Iona Island's South Jetty on February 21, 2021

Iona Island in

Richmond, British Columbia Richmond is a coastal city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. It occupies almost the entirety of Lulu Island (excluding Queensborough), between the two estuarine distributaries of the Fraser River. Encompassing the ad ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

was formerly an island, but is now a peninsula physically connected to Sea Island via a causeway and Ferguson Road. Iona is home to a primary sewage treatment plant (located in the middle), an animal refuge and a park (Iona Beach Regional Park). The Iona Sewage Plant is located near the centre of the island and has tours for the public. Iona Beach Regional Park also features a beach adjacent to wildlife from the nearby animal refuge. The park is managed by

Metro Vancouver The Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD), or simply Metro Vancouver, is a Canadian political subdivision and corporate entity representing the metropolitan area of Greater Vancouver, designated by provincial legislation as one of the 28 ...

. Iona Island is located almost adjacent to the

Vancouver International Airport Vancouver International Airport is an international airport located on Sea Island in Richmond, British Columbia, serving the city of Vancouver and the Lower Mainland region. It is located from Downtown Vancouver. It is the second busiest ...

. The park is mostly visited by

birders Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...

, as the sewage ponds have attracted many rare

shorebirds 245px, A flock of Dunlins and Red knots">Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflat ...

such as

Spoon-billed Sandpiper The spoon-billed sandpiper (''Calidris pygmaea'') is a small wader which breeds on the coasts of the Bering Sea and winters in Southeast Asia. This species is highly threatened, and it is said that since the 1970s the breeding population has dec ...

Great Knot __NOTOC__ The great knot (''Calidris tenuirostris'') is a small wader. It is the largest of the calidrid species. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''kalidris'' or ''skalidris'', a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside bird ...

, and

Red-necked Stint The red-necked stint (''Calidris ruficollis'') is a small migratory wader. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''kalidris'' or ''skalidris'', a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific ''ruficollis'' is from La ...

Jetties

Two

jetties A jetty is a structure that projects from land out into water. A jetty may serve as a breakwater, as a walkway, or both; or, in pairs, as a means of constricting a channel. The term derives from the French word ', "thrown", signifying somet ...

, owned by the Government of Canada, stretch out into the

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 ...

from Iona Island. The south jetty, Iona Jetty, juts out nearly into the Strait. Recreational visitors may walk or cycle on the twin gravel trails atop and beside the large sewage pipe that stretches the length of the jetty. The North Arm Jetty, while longer, is not as popular; it is a sandy bar (as opposed to the gravel and concrete structure of Iona Jetty) that stretches towards the northwest, running parallel to the

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 ...

shoreline and terminating at the

University Endowment Lands The University Endowment Lands (UEL) is an unincorporated area that lies to the west of the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and adjacent to the University of British Columbia and the lands associated with that campus. Pacific S ...

, almost directly across from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

campus, and visible from

Wreck Beach Wreck Beach ( Squamish: Ts'at'lhm) is a clothing-optional beach located in Pacific Spirit Regional Park, which is in turn part of the University Endowment Lands just west of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The clothing-optional section ...

References

External links

Iona Beach
- Metro Vancouver Regional Parks {{coord, 49.217, -123.198, type:isle_region:CA, display=title Islands of the Fraser River Former islands of Canada Richmond, British Columbia

Jetties

See also

References

External links