Port Moody

Port Moody is a beautiful and bustling little city hiding away at the East end of the Burrard Inlet.  I just wanted to get an introduction to the waterfront and go for a quick paddle but it quickly turned into a fascinating tour of a mixed waterfront. Industrial and recreational uses seem to compete for every inch of waterfront and I saw wildlife, commercial shipping operations, high school canoe lessons, lumber mill activities, and more.
 
Most notably, I watched a chemical tanker, probably loaded with ethylene glycol, pull away from its berth and make its way out towards the second narrows.  It was leaving from the Pacific Coast Terminals which is a massive operation specializing in the transportation ethylene glycol and Sulphur – both of which are byproducts from the production of natural gas and petroleum.
 
After watching the tanker go by I checked out the Burrard Generating Station, sometimes called the Burrard Thermal Plant.  It is a 900 megawatt conventional natural gas-fired generating station.
 
While this tour took on a notably industrial tone I will be back soon to check out the amazing history and geography of the area. I am especially fascinated with the huge shell middens and artifacts from First Nations that have occupied the region for the last 10 thousand years.  Just think about that for a moment. That is roughly 400 generations. Compare that to the 9 generations since the first European visitors to Burrard Inlet and the Coast Salish claims to the land become even more formidable. 
 
Enjoy the video!