Anthropogenic Impacts Albert head lagoon and shoreline


The two panoramas of the beach North of Albert Head were taken two years apart. These pictures demonstrate the incremental intrusion that happens in coastal areas when people are not sensitive to coastal ecosystems and coastal energy dynamics. The most stable shorelines which are resistant to erosion, are those which have an unconsolidated berm of sand, pebbles, rocks and logs, and a vegetated backshore area, with sea grasses and other plants adapted with long and intertwined roots which anchor the sand. Natural areas have evolved through thousands of years and are able to absorb the impact of storms, as well as providing essential habitat for invertebrates and fish.
Clicking on the images above reveal more detail of 5 properties along the shoreline where modifications to the shoreline have been made.
Aerial Maps Courtesy of the CRD NATURAL AREAS ATLAS

 

Panorama assembled from images from the GEOBC-summer 2007

 

This site has been created to represent the contiguous ecosystems of the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve/Marine Protected Area and for the use of the Green Blue Spaces sub committee of the Metchosin Environmental Advisory Select Committee ( MEASC). Copyright: G.Fletcher Marine Education Consulting, 2008
webmaster and educational director of racerocks.com

 

Sector 7: Taylor Beach, Witty’s Lagoon and Albert Head

Aerial views courtesy of the CRD NATURAL AREAS ATLAS

11..Witty’s lagoon/estuary and 10. Beach spitwittys

Witty’s beach is an accretional beach with materials supplied from long shore drift from the cliffs to the south. Behind the beach is a large tidal lagoon, and estuary fed by Bilston Creek.

 

Report on Witty’s lagoon (includes Ecology, geology etc. Waterose et al.

Link to the Witty’s lagoon Waterose et.al report

 

 

 

 

 

Link to the Anthropogenic Effects on this area

 

 

Link to The Wittys Lagoon Estuary and Beach Lab

The following booklet was written in the 1970’s based on the report done by Dr. Wolf Bauer.

A panorama view from the inside of the spit on Witty’s lagoon

A panorama view of the narrow channel for tidal exchange at the end of Witty’s Spit.

4.. Haystock Islands

Haystock Islands show some evidence of human occupation by First Nations in the past.

 

 

 

4.5,6,7.. Tower Point and Duke Road Waterfront
South of Albert Head

 

 

 

  • ** “You can also see excellent exposures of pillow lavas at Tower Point. On the Point and in the sea cliffs of nearby islands, the characteristic feature of the pillow basalts are well displayed in clean outcrops above the high tide line. These dark green, fine-grained rocks commonly contain amygdules filled with quartz and calcite, which appear as white spots up to 1cm in diameter. Several vertical, green vesicular dykes, up to 1 m. wide, trend across the point, and a minor east dipping fault is exposed on the western side of the point. Several outcrops display piles of basalt pillows with flattened bases and shapes that indicate they were squeezed together while the lava was still hot and plastic. You cans see conspicuous light grey to almost white boulders of granodorite, obviously (glacial) erratics, lying on the surface of the pillow basalts.”…..
  • “According to Nick Massey of the BC Geological Survey, the Metchosin Igneous Complex developed as an oceanic island, not unlike Iceland, about 54 million years ago. The pillow basalts exposed here as well as those at the Sooke Potholes… are only part of the complex….Many of the pillows seen in this area contain abundant, round white amygdules, which are commonly arranged in layers close to the margins of the pillows. These amygdules were originally vesicles that have been filled by crystals of calcite and other minerals. Vesicles form when gas, dissolved in molten lava separates from the liquid, causing it to froth. If the pressure of the weight of the overlying water is sufficiently great, the gas does not separate and no vesicles form. Thus there is a rough correlation between the depth below sea level at which the lava erupted and the vesicularity of the lava; with increasing depth, the degree of vesicularity decreases. From this relationship, we can conclude that the pillow basalts of the Metchosin Igneous Complex erupted in moderately deep to shallow water, but not as deep as the present Pacific Ocean Spreading Ridges.”
    2005, Yorath, Chris, The Geology of Southern Vancouver Island, page 114, Harbour Publishing.

 

5.South Side of Albert Head

 

 

 

 

4,. Albert Head and 2 and 3 North Lagoon and 1.Beach

 

 

 

 

To the north of Albert Head Beach and outside of the boundaries of Metchosin District lies the gravel pit which is now in the stages of being close down, to be replaced by a large development .

 

 

Anthropogenic habitat modification from Witty’s lagoon to the south side of Albert Head.

Acknowledgements:

Anthropogenic Impacts Albert head lagoon and shoreline

Helicopter aerial views courtesy of GEOBC

The CoastaMetchosin website has been created to represent the contiguous ecosystems of the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve/Marine Protected Area and for the use of the Green Blue Spaces sub committee of the Metchosin Environmental Advisory Select Committee (MEASC). Copyright: G.Fletcher 2013 (garryf ( use at) gmail.com)