Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Canada is home to several

bodies of water A body of water or waterbody (often spelled water body) is any significant accumulation of water on the surface of Earth or another planet. The term most often refers to oceans, seas, and lakes, but it includes smaller pools of water such as p ...

within and around its boundaries. Of over 30 historically

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...

-bearing streams diverted into underground culverts due to

urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly t ...

, several have been restored to a state visible and habitable again by plants and wildlife.

Spanish Bank Creek

Spanish Bank Creek flows north through Pacific Spirit Regional Park near U.B.C. It terminates at the beach under the Spanish Bank cliffs on Northwest Marine Drive. Urban development rendered the creek impassable to adult fish for many decades but the creek has been restored and, since 2001,

sockeye salmon The sockeye salmon (''Oncorhynchus nerka''), also called red salmon, kokanee salmon, blueback salmon, or simply sockeye, is an anadromous species of salmon found in the Northern Pacific Ocean and rivers discharging into it. This species is a P ...

have been returning there to spawn.

Musqueam Creek

Musqueam Creek, and its tributary Cutthroat Creek, begin in Pacific Spirit Regional Park and flow south through the

Musqueam The Musqueam Indian Band ( ; hur, xʷməθkʷəy̓əm ) is a First Nations in Canada, First Nations band government in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is the only First Nations band whose reserve community lies within the boundari ...

Reserve in the Southlands neighbourhood of Vancouver, where they meet before entering the

Fraser River The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of Vancouver. The river's annual d ...

estuary. The creeks are protected by the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Musqueam Creek is in the process of restoration by the Musqueam Band, and

Coho salmon The coho salmon (''Oncorhynchus kisutch;'' Karuk: achvuun) is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family and one of the five Pacific salmon species. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon or "silvers". The scientific species name i ...

and

Chum salmon The chum salmon (''Oncorhynchus keta''), also known as dog salmon or keta salmon, is a species of anadromous salmonid fish from the genus '' Oncorhynchus'' (Pacific salmon) native to the coastal rivers of the North Pacific and the Beringian A ...

have returned to this creek in small amounts.

Still Creek

Still Creek is a 17 km long creek that begins in Vancouver, crosses into

Burnaby Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard I ...

, and terminates in

Burnaby Lake Burnaby Lake is a lake located in Burnaby, British Columbia and is the focal geographic feature and namesake of Burnaby Lake Regional Park. The lake occupies of land, and is home to a large variety of wildlife. At least 70 species of birds make t ...

. In Vancouver, the Still Creek watershed is bounded by 1st Avenue, 49th Avenue, Nanaimo Street, and Boundary Road. Portions of the creek are visible and the City of Vancouver is working to uncover (or "daylight") more of the creek; however, most of the Vancouver section still lies underground, directed by culverts and storm sewers.

Beaver Creek

Beaver Creek begins at Beaver Lake and terminates in the ocean, under a bridge at the intersection of Pipeline Road and Stanley Park Drive.

Beaver Lake

Beaver Lake is a lake in the interior of

Stanley Park Stanley Park is a public park in British Columbia, Canada that makes up the northwestern half of Vancouver's Downtown Peninsula, surrounded by waters of Burrard Inlet and English Bay. The park borders the neighbourhoods of West End and Coal ...

, surrounded by walking trails and home to many aquatic birds. This lake is being reclaimed by the forest because of the

water lilies ''Water Lilies'' (or ''Nymphéas'', ) is a Serial imagery, series of approximately 250 oil paintings by French Impressionism, Impressionist Claude Monet (1840–1926). The paintings depict his Fondation Monet in Giverny, flower garden at Fond ...

that have been added. The lily pads reduce the amount of oxygen in the water, which has slowed the lake's ability to decompose organic material. Due to this, the lake is slowly becoming a

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

Lost Lagoon

Lost Lagoon Lost Lagoon is an artificial, captive 16.6-hectare (41 acre) body of water, west of Georgia Street, near the entrance to Stanley Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Surrounding the lake is a trail. The lake features a lit fountain th ...

is an artificial, captive 17-hectare body of water, west of

Georgia Street Georgia Street is an east–west street in the cities of Vancouver and Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. Its section in Downtown Vancouver, designated West Georgia Street, serves as one of the primary streets for the financial and central busin ...

, near the entrance to

. It was created in 1916 by the construction of the Stanley Park causeway. It is a nesting ground of many species of bird, including

swan Swans are birds of the family (biology), family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form t ...

Canada geese The Canada goose (''Branta canadensis''), or Canadian goose, is a large wild goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the arctic and temperate regions of North America, and it is o ...

, and

great blue heron The great blue heron (''Ardea herodias'') is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North America and Central America, as well as the Caribbean and the Galápagos ...

