Underwater surveys utilizing high-frequency sonar have located a submerged Paleolithic site 40 meters below the surface of Hecate Strait. The site, which was dry land at the end of the last Ice Age, features a semicircular arrangement of large stones and a massive deposit of calcined whale bones, indicating a specialized industrial station for processing marine mammals.
Radiocarbon dating of organic residues found on flaked stone scrapers confirms the site was active approximately 12,000 years ago. This discovery provides direct evidence for the 'Kelp Highway' hypothesis, proving that early inhabitants of the Americas possessed sophisticated maritime technology and a deep reliance on oceanic resources long before the development of inland settlements.