Miracle Beach Provincial Park
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Miracle Beach Provincial Park
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 Sand dollars on the beach in Miracle Beach Provincial Park |
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| location | British Columbia (Canada) | |
| surface | 137 ha | |
| WDPA ID | 65294 | |
| Geographical location | 49 ° 51 ′ N , 125 ° 6 ′ W | |
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| Setup date | 1950 | |
| administration | BC parks | |
The Miracle Beach Provincial Park is a 137 hectare Provincial Park in the Canadian province of British Columbia . It is located about 14 miles north of Courtenay and 14 miles south of Campbell River on the east coast of Vancouver Island and can be reached via Highway 19A . The park is in the Comox Valley Regional District .
investment
The park is located directly on the Strait of Georgia and is traversed by Black Creek in the northern part. The area in the southern part of the park is divided into the camping area, which is slightly separated from the shore, and the picnic area directly on the shore. While the northern part with the brook is dominated by grassland, the southern part is densely forested.
The park is a category II protected area ( national park ).
history
The park was established in 1950. As with almost all provincial parks in British Columbia, this one too was the hunting and fishing area of various First Nations tribes long before the area was settled by immigrants or it became part of a park . Its name is based on an Indian legend. Once upon a time - so the story goes - the local Cape Mudge Indians were battered and frightened, the prey of the surrounding warlike tribes. One day a starving stranger stumbled upon them. He was fed, clothed and a friend by them. The stranger then turned out to be a messenger of the Great Spirit.
Before the province took over the park in 1950, it was privately owned. Over the years the originally 57 hectare was enlarged several times.
Flora and fauna
The park is located in the temperate rainforest . British Columbia's ecosystem continues to be divided into different biogeoclimatic zones. These biogeoclimatic zones are characterized by a fundamentally identical or very similar climate and the same or very similar biological and geological conditions. This results in a very similar population of plants and animals in the respective zones. Within the system, the park is assigned to the Dry Maritime Subzone within the Coastal Douglas-fir Zone .
After the last forestry use and afforestation at the beginning of the 20th century, it is now mainly Douglas firs , West American hemlocks and giant trees that grow here . However, the large-leaved maple (called "Bigleaf Maple" in English) and the red or Oregon alder are also found here . The forest here has an undergrowth of rib ferns , raspberries , Shallon pseudo-berries and buckthorn . In the undergrowth there are also Nuttall's flower dogwood, also called Pacific dogwood, the heraldic plant of British Columbia.
The tidal range of the Strait of Georgia is also clearly noticeable and visible here, it is usually around 2 to 3 meters. The resulting intertidal zone is rich in marine life. At low tide there is a chance to see mussel beds and other marine life on the beach. The mussels attract sea otters and seals , various fish also fish eagles and bald eagles .
The Black Creek flowing through the park is a spawning area for wild salmon. At its lower reaches there is also a counting station to follow the development of the population. The fish also include Pacific salmon , especially the silver salmon (Coho Salmon), rainbow trout and cutthroat trout .
In the park can be, next to the marsh wren also, Steller , the national bird of British Columbia (Stellar's Jay Engl.), Observed.
activities
The tourist attractions of the park are the picnic area with its sandy beach and the intertidal zone. The park is particularly popular with families with children.
In the park is the Miracle Beach Nature House maintained by RLC Enterprize , which organizes events (the so-called "Interpretive Programs"). This event features lectures and games to bring the audience closer to nature, as well as exhibitions on the natural history of the park.
The park has a camping area with sanitary facilities. This offers a total of 200, mostly reservable, parking spaces for mobile homes and tents.
Web links
- Miracle Beach Provincial Park . In: BC Geographical Names (English)
- Miracle Beach Provincial Park . In: English language website of the park at BC Parks
- English-language website of the Miracle Beach Nature House
Individual evidence
- ↑ World Database on Protected Areas - Miracle Beach Park (English)
- ↑ Biogeoclimatic Zones of British Columbia. British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations , accessed May 4, 2016 .
- ↑ Miracle Beach Provincial Park - Master Plan. (PDF; 939.55 kB) British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks , July 1989, accessed on March 7, 2013 (English).
- ^ Ecosystems of British Columbia. (PDF; 10.31 MB) British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, February 1991, accessed on October 21, 2012 .
- ↑ TreeBook. Bigleaf Maple. British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, accessed October 21, 2012 .
- ↑ TreeBook. Red alder. British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, accessed October 21, 2012 .
- ↑ TreeBook. Pacific dogwood. British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, accessed October 20, 2012 .
- ↑ Little River (# 7993) Tidal Prediction. Fisheries and Oceans Canada , accessed October 21, 2012 .