History
I hope these notes about the park's history enhance your next visit. You'll be able to point out where the graveyard is and where the lake was. Those faint marks you see here and there in the grass won't be a mystery any more. Do you know where the wading pool was? Read on and you'll know that and more.
10 million years ago
10 million years ago, the Royal Kwantlen Park area was under the sea. Geological plates drifted slowly north from the California area and sunk under the north-west edge of North America. It wasn't until about 5 million years ago that heating and expansion of the earth's crust caused what is now southern British Columbia to rise above sea level. Between 3 and 3.5 million years after that the Ice Ages began.
The ice flows came and went numerous times over the next 2 million years. The ice covered most of the land, driving the wildlife south and freezing out the plants except in a few isolated areas such as the Queen Charlotte Islands. The powerful ice flows, up to 2 kilometers thick, ripped and shaved the mountains and valleys of most of British Columbia.
randy@kwantlenpark.ca
Updated Feb. 28, 2009 Copyright 2009