During our visit to Vancouver Island, we took a boat tour of the Broken Islands National Park, south of Ucluelet. Though marketed as a wildlife tour (whales, sea lions, black bears, eagles), our guide was also very knowledgeable about the region's history and related the native tribe's legend of how the Broken Islands came to exist.
According to their legend, the bay area was once covered with solid land and a large river cut across the plain to the sea. Their god became angry with the tribe and pounded his fist into their territory, breaking the plain into islands and forcing the natives to scatter throughout the archipelago.
When man first reached the Northwest, about 20,000 years ago, much of North America was covered with glacial ice and the sea level was much lower. No doubt, most, if not all, of the Broken Islands were then part of the mainland, forming high points on a wide, coastal plain. Then, 12-15,000 years ago, the glaciers began to retreat, the sea level rose and these areas of higher ground became islands. Today, this scientific knowledge unlocks the basic truth of that native legend.
