Stop 2: Britannia Beach
Photo 2-1: Travelling further up the fiord, the pulp
mill comes into closer range, and 3 hanging
valleys and a cirque become visible. Two nearby
pulp mills are part of the cause for the water
pollution in this area. During the bleaching process
in the making of paper, a mill will produce dioxins
and furans. These by-products were released into
the Howe Sound waters, causing the federal
government to close down the fisheries in 1989.
Scientists still trap shell fish to test contamination
levels.
Photo 2-2: One side of the u-shaped valley
features truncated spurs. This u-shaped valley is
still a continuation of the fiord and valley
shaped by the glacier that travelled further
south to Porteau Cove.
Photo 2-3: Man established this mine on the other side of the
valley. It was in operation from 1905-1974 and mined
primarily for copper and zinc contained in the metamorphic
schist of the area. Granitic rock surrounds the schist deposit.
Mining waste rock and run-off caused arsenic and cyanide to
be carried through chemical solution into the nearby waters.
These contaminants, combined with the human sewage and
pulp mill effluent, have made the water in this area undrinkable
and toxic. Though now closed, it still runs mining tours to the
public as a mining museum. The smaller building to the right
of it was the mill which ground up the mined rock. When the
copper and zinc are mined, much of the rock surrounding these
deposits becomes "waste rock". Mining artefacts of old
equipment and machinery stand in front of the old mine for
display. Smaller clear-cuts (patch logging) are visible up on the
hills above the mine.
Photo 2-4: A longer range photo of the
truncated spurs. Rail tracks and the highway
continue to pass through Britannia Beach as
well.
Photo 2-5: Beneath the highway flows Britannia
Creek which exits into Howe Sound. Humans have
built the overpass above it, and notice the long
effluent pipe which also exits into the Sound. This
pipe drains the effluent from the mill.
Photo 2-6: This stream brings with it glacio-fluvial
debris in the form of small boulders, rounded
pebbles, gravel, and finer sand. A pedestrian overpass
and sewage pipe have been constructed by humans.
In the bottom right of the photo you can see the mine
effluent pipe.
Photo 2-7: Here is the last extension of the drain pipe
and also the small delta formed by the creek as it
exits into the Sound. Not only is the water in Howe
Sound contaminated by pulp mill effluent, but also by
the mine waste. Government scientist divers test this
water regularly for the toxins.