dis- 

 tribution of British Columbia birds and 

 mammals within historic times concern 

 mainly the larger game and predatory 

 mammals. These may be given under 

 species. 



The moose (Alces americanus), within 

 the past 50 years has made a notable 

 addition to its range, extending west- 

 ward and southwestward several hun- 

 dred miles. In the Stikine region it 

 has moved its frontier from the region 

 of Dease Lake to the mouths of the 

 Stikine and Taku rivers. Farther south 

 it has reached the vicinity of Chilcotin 

 River and 83 mi. House only during 

 recent years. 



The elk or wapiti (Cervus canadensis 

 occidentalis} originally ranged over that 

 portion of the Province east of the Rocky 

 Mountains north nearly to Liard River. 

 Here it is now entirely extirpated. In 

 southern British Columbia also, where 

 it formerly ranged practically across 

 the Province, it has suffered great loss 

 in range, and is now confined mostly to 

 the Kootenay District and to Vancouver 

 Island. 