. East of Lost Lagoon, across Georgia Street, is Coal Harbour, an extension of Burrard Inlet. The lagoon is now landlocked but used to be connected to the inlet, resulting in significant tidal changes along its shores, and at its western end at high tide waves would lap across what is now the Ceperley Park area at Second Beach, which was then just a sandbar. While rare in recent decades, Lost Lagoon can freeze during a cold spell, permitting public

ice skating Ice skating is the self-propulsion and gliding of a person across an ice surface, using metal-bladed ice skates. People skate for various reasons, including recreation (fun), exercise, competitive sports, and commuting. Ice skating may be per ...

and

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

. The lagoon was named by poet

Pauline Johnson Emily Pauline Johnson (10 March 1861 – 7 March 1913), also known by her Mohawk stage name ''Tekahionwake'' (pronounced ''dageh-eeon-wageh'', ), was a Canadian poet, author, and performer who was popular in the late 19th and early 20th centur ...

who liked to go canoeing on the tidal lagoon and one day discovered that it was no longer there due to a low tide. A large fountain called ''Jubilee Fountain'' graces the northeast end of the lagoon, spraying water in the air which can be seen for many blocks. The next controversy surrounding the lake followed the proposal for a fountain to be erected in the lake to coincide with the city's Golden Jubilee anniversary celebrations in 1936. For the mayor, it would be "a miracle of engineering," with the spray of water lit by virtually "limitless combinations" of colour. The public, in contrast, were not impressed by the proposal. Its $33,019.96 price tag was considered extremely frivolous in the midst of an economic crisis. As written in The Sunday Sun Edition of the Vancouver Sun Newspaper, Saturday, August 8. 1936. The lead story in the Magazine section is; SECRETS OF THE FOUNTAIN. It was the conception and idea of then, Chief Electrical Engineer, Robert Harold Williams with Hume and Rumble Ltd. electrical contractors. R.Harold Williams designed and supervised the erection of the Vancouver's Golden Jubilee fountain. After a business trip to Los Angeles he saw a fountain and thought this would be a great gift for the city for their up-and-coming birthday, Golden Jubilee celebration. To build the fountain, Lost Lagoon was drained. Seventy piles were driven into the mud. On these a concrete mat was laid. The fountain was built upon this mat. The work was of necessity rushed; it was done in a month. "The fountain is worthy of all the traditions of art, worthy of Vancouver's Golden Jubilee, and it will be a permanent, decorative joy in Stanley Park". "When operating , it is like a symphony concert, in motion and color instead of music, says Harold Williams, engineer, of Hume & Rumble Ltd., under whose personal supervision the work has been done." Vancouver's Jubilee Committee and private citizens who contributed are to be commended on their work in pushing for this beautiful fountain, which is sure to be one of the major attractions during the Golden Jubilee celebration. "We've had to hurry," says Mr. Williams," in that time 285 tons of cement have been utilized and all the special equipment was built." All equipment was built in Canada and the pumps were constructed in Vancouver. All union labor was employed. 0It was restored for Expo in 1986.

Trout Lake

Trout Lake is a popular swimming location and nesting ground to many species of bird. In the late 1800s, Trout Lake was a peat bog that supplied water to Hastings Mill. Trout lake was formerly stocked with rainbow trout and cutthroat trout. Adjacent to the lake is a community centre, playground, ice rink, and a summer farmers' market. It is located at East 15th Avenue and Victoria Drive in East Vancouver's John Hendry Park. The Hastings Mill, on the south side of the Inlet and running more than 20 hours a day, needed a lot of water, so built a flume, which occasionally collapsed, to carry it from Trout Lake. (Residents along that flume line frequently tapped it, with the mill's permission, for their own needs.) The mill had to post a man full-time at the lake to stop the beavers there from building dams that blocked the flow. Another of his chores was to remove the lake's trout from the flume, which at times was almost choked with fish.History of Vancouver - Year 1889
Vancouverhistory.ca. Retrieved on 2014-04-12.

False Creek

{{main, False Creek False Creek is an inlet to the east of English Bay between

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

and Fairview slopes.

Boundary waters

* English Bay *

Strait of Georgia The Strait of Georgia (french: Détroit de Géorgie) or the Georgia Strait is an arm of the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the extreme southwestern mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada and the extreme northwestern mainland coast ...

Burrard Inlet french: Baie Burrard , image = Burrard Inlet 201807.jpg , image_size = 250px , alt = , caption = Aerial view of Burrard Inlet , image_bathymetry = Burrard-Inlet-map-en.svg , alt_bathymetry ...

References

External links

Spanish Bank Creek case study
a
Pacific Streamkeepers Foundation

a
urbanstreams.org

Wild, Threatened, Endangered and Lost Streams of the Lower Fraser Valley
a Fisheries and Oceans Canada publication

information page

and its surrounding trails Landforms of Vancouver