The glacier over Georgia Strait receded about 11,000 years ago, exposing the features of the Powell River area to forest growth and erosion by water. Seeds arrived from heights on Vancouver Island, Queen Charlotte Islands and Washington that were not glaciated. As the trees evolved and adapted to the changing climate, natural cycles of 500 to 800 years developed. Stands of cedar, spruce and Douglas fir came and went, with deciduous trees following "clear cuts" caused by natural forest fires or spread of tree diseases. There were many cycles of "old growth" forests over thousands of years. The geological history can be seen here.

About 10,000 years ago, with the north coast still blocked by glacier, the Interior Salish people migrated up the sunshine coast and became Coast Salish. They used trees selectively for baskets, shelter, rafts, canoes, but did not log the forest extensively as later immigrants did.

From 1200 to 1500 AD, the large trees we came to know as "old growth" were seeded.

In the late 1700s, the Spanish were the first European explorers to arrive. Sail Captains such as Galiano and Valdez named features such as Texada, Van Anda, Quadra and Cortez islands shortly before the British arrived.

Captain Vancouver, sailing for Britain, explored Georgia Strait in 1792. Many more place names were established, such as those in Jervis Inlet named after British admiralty notables of the day (who never visited here!): Nelson, Cullohdon, Foley (not the PR company Foley, ...

Grief Point is clearly on the British maps of the mid 1900s - contrary to local folklore on how Grief Point was named.

The Douglas fir and western red cedar forests between Jervis Inlet and the "Jungles" (islands north-west of Desolation Sound) were particularly tall and straight, and soon to be important economically because of the large areas suitable for easy access through the lake systems and inlets of the Powell River area.

Tour the  Logging sub-theme,