The framework of the Cordilleran orogen of northwestern North America is commonly depicted as a 'collage' of terranes - crustal blocks containing records of a variety of geodynamic environments including continental fragments, pieces of island arc crust and oceanic crust.The series of maps available here are derived from a GIS compilation of terranes based on the map first published by Colpron et al. (2007) and more recently revised by Nelson et al. (2013). These maps are presented here in digital formats including ArcGIS file geodatabase (.gdb), shapefiles (.shp and related files), Google Earth (.kmz), as well as graphic files (.pdf). The GIS data includes terrane polygons and selected major Late Cretaceous and Tertiary strike-slip faults. Graphic PDF files derived from the GIS compilation were prepared for the Northern Cordillera (Alaska, Yukon and BC), the Canadian Cordillera (BC and Yukon), Yukon, and British Columbia. These maps are intended for page-size display (\~1:5,000,000 and smaller). Polygons are accurate to \~1 km for Yukon and BC, \~5 km for Alaska. More detailed geological data are available from both BCGC, USGS and YGS websites. Descriptions of the terranes, their tectonic evolution and metallogeny can be found in Colpron et al. (2007), Nelson and Colpron (2007), Colpron and Nelson (2009), Nelson et al. (2013) and references therein.The terrane map project is a collaborative effort of the BC Geological Survey and the Yukon Geological Survey.Distributed from [GeoYukon](https://yukon.ca/geoyukon) by the [Government of Yukon](https://yukon.ca/maps) . Discover more digital map data and interactive maps from Yukon's digital map data collection.For more information: [geomatics.help@yukon.ca](mailto:geomatics.help@yukon.ca)

The framework of the Cordilleran orogen of northwestern North America is commonly depicted as a 'collage' of terranes - crustal blocks containing records of a variety of geodynamic environments including continental fragments, pieces of island arc crust and oceanic crust.The series of maps available here are derived from a GIS compilation of terranes based on the map first published by Colpron et al. (2007) and more recently revised by Nelson et al. (2013). These maps are presented here in digital formats including ArcGIS file geodatabase (.gdb), shapefiles (.shp and related files), Google Earth (.kmz), as well as graphic files (.pdf). The GIS data includes terrane polygons and selected major Late Cretaceous and Tertiary strike-slip faults. Graphic PDF files derived from the GIS compilation were prepared for the Northern Cordillera (Alaska, Yukon and BC), the Canadian Cordillera (BC and Yukon), Yukon, and British Columbia. These maps are intended for page-size display (\~1:5,000,000 and smaller). Polygons are accurate to \~1 km for Yukon and BC, \~5 km for Alaska. More detailed geological data are available from both BCGC, USGS and YGS websites. Descriptions of the terranes, their tectonic evolution and metallogeny can be found in Colpron et al. (2007), Nelson and Colpron (2007), Colpron and Nelson (2009), Nelson et al. (2013) and references therein.The terrane map project is a collaborative effort of the BC Geological Survey and the Yukon Geological Survey.Distributed from [GeoYukon](https://yukon.ca/geoyukon) by the [Government of Yukon](https://yukon.ca/maps) . Discover more digital map data and interactive maps from Yukon's digital map data collection.For more information: [geomatics.help@yukon.ca](mailto:geomatics.help@yukon.ca)

