Bella Coola

Book excerpt: Bella Coola is a name that became familiar to millions recently thanks to a worldwide campaign to protect vast tracts of the region's rainforest and grizzly bear habitat under the banner of the Great Bear Rainforest, but despite the attention it has received, the area remains enigmatic to much of the outside world. In this magnificently illustrated book, long-time Bella Coola residents Hans Granander and Michael Wigle explore both the human settlements of Bella Coola country and the awe-inspiring wilderness that encircles them. Between the sea and mountains of British Columbia's Central Coast, fog shrouds 2.7 million hectares of largely old-growth forest, including a protected area twice the size of Yellowstone Park that harbours Canada's largest grizzly bears. The authors' brilliant images of the region's spectacular scenery and abundant wildlife show why it has been a magnet for world-class adventurers like Thor Heyerdahl and Sir Edmund Hillary for over a century.