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Haida Gwaii, also known as the Queen Charlotte Islands
Few places on the planet prove mystical, a place of lush vegetation and abundant wildlife. Indeed, this archipelago – more than 150 islands can be tallied - is one destination of the wild variety: gray, Orca and humpback whales, seals, sea lions and harbour porpoises rule the waters, while eagles, ravens and scarlet-beaked tufted puffins fly high.  There are 39 distinct subspecies of plants and animals in the archipelago, including seven mammals, three bird species and fifteen classes of stickleback fish that are found nowhere else in the world.  While 1.5 million breeding seabirds (12 species) nest on more than 200 islands, islets and rocks in Haida Gwaii, the area's black bears also prove distinctive.  Not only are they the largest black bears in North America but they have also developed exceptionally strong jaws in order to consume the abundance of hard-shelled sea creatures.  And speaking of breeding ground - at 1,470 square kilometres, the park reserve also shelters another watery wonder.  Burnaby Narrows, a just-below-the-surface, treasure trove of ocean dwellers, boasts an ecosystem that contains more protein per square metre than any other place on earth. Here, sea stars, anemones, bat stars, jellyfish and sea cucumbers are just a few of the local resident.

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