Description:These commercial whale watching data are comprised of two datasets. First, the ‘whale_watching_trips_jun_sep_british_columbia’ data layer summarizes commercial whale watching trips that took place in 2019, 2020 and 2021 during the summer months (June to September). The second data layer, ‘wildlife_viewing_events_jun_sep_british_columbia’ contains estimated wildlife viewing events carried out by commercial whale watching vessels for the same years (2019, 2020 and 2021) and months (June to September). Commercial whale watching trips and wildlife viewing events are summarized using the same grid, and they can be related using the unique cell identifier field ‘cell_id’. The bulk of this work was carried out at University of Victoria and was funded by the Marine Environmental Observation, Prediction and Response (MEOPAR) Network under the ‘Whale watching AIS Vessel movement Evaluation’ or WAVE project (2018 – 2022). The aim of the WAVE project was to increase the understanding of whale watching activities in Canada’s Pacific region using vessel traffic data derived from AIS (Automatic Identification System). The work was finalized by DFO Science in the Pacific Region. These spatial data products of commercial whale watching operations can be used to inform Marine Spatial Planning, conservation planning activities, and threat assessments involving vessel activities in British Columbia.Methods:A list of commercial whale watching vessels based in British Columbia and Washington State and their corresponding MMSIs (Maritime Mobile Service Identity) was compiled from the whale watching companies and Marine Traffic (www.marinetraffic.com). This list was used to query cleaned CCG AIS data to extract AIS positions corresponding to commercial whale watching vessels. A commercial whale watching trip was defined as a set of consecutive AIS points belonging to the same vessel departing and ending in one of the previously identified whale watching home ports. A classification model (unsupervised Hidden Markov Model) using vessel speed as the main variable was developed to classify AIS vessel positions into wildlife-viewing and non wildlife viewing events. Commercial whale watching trips in the south and north-east of Vancouver Island were limited to a duration of minimum 1 hour and maximum 3.5 hours. For trips in the west coast of Vancouver island the maximum duration was set to 6 hours. Wildlife-viewing events duration was set to minimum of 10 minutes to a maximum of 1 hour duration. For more information on methodology, consult metadata pdf available with the Open Data record.References:Nesdoly, A. 2021. Modelling marine vessels engaged in wildlife-viewing behaviour using Automatic Identification Systems (AIS). Available from: https://dspace.library.uvic.ca/handle/1828/13300.Data Sources:Oceans Network Canada (ONC) provided encoded AIS data for years 2019, 2020 and 2021, within a bounding box including Vancouver Island and Puget Sound used to generate these products. This AIS data was in turn provided by the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) via a licensing agreement between the CCG and ONC for the non-commercial use of CCG AIS Data. More information here: https://www.oceannetworks.ca/science/community-based-monitoring/marine-domain-awareness-program/ Molly Fraser provided marine mammal sightings data collected on board a whale watching vessels to develop wildlife-viewing events classification models. More information about this dataset here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X20306709?via%3DihubUncertainties:The main source of uncertainty is with the conversion of AIS point locations into track segments, specifically when the distance between positions is large (e.g., greater than 1000 meters).

The administration of coal projects in the Yukon is governed under the Territorial Lands (Yukon) Act (TLYA) and the Coal Regulations enabled under the TLYA. The land use permits necessary for coal exploration and development are issued by the Energy Mines and Resources Lands Branch under the TLYA. The remaining coal licenses and coal leases are issued and administered by the Mineral Resources Branch Mining Lands offices.Distributed from [GeoYukon](https://yukon.ca/geoyukon) by the [Government of Yukon](https://yukon.ca/maps) . Discover more digital map data and interactive maps from Yukon's digital map data collection.For more information: [geomatics.help@yukon.ca](mailto:geomatics.help@yukon.ca)

This record contains data on bowhead whale locations reported in Harwood, L.A. and P. Norton. 1996. Aerial survey data from the southeast Beaufort Sea, Mackenzie River estuary and west. Amundsen Gulf, July 1992. Canadian Data Report of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences No. 964

The Rocky Mountains Forest Reserve dataset is comprised of all the polygons that represent Rocky Mountains Forest Reserves in Alberta. The Rocky Mountains Forest Reserve is an area designated through a Legislature Act in 1948 that provides the conservation of the forests and the protection of the watersheds and rivers on the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains.

Maximum Temperature represents the highest recorded temperature value (°C) at each location for a given time period. Time periods include the previous 24 hours and the previous 7 days from the available date where a climate day starts at 0600UTC.

The greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus), is a species found in Atlantic Canadian waters which is occasionally encountered in commercial fisheries. Pop-up Satellite Archival Tags (PSAT) from Wildlife Computers were applied to greenland sharks from 2006 to 2009 to collect data on depth (pressure), temperature and ambient light level (for position estimation). Deployments were conducted in Canada on commercial vessels throughout the year and in Cumberland Sound (Pangirtung) on a scientific expedition in April 2008. A variety of tag models were deployed: PAT 4 (n=1) and Mk10 (N=15) and 14 of 16 tags reported. Greenland sharks tagged ranged in size from 250 cm to 549 cm Total Length (curved); 3 were female, 9 were male, and 4 were of unknown sex. Time at liberty ranged from 48 – 350 days and 9 tags remained on the sharks for the programmed duration. Raw data transmitted from the PSAT’s after release was processed through Wildlife Computers software (GPE3) to get summary files, assuming a maximum swimming speed of 2m/s, NOAA OI SST V2 High Resolution data set for SST reference and ETOPO1-Bedrock dataset for bathymetry reference. The maximum likelihood position estimates are available in .csv and .kmz format and depth and temperature profiles are also in .csv format. Other tag outputs as well as metadata from the deployments can be obtained upon request from: warren.joyce@dfo-mpo.gc.ca or heather.bowlby@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.

PURPOSE:The focus of this research is on changes in the distribution of killer whales in the Canadian Arctic, which is within the field of marine biogeography and marine megafauna. Our research details change in killer whale presence and ties it to changes in sea ice coverage. These are novel results, presenting trends in the arrival and departure dates of killer whales into the eastern Canadian Arctic for the first time. We go on to discuss the impacts of these changes on other aspects of Arctic ecosystems and how increasing in killer whale presence might affect other species and the management of those species in Canada. Killer whales are a widespread species of interest, especially in the Canadian Arctic as their presence is tied to multiple aspects of a region rapidly changing from the effects of climate change. DESCRIPTION:This study examines 20 years of killer whale (Orcinus orca) sightings in the eastern Canadian Arctic, drawing from a comprehensive sighting database spanning 1850-2023. Despite inherent biases favoring data collection near communities and coastal areas, spatiotemporal analyses reveal significant shifts in killer whale distribution linked to changing sea ice conditions. We developed a clustering metric representing the mean distance to the five nearest sightings and results show that killer whales are progressively moving away from historically high-use areas and that sighting locations are becoming more dispersed over time. A significant year × sea ice interaction indicates observations occur earlier during their arrival period at lower sea ice concentrations over time, suggesting that declining sea iceconcentration contributes to earlier arrival. Conversely, for departure periods, killer whales are observed farther south later in the year, likely linked to earlier freeze-up at higher latitudes, and are overall observed later into the year over time. This trend has led to a near doubling of their average presence from 26 days in 2002 to 48 days in 2023 (27 July to 13 September) reflecting an extended open-water season. These findings underscore the prolonged seasonal use of Arctic regions by killer whales, driven by diminishing sea ice and expanding openwater habitat. Such shifts highlight potential implications for Arctic marine ecosystems as killer whales increasingly overlap with endemic species.

The administration of coal projects in the Yukon is governed under the Territorial Lands (Yukon) Act (TLYA) and the Coal Regulations enabled under the TLYA. The land use permits necessary for coal exploration and development are issued by the Energy Mines and Resources Lands Branch under the TLYA. The remaining coal licenses and coal leases are issued and administered by the Mineral Resources Branch Mining Lands offices.Distributed from [GeoYukon](https://yukon.ca/geoyukon) by the [Government of Yukon](https://yukon.ca/maps) . Discover more digital map data and interactive maps from Yukon's digital map data collection.For more information: [geomatics.help@yukon.ca](mailto:geomatics.help@yukon.ca)