Tag Archives: Ice Age

At the Cortes Island Museum: Fossils Left by the Last Glacial Age

The story of fossils left during the last glacial period is currently on display at the Cortes Island Museum. They are Buchia mussels, Belemnites, and Ammonites—creatures that lived in the Chilcotin region at the same time as the dinosaurs. The rocks containing their fossils were relatively undisturbed for nearly 130 million years. Then, during the last glaciation period, fragments broke off and were carried to Cortes, Read, Sonora, and other Discovery Islands.

In this morning’s interview, Christian Gronau, a retired geologist and Cortes Island resident, tells their story.

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Wei Wai Kum Aquire Control Of Campbell River Adventure Tours

Wei Wai Kum First Nation‘s latest business venture is acquiring a majority stake in the Campbell River Adventure Tours Group, which includes Campbell River Whale Watching and Wildcoast Adventures. 

The current owners Stephen Gabrysh and Tyler Bruce will remain partners and oversee day-to-day operations during the transition to full ownership, which is anticipated in the near future.

This acquisition is another step in a broader economic strategy that includes a number of businesses operating within their traditional territory.

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SFU researcher explores Haida Gwaii’s unique archeological history

Editor’s note: This research could throw some light on how the First Nations reached the Discovery Islands, where the earliest archaeological finds are currently from about 11,000 years ago at Yeatman Bay on Quadra Island. In an interview with Cortes Currents, an archaeologist from the Hakai Institute said he did not have any early dates for Cortes but “It really comes down to where people have done the research.”

By Seth Forward, Prince Rupert Northern View, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Groundbreaking research on Haida Gwaii could lend more clarity to unanswered questions about how the First Peoples of the Americas arrived after the last ice age . 

By testing marine core samples off the coast of Moresby Island, researchers from Simon Fraser University (SFU) and the University of Victoria (UVic) are attempting to understand the ancient paleo-landscape of the archipelago. 

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The Quadra Project: Sounds of the Earth

On August 20, 1977, Voyager 2 was launched from NASA’s facility in Cape Canaveral, Florida. And exactly 15 days later, on September 5, 1977, Voyager 1 was launched from the same facility. The timing was crucial because astronomical calculations had placed Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune in a lineal alignment that would only occur once every 176 years. With this alignment, each planet could accelerate the two spacecrafts to their next destination, reducing the travel time from 30 years to 12 years.

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Construction underway at Tse’K’wa heritage site

By Tom Summer, Alaska Highway News, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Development and preservation of the Tse’K’wa national historic cave site at Charlie Lake is continuing to grow with the installation of new interpretive signage and more.

Tse’K’wa Heritage Society Executive Director Alyssa Currie says she’s excited to share the signage and is aiming to reopen to the public sometime in June. The signs will act as a self-guided tour for patrons.

“Each sign encapsulates a different Dunne-za teaching, as well as an archaeological artifact found at the site. So, it gives our visitors a chance to walk the landscape that has been occupied by the ancestors of the Dunne-za and to hear about the significance of that landscape from their perspective,” said Currie.

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