Indian Arm Provincial Park
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Indian Arm Provincial Park
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 Buntzen Lake Recreation Area |
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| location | British Columbia (Canada) | |
| surface | 68.26 km² | |
| WDPA ID | 101649 | |
| Geographical location | 49 ° 26 ' N , 122 ° 52' W | |
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| Setup date | July 13, 1995 | |
| administration | BC parks | |
The Indian Arm Provincial Park is a 6,826-hectare Provincial Park in the Canadian province of British Columbia . It is also called Say Nuth Khaw Yum Heritage Park by the First Nations .
investment
The park is a conservation park that protects the banks of the Indian Arm , a fjord that extends 18 kilometers north of Burrard Inlet . It extends over the east and west banks of the Upper Indian Arm north of North Vancouver . Mount Seymour Provincial Park borders the park to the west . The area was heavily glaciated during the Ice Age. The area ranges from sea level to rough, forested and up to 1,000 meter high mountains with several mountain lakes and numerous streams and waterfalls, including the 50 meter high Granite Falls and the Silver Falls , with which Elsay Creek flows into the Indian Arm. In the upper Indian arm lies the island of Croker Island , the park also includes the islands of Racoon and Twin Islands , three smaller rocky islands with sparse vegetation in the lower Indian arm.
In the eastern part, the park goes directly into the Buntzen Lake Recreation Area , which is maintained by the power generator BC Hyro . Core of the Recreation Area is the Buntzen Lake , a 182 hectare and 4.8 kilometer long mountain lake, which according to John Buntzen , the first general manager of the BC Electric Co. was named. As early as 1903, the first hydroelectric power station to generate electricity from Vancouver was put into operation on the banks of the Indian Arm , using water from Buntzen Lake. The power station building was designed by Francis Rattenbury . In 1914 a second power plant went into operation that still produces electricity today. In addition, the lake water is used to operate a gas power plant . The mountain lake itself serves as a local recreation area and can be accessed by canoes.
The park is a category II protected area ( national park ).
history
The area of the park is called Say Nuth Khaw Yum by the First Nations , which means something like snake land. The area has been used by the Burrard and other coastal Salish tribes for a thousand years . As the core of their settlement area, the area is of great importance to the Burrard. In 1908 a ferry service was started in the Indian Arm. In 1910, Baron Gustav Konstantin von Alvensleben bought a project for tourists that had been started in 1906 and built the Wigwam Inn at the northern end of the Indian Arm as a destination that was approached daily by steamboats. However, von Alvensleben was expropriated during the First World War. The Wigwam Inn continued to operate as an excursion destination until 1963; today it is owned by the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club . The Twin Islands were protected as one of the earliest Recreational Reserves in the province as early as 1905 , Racoon Island since 1951. The Recreational Reserves received the status of a Provincial Park in 1981. The Indian Arm Provincial Park was founded in 1995 to protect the primeval forests from logging, partly by helicopters (so-called heli-logging) and from destruction due to unregulated recreational uses. The Burrard were not involved in the creation of the park, but in 1998 they signed an agreement with the Province of British Columbia, according to which they jointly manage the park with the province, preserve the natural and cultural heritage and make it accessible for recreational purposes. The park contains several significant archaeological sites from the Burrard, which are strictly protected and cannot be visited.
Flora and fauna
The park is located in the temperate rainforest and within the British Columbia ecosystem, the park area is assigned to different biogeoclimatic zones. The park has the following zones and subzones: Alpine Tundra Zone - Costal Subzone , Mountain Hemlock Zone - Moist Maritime Subzone , Coastal Western Hemlock Zone - Dry Maritime Subzone and Coastal Western Hemlock Zone - Very Wet Maritime Subzone . These biogeoclimatic zones are characterized by the same or a very similar climate and the same or similar biological and geological conditions. This results in a very similar population of plants and animals in the respective zones.
The steep mountains along the shore are still largely covered with jungle, mainly with mountain hemlocks , West American hemlocks , Nootka false cypresses , Douglas firs and red alders . The forests in the lower elevations have dense undergrowth with sword ferns , rib ferns and Shallon pseudo-berries . A tidal pool with a variety of crabs, clams and other marine life stretches between the Twin Islands .
Black bears can often be seen on the banks, as well as numerous animals from the western rainforests such as mule deer , coyotes , pumas and smaller mammals and amphibians. In the autumn of some years, the Indian Arm is the scene of the migration of 60,000 humpback salmon , who can then be seen jumping along the banks to get to their spawning grounds in the Indian River . Every year, large numbers of dog salmon come into the Indian arm, and smaller numbers of king salmon and silver salmon . The salmon walks attract numerous eagles and seals. Other common fish species are cutthroat trout and rainbow trout .
activities
The park is primarily accessible by boat, a forest road to the park is closed to the public. The eastern part of the park is accessible via the Buntzen Lake Recreation Area. The park allows a variety of leisure activities. The Indian Arm is ideal for power boating, canoeing, kayaking and scuba diving. The Indian River and the lower reaches of numerous streams provide perfect fishing opportunities. Numerous hiking trails lead through the wooded mountains. Camping is possible in several places.
Web links
- Indian Arm Provincial Park . In: BC Geographical Names (English)
- Indian Arm Provincial Park . In: English language website of the park at BC Parks
- Information to the park on britishcolumbia.com (Engl.)
- English-language website of the Buntzen Lake Recreation Area
Individual evidence
- ↑ World Database on Protected Areas - Indian Arm Park (English)
- ↑ Park Management Plan. (PDF; 9.53 MB) British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks , February 2010, accessed on December 15, 2012 .
- ^ Ecosystems of British Columbia. (PDF; 10.31 MB) British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations , February 1991, accessed December 15, 2012 .
- ↑ Biogeoclimatic Zones of British Columbia. British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, accessed May 3, 2016 .