Indian Arm Provincial Park

IUCN Category II - National Park

Buntzen Lake Recreation Area

The Indian Arm Provincial Park is a 6,826 -hectare Provincial Park in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Among the First Nations it is also called Say Nuth Khaw Yum Heritage Park.

Plant

The park is a Conservation Park which protects the shore of Indian Arm, a fjord that extends 18 km long north from Burrard Inlet off. It extends north from North Vancouver over the eastern and western shores of the Indian upper arm. To the west of the park is adjacent to the Mount Seymour Provincial Park. In the Ice Age, the area was heavily glaciated. The area ranges from sea level to rough up, wooded and up to 1,000 meters high mountains with several lakes, and numerous streams and waterfalls, including the 50 meter high Granite Falls and Silver Falls with which the Elsay Creek empties into the Indian Arm. The top Indian Arm island Croker Iceland is, the park also includes the islands Racoon and Twin Islands with one, three small rocky islands with sparse vegetation in the lower Indian Arm.

In the eastern part of the park goes directly into the Buntzen Lake Recreation Area, which is maintained by the electricity generators BC Hyro. Core of the Recreation Area is the Buntzen Lake, a 182 -acre and 4.8 -kilometer-long lake, which according to John Buntzen, the first general manager of the BC Electric Co. was named. As early as 1903 a first hydroelectric power plant to generate electricity Vancouver was put into operation on the shores of Indian Arm, which was powered by water from the Buntzen Lake. The power station building was designed by Francis Rattenbury. 1914 a second plant was put into operation, that still generates electricity. In addition, the lake water is used for operation of a gas power plant. The lake itself serves as a recreational area and can be traveled by canoe.

In the park is a protected area category II (National Park).

History

The area of the park is called by the First Nations Say Nuth Khaw Yum, which means as much as snake country. The area is used by the Burrard and other tribes of the Coastal Salish for a thousand years. As the core of their settlement area is the area for the Burrard of great importance. 1908, a ferry service was included in the Indian Arm. 1910 bought Baron Konstantin von Gustav Alvensleben a started project since 1906 for tourists on and let the Wigwam Inn at the north end of Indian Arm build as a leisure destination, which was reached daily by steam ships. From Alvensleben but was expropriated during the First World War. By 1963, the Wigwam Inn was further operated as a tourist destination, today it is in the possession of the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club. The Twin Islands were protected in 1905 as one of the earliest Recreational Reserves of the province, Racoon Iceland since 1951. The Recreational Reserves received in 1981 the status of a provincial park. The Indian Arm Provincial Park was established in 1995 to protect the forests against logging, partly by helicopter (known as heli- logging) and from damage by unregulated recreational uses. The Burrard were not involved in the establishment of the park, but they closed in 1998 with the Province of British Columbia an agreement under which they manage the park, together with the province, preserve the natural and cultural heritage and make it accessible for recreational purposes. The park contains several important archaeological sites of the Burrard, but these are strictly protected and can not be visited.

Flora and Fauna

The park is located in the temperate rain forest and within the ecosystem of British Columbia, the park area is assigned to different zones. In the park the following zones and subzones occur: 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.

The steep mountains along the shore are large areas still covered with virgin forest, mostly with mountain hemlock, western hemlock American, Nootka false cypress, Douglas fir and red alder. The forests in the lower elevations have dense undergrowth with sword ferns, ferns and ribs Shallon bill berries. Between the Twin Islands, a tide pool with a variety of crabs, mussels and other marine life extends.

On the shore you can often see black bears, plus numerous animals of the western rainforests such as mule deer, coyotes, cougars, and smaller mammals and amphibians. The Indian arm is in the autumn of some years the scene of the migration of 60,000 humpback salmon, which you see then jump along the shore to get to their spawning grounds in the Indian River. Every year chum salmon in large numbers in the Indian arm, in smaller numbers also king salmon and silver salmon. The salmon runs attract numerous eagles and seals. Other common species are cutthroat trout and rainbow trout.

Activities

The park is primarily by boat, a forest road to the park is closed to the public. The easternmost part of the park is accessible via the Buntzen Lake Recreation Area. The park provides a variety of recreational activities. The Indian arm is ideal for motor boating, canoeing and kayaking and scuba diving. The Indian River and the lower reaches of many rivers provide perfect opportunities for fishing. Through the wooded mountains are numerous footpaths. At several places camping is possible.