Sea Island is an island in 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 ...

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

in the city of

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 adja ...

. It is located south of the city of

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

and north and west of

Lulu Island Lulu Island is the name of the largest island in the estuary of the Fraser River, located south of Vancouver, British Columbia, and the second-most populous island in British Columbia, after Vancouver Island. The city of Richmond occupies m ...

. Sea Island is the home to

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 busie ...

(''YVR''), a nature

conservation area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

, and a permanent resident population of 814, most of which live in the neighbourhood of Burkeville. A small part of the island is under the administration of the Musqueam Indian Band.

History

The island was traditionally home to the Musqueam Indian Band, and they retain ownership over a tract of land on the island's north-west under the administrative title "Sea Island Indian Reserve #3". Construction of residential neighbourhoods on the island began during World War II. Under the authority of the Wartime Housing Authority, the

Boeing Company The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...

built a 300 home subdivision to house its workers on Sea Island. This neighbourhood on the island's east side became known as Burkeville, and remains a residential neighbourhood to this day. A second neighbourhood, known as the Cora Brown subdivision, was constructed in 1946 on the north side of the island, originally with 50 houses. Although it grew to the point of requiring the construction of the island's second elementary school in 1962, airport expansion led to the community being disbanded in 1978. No trace of this neighbourhood remains.

Vancouver International Airport

The airport first opened for service on Sea Island in 1931, and began servicing commercial flights in 1937. The airport received relatively light traffic for the next fifty years until extensive growth in international traffic, primarily between the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

, necessitated expansion of service. With investments from the airlines, the

Canadian government The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown-in ...

and a surcharge on tickets for improvement costs, the airport began a significant overhaul in the 1990s. The airport is the second largest in

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 to ...

, with over 25 million passengers passing through each year. It has grown to three passenger terminals and three main runways servicing over fifty airlines.

Ground transportation

Grant McConachie Way is the primary east–west artery leading to the main airport terminal, while a significant amount of commuter traffic from Vancouver to Richmond crosses Sea Island north-south via Russ Baker Way. Sea Island is connected to Vancouver to the north via the

Arthur Laing Bridge The Arthur Laing Bridge is a crossing over the north arm of the Fraser River, and several minor roads, in Metro Vancouver. History Proposal The closing of the original Marpole Bridge in 1957 created a more circuitous route between Vancouver and ...

, and to Richmond via the No. 2 Road Bridge,

Dinsmore Bridge The Dinsmore Bridge is a crossing over the middle arm of the Fraser River, and a former section of River Rd., in Metro Vancouver. History Dinsmore Island In the 1870s, John Brough, who acquired this island adjacent to Sea Island, built a small ...

Moray Bridge The Moray Bridge, also known as the Moray Channel Bridge, and formerly the Middle Arm Bridge, is a crossing over the middle arm of the Fraser River in Metro Vancouver. Richard Moody, who would name geographical features, such as this channel, after ...

and the

Sea Island Bridge The Sea Island Connector, is a crossing over the middle arm of the Fraser River in Metro Vancouver. History Project Completed in August 2001, the concrete beams, atop the exposed steel piles driven into the river, support the concrete girders. Th ...

. Sea Island is also served by three stations on the

Canada Line The Canada Line is a rapid transit line in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, that is part of the SkyTrain system. The line is owned by TransLink and InTransitBC and is operated by ProTrans BC. Coloured turquoise on route maps, it op ...

, part of the SkyTrain rapid transit network, which connects the airport to Downtown Vancouver and Downtown Richmond.

Sea Island Conservation Area

The Sea Island Conservation Area (SICA) is located adjacent to Vancouver International Airport (YVR) and consists of approximately 140.1 hectares (1.4 square kilometres) of land on the north side of Sea Island dedicated for conservation of wildlife and habitat. SICA was transferred to Environment Canada as a compensation package funded by Transport Canada to replace wildlife habitat lost as a result of runway expansion at Vancouver International Airport (YVR). The main goal for management of SICA is to maintain existing populations of wildlife that do not compromise aviation safety. Habitats on SICA consist of woodland, wetland sloughs, and old agricultural field habitat which support a diversity of birds, land mammals, and terrestrial plants. SICA habitat management discourages populations of flocking birds that may pose hazards to aviation safety, as well as discourages populations of beavers that can cause prevalent, severe and costly damage to habitat.

Sturgeon Bank Wildlife Management Area

Over 50 square kilometres in area, Sturgeon Bank is a marine preserve located off the west side of the island and is made up of

intertidal The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore, is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide (in other words, the area within the tidal range). This area can include several types of habitats with various species ...

and subtidal waters. Boating is prohibited in the area.

Beaches and parks

Sea Island boasts two public beaches, McDonald Beach Park and Iona Beach Regional Park. McDonald Beach is operated by the city of

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, Californi ...

. It is a recreational facility, with a dogs off-leash area, picnic areas and boat docking available. Iona Beach is operated by the

Greater Vancouver Regional District 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 ...

, with a focus on wildlife protection, beaches, information on the flora and fauna, as well as a walking trail that culminates in a 4 kilometer

jetty 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 ...

out into the Sturgeon Bank. ''(See also:

Iona Island, British Columbia Iona Island in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada 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 ...

.)''

Other services

The island's south shore features a

Canadian Coast Guard The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG; french: links=no, Garde côtière canadienne, GCC) is the coast guard of Canada. Formed in 1962, the coast guard is tasked with marine search and rescue (SAR), communication, navigation, and transportation issues ...

station, as well as

floatplane A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, m ...

docks, a

business jet A business jet, private jet, or bizjet is a jet aircraft designed for transporting small groups of people. Business jets may be adapted for other roles, such as the evacuation of casualties or express parcel deliveries, and some are used by pu ...

terminal and Vancouver Airport's South Terminal. Sea Island is also home to the Aerospace and Aviation Technology faculty of the British Columbia Institute of Technology as well as two hotels run by the Fairmont and Delta chains. There is a luxury designer outlet mall that opened in July 2015, as a joint venture between

and the

McArthurGlen Group McArthurGlen Group is a public company, which develops and manages designer outlet malls. Background McArthurGlen originated as a private company in North America, part of the Vancouver based McLean Group. It opened and ran factory outlet ...

The Burkeville neighbourhood is served by the Sea Island School, built in 1891, serving grades Kindergarten to Grade Three, after which point students must commute to

in Richmond.

References

External links

YVR - Airport Conservation AreaYVR - Who We Are
{{authority control Islands of the Fraser River Indian reserves in British Columbia Richmond, British Columbia