Prior to industrial logging a slender band of coastal temperate rainforest, slightly more than 80 kilometers wide, stretched from Kodiak Island in Alaska through British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon to Mendacino California, a distance of over 3,000 kilometers. Referred to as the Pacific Temperate Rainforest, it was the largest temperate rainforest in the world. Yet, temperate rainforests have always been among the rarest ecosystems in the world, originally comprising less than 0.2 percent of the earth's land surface. Today, approximately one-half of the earth's temperate rainforests have been logged. Clayoquot Sound, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, has the distinction of harboring the largest remaining contiguous tract of temperate coastal rainforest on earth. Over 25% of all remaining temperate rainforest is in Clayoquot Sound and its adjacent river valleys.

What makes a temperate rain forest different from other rainforests? The main difference is temperature and location. Tropical rainforests (jungles) occur in hot, equatorial regions near the interior of continents, whereas temperate rainforests occur in cool, high-latitude regions along the moist, fogbound margins of continents. There are many outstanding features that distinguish temperate coastal rainforests:

• Proximity to the Ocean - Temperate rain forests depend on proximity to the ocean to moderate seasonal variations in temperature, creating milder winters and cooler summers than continental climate zones. Many temperate rain forests have summer fogs that keep the forests cool and moist in the hottest months.
• Coastal mountains - Temperate rain forests occur where mountain ranges are close to the coast; coastal mountains increase rainfall on the ocean-facing slopes.
• High Rainfall - Warm, moisture-laden wind off the ocean cools as it rises over the coastal mountains. Cool air will not hold moisture so its released in the form of rain which falls on the narrow strip of land between the ocean and the mountains. Rainfall varies from a minimum of 2,000 mm per year to over 6,000 mm per year, depending on latitude. Henderson Lake on the west coast of Vancouver Island receives approximately 6,650 millimeters of rain per year (that's 6.65 meters) making it the wettest location in North America!
• High Biomass - temperate rain forests sustain the highest levels of biomass of any terrestrial ecosystem and are notable for ancient trees of massive proportions. On the northwest coast these giants include: coast Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensi), Western red cedar (Thuja plicata), Western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla), Pacific Silver Fir (Abies amabilis), and coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens). Some of these trees reach several hundred to a thousand years in age. Today these large trees are quite rare, however, occurring in only small areas of western North America, southwestern South America and northern New Zealand.

Temperate rain forests may be predominantly coniferous trees (cone-bearing plants) with deciduous trees, broadleaf evergreens, plants and shrubs making up the understory. While the plants that make up the temperate rain forest are important, the animals that live there are equally vital. Mammals found in the forest include the Roosevelt elk, black-tailed deer, cougar, black bear, river otter, Douglas squirrel, jumping mouse, and shrew. Birds such as the bald eagle, western robin, winter wren, pileated woodpecker, Stellers jay, gray jay, junco, and raven make their homes in the thick forest canopy.

West of the temperate rainforest of British Columbia lies the Pacific Ocean with its abundance of fish species and charismatic mammals such as orca, humpback and minke whales, Steller sea lions and harbour seals, Pacific white sided dolphins, Dalls and harbour porpoise, and sea otters. At the interface between the forest and the sea lies yet another of the most productive ecosystems in the world, the intertidal zone. The length of the intertidal zone along British Columbia alone, including the mainland coast and thousands of offshore islands, stretches for more than 27,000 km (16,900 miles). From protected saltwater lagoons to wave hammered headlands the number of species adapted to this highly variable coastline is virtually unfathomable. Some of the more common marine invertebrates include different kinds of sea stars, sea urchins, chitons, barnacles, oysters, mussels, sea cucumbers, crabs, clams, and chitons.

With so much to see and so many places to explore, it's no wonder coastal British Columbia is known as one of the world's premier kayaking destinations. At Steller Sea Kayaking we look forward to exploring this wonderful coast with you and with your friends!