Eagle Creek (Burnaby)

Last updated
Eagle Creek
Eagle Creek at Burnaby Lake.JPG
Eagle Creek joining Burnaby Lake
Canada British Columbia relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Eagle Creek
Location Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
Coordinates 49°15′59″N122°56′34″W / 49.26639°N 122.94278°W / 49.26639; -122.94278
Type Creek
Primary inflows Streams from Burnaby Mountain
Primary outflows Burnaby Lake

Eagle Creek is one of the most important creeks in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. It begins on Burnaby Mountain where it is fed by a large watershed, runs through Montecito and the nearby Squint Lake, and eventually flows into Burnaby Lake.

Contents

Course

Eagle Creek begins as many tiny streams that drain the west and southwest sides of Burnaby Mountain. The lands on the mountain are protected as part of the Burnaby Mountain Conservation Area. Below the protected area, those tributaries of Eagle Creek that emerge from the forest flow through land that has been developed for residential purposes. At times the creek is culverted, at times it is channelized, and at other times it is allowed to flow almost freely. Here the dominant flora are those typical of disturbed sites in the Fraser Valley.

The various tributaries are gathered together above and below Squint Lake, on lands which are currently the site of the Burnaby Mountain Golf Course. The collected waters of Eagle Creek are culverted under Broadway, and descend from the culvert into a deep ravine that runs uninterrupted to the Lougheed Highway. Aside from a service road at the bottom, and some concrete stormwater management infrastructure, the ravine is undeveloped. The flora there includes many of the same plants found on the mountain, with the exception of some of the more sensitive species, and with the addition of some exotics that have presumably escaped from residential properties along the upper edge.

Below the highway, Eagle Creek runs through Charles Rummel Park, and then once again enters a residential zone, where it is mostly channelized, and occasionally culverted. Below Winston Street, the creek enters Warner Loat Park, where it flows in a bed that parallels Piper Avenue all the way into Burnaby Lake Regional Park. Once in the park, the waters of the creek do not have far to go until they are poured into Burnaby Lake, a short walk south of the Nature House.

Ecology

The entirety of the Eagle Creek watershed is in the coastal western hemlock biogeoclimatic zone of British Columbia. The protected lands of Burnaby Mountain, as well as the lands of Burnaby Lake Regional Park are forested with a second growth forest that primarily consists of bigleaf maple, red alder, western hemlock, western redcedar, and Douglas-fir, with an underbrush of salmonberry, Indian plum, red elderberry, and other shrubs and herbs. Mammals found here include the Douglas squirrel, black-tailed deer, coyote, and raccoon. Many birds and amphibians also inhabit the watershed.

In areas which have been converted by residential development, exotic and invasive species predominate, including English ivy and Himalayan blackberry.

Salmon are a native part of Eagle Creek's ecosystem. Today, the fish are encouraged and protected by the actions of the Eagle Creek Streamkeepers.

Toxic spills

Eagle Creek has experienced a number of spills in residential areas that caused serious damage to the trout and salmon population, most recently in the summer of 2006., [1] [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thompson River</span> River in British Columbia, Canada

The Thompson River is the largest tributary of the Fraser River, flowing through the south-central portion of British Columbia, Canada. The Thompson River has two main branches, the South Thompson River and the North Thompson River. The river is home to several varieties of Pacific salmon and trout. The area's geological history was heavily influenced by glaciation, and the several large glacial lakes have filled the river valley over the last 12,000 years. Archaeological evidence shows human habitation in the watershed dating back at least 8,300 years. The Thompson was named by Fraser River explorer, Simon Fraser, in honour of his friend, Columbia Basin explorer David Thompson. Recreational use of the river includes whitewater rafting and angling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coquitlam River</span> River in British Columbia, Canada

The Coquitlam River is a tributary of the Fraser River in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The river's name comes from the word Kʷikʷəƛ̓əm which translates to "Red fish up the river". The name is a reference to a sockeye salmon species that once occupied the river's waters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homathko River</span> River in British Columbia, Canada

