Lighthouse Park

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Point Atkinson

The Lighthouse Park is a 75-hectare park in West Vancouver in British Columbia , Canada. The park is home to the Point Atkinson Lighthouse, which is located on the southwestern tip of West Vancouver of the same name and was declared a National Historic Site of Canada by the Canadian government on May 18, 1975 .

history

Captain Vancouver named Point Atkinson after a friend. He called the Indians living there from the Sk'iwitsut tribe .

A first lighthouse was built in 1874. The area surrounding it was acquired by the state in 1881 to protect the forest from deforestation so that the lighthouse is more visible against a dark background. The current lighthouse, built on a hexagonal ground plan, was built in 1912. In the same year, the surrounding forest was transferred to the young West Vancouver community.

During the Second World War , a gun emplacement and barracks were built on Point Atkinson for the service, which should prevent enemy ships or submarines from passing through the Burrard Inlet . Two of these barracks are still preserved today.

flora

The area is known for the well-preserved primeval vegetation of a piece of rainforest . The tree population consists of Douglas spruce , hemlock and giant arborvitae , which are up to 500 years old and reach a height of over 60 meters. A ten-kilometer network of hiking trails opens up the park.

geology

Point Atkinson marks the point where Burrard Inlet meets Howe Sound . On the coast, the subsoil, 96 to 187 million years old granite, becomes visible.

Trivia

The Point Atkinson lighthouse is known for the intro to the series Harper's Island , which was shown on German television on ProSieben.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Point Atkinson Lighthouse National Historic Site of Canada. In: Canadian Register of Historic Places. Retrieved October 17, 2013 .

Coordinates: 49 ° 20 ′ 6.6 "  N , 123 ° 15 ′ 43.9"  W.