Low Lying Area
Low lying areas are defined as being 0 to 4 m in elevation
above existing mean sea level and are greater than 50 in width from
Low lying shores are susceptible to flooding during high tides,
surges and storm waves and current BC guidelines suggest up to a 1
m in sea level rise over the next 100 years. Shoreline
vulnerablility to increased flooding, softening of sediment
shorelines and coastal erosion are expected to increase in the
There are three areas on South Pender Island identified as low
lying located in Camp Bay, Drummond Bay and Brooks Point Regional
Salt marshes are flat areas of the high upper intertidal zone,
with rooted salt-tolerant vascular plants and organic peaty soils,
which are flooded by most high tides. Salt marshes are highly
productive, are valued ecological features and are particularly
vulnerable to pollution from land based activity.
On South Pender Island a salt marsh was identified at Mortimer
Islets are small islands that are often ecologically important
to wildlife, in particular to ground-nesting coastal birds such as
Black Oystercatcher, Pigeon Guillemots and others.
Islets often have remnant, natural ecosystems and provide a
larger intertidal perimeter relative to their land area. Vegetation
and birds nesting on islets can be very vulnerable to disturbance
from recreational users.
Islets in the South Pender Local Trust Area include the Skull
Islets in Bedwell Harbour or Blunden Islet off Teece Point, which
are located in the Gulf Island National Park Reserve.
Soft shorelines include the sediment dominated pebble/sand and
marsh/fine sediment shore types.
Sediment shorelines are typically associated with both high
recreational values and high ecological values and are found at
pocket beaches, salt marshes, and estuaries. South
Pender Island has numerous areas of soft shoreline distributed
around the island.
Very Protected Waters
Very protected shorelines have a maximum wave fetch of less than
1 km. Often these shorelines are adjacent to embayments with
reduced water circulation which increases their vulnerability to
On South Pender Island, the area inside the hook at Mortimer
Spit is an example of very protected water.
Areas of the shoreline that were modified by development such as
boat ramps, seawalls, riprap, breakwater or by the deposit of fill
were noted when the shore type mapping was done.
To be classified as altered shoreline, the length of
modification represented 30% or more of the shore unit
length. Modifications to the shoreline can alter how
sediment is deposited along the shore, interfering with the natural
coastal process. They can alter the local hydrology by affecting
either drainage or surface flow from the land or the movement of
seawater to the shore area. Often the modifications also
involve removing or significantly altering the shoreline
vegetation, which can increase erosion and affect habitat.
Altered shorelines are shown on the Integrated Shoreline and
Watershed Maps developed for each major island.
Altered shorelines are less than 4% of the total shoreline in
the Islands Trust area based on the twelve major islands that had
shoreline mapping completed. Thetis Island has the most at
8%, while Lasqueti Island has the least at less than
1%. 4% of South Pender Island's shoreline has been
mapped as the pebble/ sand shore type.