The Homathko River is one of the major rivers of the southern Coast Mountains of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is one of the few rivers that penetrates the range from the interior Chilcotin Country to the coastal inlets of the Pacific Ocean. The Homathko River reaches the sea at the head of Bute Inlet, just west of the mouth of the Southgate River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lochdale, Burnaby</span>

Lochdale is a single-family neighbourhood in the north-eastern part of Burnaby, near Burnaby Mountain. It lies between Kensington Ave to the west and Duthie Ave to the east. Hastings Street marks its northern limits while Halifax Street closes the rectangle in the south. Additionally, a large hillside residential area between Burnaby Mountain Parkway and Greystone Drive also belongs to Lochdale. Several major thoroughfares connecting north and south run through this neighbourhood - the earlier mentioned Kensington Avenue, Duthie Avenue, and Sperling Avenue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fishing Creek (North Branch Susquehanna River tributary)</span> Tributary of river in Pennsylvania

Fishing Creek is a 29.98-mile (48.25 km) long tributary of the Susquehanna River in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It joins the Susquehanna River near the census-designated place of Rupert and the town of Bloomsburg. The watershed has an area of 385 square miles (1,000 km2).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Still Creek</span>

Still Creek is a long stream flowing across Central Burnaby, British Columbia and into Burnaby Lake. Still Creek's path lies mainly through the industrial area which contributes to its high level of pollution, although through dedicated work of local volunteers the creek is slowly recovering.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Squint Lake</span> Lake in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

Squint Lake is a small lake in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. It is located southwest of Burnaby Mountain. Squint Lake is surrounded by Burnaby Mountain Golf Course. Squint Lake Park is a park to the north of the lake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montecito, Burnaby</span>

Montecito, for administrative and planning purposes also known as "Sperling-Broadway", is a neighbourhood in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geography of New York (state)</span>

The geography of New York varies widely across the state. Most of New York is dominated by farms, forests, rivers, mountains, and lakes. New York's Adirondack Park is larger than any U.S. National Park in the contiguous United States. Niagara Falls, on the Niagara River as it flows from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, is a popular attraction. The Hudson River begins near Lake Tear of the Clouds and flows south through the eastern part of the state without draining lakes George or Champlain. Lake George empties at its north end into Lake Champlain, whose northern end extends into Canada, where it drains into the Richelieu River and then the St. Lawrence. Four of New York City's five boroughs are on the three islands at the mouth of the Hudson River: Manhattan Island, Staten Island, and Brooklyn and Queens on Long Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tryon Creek</span> Tributary of the Willamette River in Oregon

Tryon Creek is a 4.85-mile (7.81 km) tributary of the Willamette River in the U.S. state of Oregon. Part of the drainage basin of the Columbia River, its watershed covers about 6.5 square miles (16.8 km2) in Multnomah and Clackamas counties. The stream flows southeast from the Tualatin Mountains through the Multnomah Village neighborhood of Portland and the Tryon Creek State Natural Area to the Willamette in the city of Lake Oswego. Parks and open spaces cover about 21 percent of the watershed, while single-family homes dominate most of the remainder. The largest of the parks is the state natural area, which straddles the border between the two cities and counties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iskut River</span> River in British Columbia, Canada

The Iskut River, located in the northwest part of the province of British Columbia is the largest tributary of the Stikine River, entering it about 11 km (6.8 mi) above its entry into Alaska.

