Boundary Bay is situated on the Pacific coast of North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 on the border between the Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 province of British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

 and the U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 state of Washington.

To the north and west, Boundary Bay is bounded by the municipality of Delta

Delta, British Columbia

Delta is a district municipality in British Columbia, and forms part of Metro Vancouver. Located south of Richmond, it is bordered by the Fraser River to the north, the United States to the south and the city of Surrey to the east...

. Point Roberts, Washington, lies to the southwest. The communities of Beach Grove and Boundary Bay (both situated within Delta) are to the west, while rural East Delta is to the north. Along the eastern shore are Crescent Beach and Ocean Park in the City of Surrey

Surrey, British Columbia

Surrey is a city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is a member municipality of Metro Vancouver, the governing body of the Greater Vancouver Regional District...

; further south-east, White Rock

White Rock, British Columbia

White Rock is a city in British Columbia, Canada, that lies within the Metro Vancouver regional district. It borders Semiahmoo Bay and is surrounded on three sides by the City of Surrey, British Columbia. To the south lies the Semiahmoo First Nation, which is within the city limits of Surrey...

 and the Semiahmoo First Nation

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 of Indian Reserved just south of White Rock, British Columbia and near the Canada-United States boundary and Peace Arch Provincial Park.-...

's reserve in BC and Blaine

Blaine, Washington

Blaine is a city in Whatcom County, Washington, United States. The city's northern boundary is the Canadian border. Blaine is the shared home of the Peace Arch international monument...

 in Washington State.

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

Semiahmoo Bay

Semiahmoo Bay is the southeastern section of Boundary Bay on the Pacific coast of North America. The name "Semiahmoo" is a Coast Salish word for "half moon".From the north to south, the following communities and places are located on its shore:...

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

The main rivers flowing into the bay are the Nicomekl

Nicomekl River

The Nicomekl River springs from the ground in Langley, British Columbia and travels west through the city to Surrey's Crescent Beach, where it empties into Mud Bay, the northernmost section of the Boundary Bay of the Georgia Strait. It has a total length of 34 km, with a drainage area of...

 and Serpentine Rivers falling into Mud Bay, the Campbell River falling into Semiahmoo Bay, and California Creek and Dakota Creek falling into Drayton Harbor.
It is an important stop for birds migrating

Bird migration

Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...

 along the Pacific Flyway

Pacific Flyway

The Pacific Flyway is a major north-south route of travel for migratory birds in America, 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 to breeding grounds, or travelling to...

, particularly for Western Sandpiper

Western Sandpiper

The Western Sandpiper, Calidris or Erolia mauri, is a small shorebird.Adults have dark legs and a short thin dark bill, thinner at the tip. The body is brown on top and white underneath. They are reddish-brown on the crown. This bird can be difficult to distinguish from other similar tiny...

 and Dunlin

Dunlin

The Dunlin, Calidris alpina, is a small wader, sometimes separated with the other "stints" in Erolia. It is a circumpolar breeder in Arctic or subarctic regions. Birds that breed in northern Europe and Asia are long-distance migrants, wintering south to Africa, southeast Asia and the Middle East...

, and has been designated a Hemisphere Reserve by the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network

Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network

The Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network is a conservation strategy targeting shorebirds in the Americas launched in 1985. Its aim is to protect the nesting, breeding and staging habitats of migratory shorebirds...

 and a Canadian Important Bird Area

Important Bird Area

An Important Bird Area is an area recognized as being globally important habitat for the conservation of bird populations. Currently there are about 10,000 IBAs worldwide. The program was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International...

. The mudflat

Mudflat

Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats, are coastal wetlands that form when mud is deposited by tides or rivers. They are found in sheltered areas such as bays, bayous, lagoons, and estuaries. Mudflats may be viewed geologically as exposed layers of bay mud, resulting from deposition of...

s, extensive eel grass

Zostera

Zostera is a small genus of widely distributed seagrass, commonly called marine eelgrass or simply eelgrass . The genus Zostera contains sixteen species.-Ecology:Zostera is found on sandy substrates or in estuaries submerged or partially floating...

 beds and salt marsh

Salt marsh

A salt marsh is an environment in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and salt water or brackish water, it is dominated by dense stands of halophytic plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the salt marsh...

es support a rich population of marine invertebrate

Invertebrate

An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...

s which are an important source of energy for migrating shorebirds. During migration times the bird count in the bay may exceed 100,000. http://www.bsc-eoc.org/iba/site.jsp?siteID=BC017

The area is also used for recreational boating and includes park area and beaches. Pollution and industrial activity in the area pose potential threats to wildlife. The Boundary Bay Airport

Boundary Bay Airport

Boundary Bay Airport is located beside Boundary Bay and east of Ladner in Delta, British Columbia, Canada, south of Vancouver and close to the U.S. border. The airport, which opened 11 July 1983, serves mostly general aviation and includes facilities for aircraft maintenance, flight training,...

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

External links

• Birds on the Bay
• A Nature Guide to Boundary Bay Author's Site.
• A Nature Guide to Boundary Bay Photographer's Site.