Stock photo: Totem Pole South Beach Trail Wickaninnish Bay West Coast Vancouver Island British Columbia Canada

Stock photo of a totem pole along the South Beach trail to Wickaninnish Bay in Pacific Rim National Park, Long Beach Unit, Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, West Coast, Pacific Ocean, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.

This stock photo shows a First Nations Totem pole along the South Beach Trail to Wickaninnish Bay in Pacific Rim National Park, Long Beach Unit, Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, West Coast, Pacific Ocean, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Three animals are depicted in this carving of solid wood accented with red and black paint. At the bottom a bear holds a salmon, in the middle an orca is balanced on the bear's head, and on top a raven is perched on the orca's tail. This totem pole is set on a cement base, with cut grass and then taller grass behind. Only a few patches of the blue sky can be seen amid the tall trees that comprise the background. The territory now known as the Pacific Rim National Park has a significant history, having been inhabited by the Nuu-chah-nulth people for thousands of years. A rich natural heritage evolved as Vancouver Island became isolated from the mainland, retaining a great diversity of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish species. This unique park encompasses a total area of 49,962 hectares of land and ocean in three separate geographic units - Long Beach, the Broken Group Islands and the West Coast Trail. Features of the park include long sandy beaches, an island archipelago, old-growth coastal temperate rainforest and significant Nuu-chah-nulth archaeological sites.