The Craig River is a transboundary river tributary of the Iskut River in Southeast Alaska, United States, and the northwest part of the province of British Columbia, Canada. Originating in Alaska, where it is sometimes called the South Fork Craig River, the Craig flows into British Columbia, generally in a northeast then northwest direction for about 50 km (31 mi) to join the Iskut River about 2 km (1.2 mi) east of the confluence of the Iskut and Hoodoo River. Its main tributary is the Jekill River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metro Vancouver watersheds</span>

The Metro Vancouver watersheds, also known as the Greater Vancouver watersheds, supply potable water to approximately 2.7 million residents in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. They provide tap water to a land area covering more than 2,600 square kilometres (1,000 sq mi), serving a total of 21 member municipalities, one electoral district, and one treaty First Nation. From west to east, the watersheds are the Capilano, the Seymour, and the Coquitlam. They are located in the North Shore Mountains and Coquitlam Mountain, respectively. Each watershed possesses a reservoir for water storage purposes, under the control of Metro Vancouver. The reservoirs are supplied by about 3.5 metres (11 ft) of rain and 4.5 metres (15 ft) of snowpack annually. Two additional off-catchment areas under control of Metro Vancouver contribute to the water supply. The watersheds have a long history of controversies surrounding logging, highway development, and salmon run conservation.

South Slope, sometimes referred to as Southern Burnaby, is a mainly single-family neighborhood in Burnaby in British Columbia, Canada, just southeast of Metrotown. It borders Suncrest, an all single-family home neighbourhood to the west, and goes as far east as Edmonds. Although the northern boundary of South Slope is Rumble Street, many residents north of the street consider themselves living in South Slope, including South Slope Elementary, and Burnaby South Secondary School. The neighbourhood gets its name from the steep slope it is located on. The neighbourhood is one of the oldest parts of the city, which can be seen be seen in Nelson Elementary, which is over a hundred years old, and dozens of Heritage Homes.

The Nahwitti River is a 40-kilometre (25 mi) long river in northernmost Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. It flows through Cape Scott Provincial Park into Goletas Channel near Hope Island and Queen Charlotte Sound. Its watershed, 229 km2 (88 sq mi) large, is located west and northwest of Port Hardy, north and northeast of Holberg, and north of Holberg Inlet, part of Quatsino Sound.

The Ecstall River is a tributary of the Skeena River in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It originates in the Kitimat Ranges, and flows about 110 km (68 mi) to the lower tidal reach of the Skeena River at Port Essington, about 30 km (19 mi) southeast of Prince Rupert, 95 km (59 mi) southwest of Terrace, and 85 km (53 mi) northwest of Kitimat. Its drainage basin covers about 1,485 km2 (573 sq mi) and contains the largest blocks of unlogged land on the north coast of British Columbia, although large-scale industrial logging operations, both active and proposed, have been occurring in the watershed since the 1980s.

The Gitnadoix River is a tributary of the Skeena River in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It originates in the Kitimat Ranges, and flows about 38 km (24 mi) north to the Skeena River, about 45 km (28 mi) west of Terrace.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McNeil River (Skeena River tributary)</span> River in British Columbia, Canada

The McNeil River is a tributary of the Skeena River in the North Coast Regional District of the province of British Columbia, Canada. It originates at Minerva Lake in the Kitimat Ranges of the Coast Mountains, and flows south about 13 km (8.1 mi) to the lower tidal reach of the Skeena River at Tyee Bank, across the Skeena from Port Essington, about 25 km (16 mi) southeast of Prince Rupert, 95 km (59 mi) southwest of Terrace, and 88 km (55 mi) northwest of Kitimat. Its watershed covers 41.4 km2 (16.0 sq mi), and its mean annual discharge is 4.07 m3/s (144 cu ft/s).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douglas Creek (Canada)</span> Stream in British Columbia, Canada

Douglas Creek is a small, 0.8 kilometres (0.50 mi) salmon-bearing urban stream that is located in the municipality of Saanich on Vancouver Island. It is located entirely within PKOLS and its mouth empties into Haro Strait.

References

  1. "Welcome to the Burnaby Now - News". Archived from the original on 2006-12-06.
  2. "Welcome to the Burnaby Now - News". Archived from the original on 2006-11-20.