Boundary Bay is a shallow

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

situated on the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

coast of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

on the

Canada–United States border The international border between Canada and the United States is the longest in the world by total length. The boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Canada' ...

between the

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

and the

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

state of

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

Geography

Boundary Bay is bounded to the east by the city of Blaine in Washington and the cities White Rock and

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

in British Columbia. It is also bounded to the east by the reserves of the

Semiahmoo First Nation Semiahmoo First Nation ( ) is the band government of the Semiahmoo people, a Coast Salish subgroup. The band's main community and offices are located on the Semiahmoo Indian Reserve which is sandwiched between the boundary of White Rock, Br ...

in British Columbia. To the north, it is bounded by the City of Delta. To the west, it is bounded by the Tsawwassen Peninsula, which contains the communities of Tsawwassen (a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta"), the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * Delta Air Lines, a major US carrier ...

) and

Point Roberts, Washington Point Roberts is a Enclave and exclave#"Practical" enclaves, exclaves and inaccessible districts, pene-exclave of the US state of Washington (state), Washington on the southernmost tip of the Tsawwassen, British Columbia, Tsawwassen peninsula, s ...

pene-exclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...

of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

). To the south, it is bounded by the

Strait of Georgia The Strait of Georgia () 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 of Washington, United Stat ...

, the northern arm of the larger

Salish Sea The Salish Sea ( ) is a List of seas on Earth #Terminology, marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean located in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia and the States of the United States , U.S. state of Washingto ...

. The eastern section of Boundary Bay straddling the US/Canada border and adjacent to the cities of White Rock and Blaine is known as

Semiahmoo Bay Semiahmoo Bay ( ) is the southeastern section of Boundary Bay on the Pacific coast of North America in British Columbia, Canada. The bay is named for the Semiahmoo First Nation, who originally occupied the area. The Semiahmoo Peninsula borders ...

; Blaine's Drayton Harbor opens into it. The northern tip of Boundary Bay is known as Mud Bay.

Inflows

The main rivers flowing into the bay are the Nicomekl and Serpentine Rivers falling into Mud Bay, the Campbell River falling into Semiahmoo Bay, and California Creek and Dakota Creek falling into Drayton Harbor.

Ecology

It is an important stop for birds migrating along the

Pacific Flyway The Pacific Flyway is a major north-south flyway for migratory birds in the Americas, extending from Alaska to Patagonia. Every year, migratory birds travel some or all of this distance both in spring and in fall, following food sources, heading ...

, particularly for western sandpiper and

dunlin The dunlin (''Calidris alpina'') is a small wader in the genus '' Calidris''. The English name is a dialect form of "dunling", first recorded in 1531–1532. It derives from ''dun'', "dull brown", with the suffix ''-ling'', meaning a person or ...

, and has been designated a Hemisphere Reserve by the

Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network The Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN) is a conservation movement, conservation strategy targeting shorebirds in the Americas launched in 1985. Its aim is to protect the nesting, reproduction, breeding and Staging area (birds), st ...

and a Canadian

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

. The

mudflat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal ...

s, extensive eel grass beds and

salt marsh A salt marsh, saltmarsh or salting, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. I ...

es support a rich population of marine

invertebrate Invertebrates are animals that neither develop nor retain a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''spine'' or ''backbone''), which evolved from the notochord. It is a paraphyletic grouping including all animals excluding the chordata, chordate s ...

s which are an important source of energy for migrating shorebirds. During migration times the bird count in the bay may exceed 100,000

Pollution and industrial activity in the area pose potential threats to wildlife.

Conservation

On June 21, 1995, the entire Canadian portion of Boundary Bay was protected within the Boundary Bay Wildlife Management Area.

Activities

The area is also used for recreational boating and includes park area and beaches. The

Boundary Bay Airport Boundary Bay Airport or Vancouver/Boundary Bay Airport is located beside Boundary Bay and east of Ladner, British Columbia, Ladner in Delta, British Columbia, Delta, British Columbia, Canada, south southeast of Vancouver and close to the Poin ...

, on its north flank, is used by small aircraft and has been the setting for various film shoots.

References

External links

Birds on the BayFilm footage of Centennial Beach in 1958A Nature Guide to Boundary Bay
Author's Site.

Photographer's Site. {{British Columbia hydrography Bays of British Columbia Bays of Washington (state) Landforms of Lower Mainland Bodies of water of Whatcom County, Washington Delta, British Columbia Surrey, British Columbia White Rock, British Columbia Important Bird Areas of British Columbia