Strathcona-Westmin Provincial Park is a Class B

provincial park Ischigualasto Provincial Park A provincial park (or territorial park) is a park administered by one of the provinces of a country, as opposed to a national park. They are similar to state parks in other countries. They are typically open to the ...

located at the southern extremity of

Buttle Lake Buttle Lake is a lake on Vancouver Island in Strathcona Regional District, British Columbia, Strathcona Regional District, British Columbia, Canada. It is about long and wide, has an area of , is up to deep, and lies at an elevation of . The ...

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...

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 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. The park was separated out from

Strathcona Provincial Park Strathcona Provincial Park is the oldest provincial park in 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 Rock ...

BC Parks BC Parks is an Government agency, agency of the British Columbia British Columbia Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy that manages all of the, as of 2020, 1,035 List of British C ...

in 1987 so that mining operations could proceed within park boundaries. Strathcona-Westmin is expected to be reabsorbed into Strathcona Provincial Park once mining operations cease.

Description

Strathcona-Westmin hosts a dense

temperate rainforest Temperate rainforests are rainforests with coniferous or Broad-leaved tree, broadleaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive heavy rain. Temperate rainforests occur in oceanic moist regions around the world: the Pacific temperate ...

ecosystem set in the rugged terrain of the central

Vancouver Island Ranges The Vancouver Island Ranges, formerly called the Vancouver Island Mountains, are a series of mountain ranges extending along the length of Vancouver Island which has an area of . The Vancouver Island Ranges comprise the central and largest part ...

. Much like the surrounding park, Strathcona-Westmin is a popular destination for

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

, backcountry camping, and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

. The park also features Myra Falls, a tiered

waterfall A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...

that empties into Buttle Lake, and Upper Myra Falls, a punchbowl waterfall located further upstream.

Myra Falls Operation

Myra Falls Operation is an

underground mine Mining is the extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agricultural processes, or feasibly created artificially in a la ...

located within a large stratiform basin in the centre of Strathcona-Westmin Provincial Park. It is owned by Nyrstar Myra Falls Ltd., a subsidiary of European mining company

Nyrstar Nyrstar is an international producer of minerals and metals. It was founded in August 2007 and listed on the Euronext Brussels that October. Nyrstar has mining, smelting and other operations located in Europe, the United States and Australia an ...

. Mining operations were first approved by the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum Resources on 6 April 1970. The mine started as two small open pits, but quickly became an

with several expansions made since 1980. The mine produces

ore Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically including metals, concentrated above background levels, and that is economically viable to mine and process. The grade of ore refers to the concentration ...

containing

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

zinc Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic tabl ...

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

, and

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

. It has an annual capacity of 1.4 million tonnes of ore.

References

External links

* {{British Columbia parks Provincial parks of British Columbia Mid Vancouver Island 1989 establishments in British Columbia Protected areas established in 1989

Description

Myra Falls Operation

See also

References

External links