#Suquash was the site of the first #CoalMine on #VancouverIsland. It still has lots of cool ruins & abandoned #mining #industrial machinery in the middle of the forest & on the beach below. It's very isolated & you'll likely see no one else around, if you go. It's just slightly north of #PortMcNeill town centre.

I often take friends here, when visiting North Island because the site has many different elements. The forest has a section where multiple trees were split down the middle by lightening strikes. New trees, plants & fungi are growing out of the burned out trees. The beach is full of prehistoric fossils of ancient marine animals. It is well worth a day visit. Follow flags to avoid getting lost there - it's easy to lose yourself in dense forest, if the site is unfamiliar to you. Carry a big stick & poke the ground before walking ahead - to avoid falling into hidden sinkholes.

The site still needs environmental clean up. There's still lots of black, greasy, toxic water that bubbles up from underground. The government only put up danger signs but they've otherwise abandoned this site.

More info on the #history of this site:
https://www.whattherock.ca/post/suquash-beach-vancouver-islands-first-coal-mine

My photos are from 2022 visit.

#VanIsle #AbandonedPlaces #ruins #Quatsino #PacificNorthwest #RoadTrips #PNW #ExploreMore #Backroads #OutdoorAdventures #BCMiningHistory #SilentSunday #InterestingPlaces #historical #AbandonedMines #abandoned

The only #ruins left at #abandoned No.8 coal mine in #Cumberland. There used to be a huge building here but it was demolished in the 90s. Before it was torn down, it was a popular party place for local #ComoxValley teenagers. All the old mine shafts have been blocked off for public safety. There is still a large abandoned building that was part of this former large coal mine site but it's really deep into the forest & you need to bushwhack your way there. We had very limited time on this past road trip so I stuck to showing my friends the 2 easiest accesses to cool #AbandonedPlaces.

Eight mines used to operate at Comox, named No. 1 Mine through to No. 8 Mine. The workings consisted of boreholes, air shafts, mine entries, & underground network of tunnels. A rail network was also developed to link the ore piles with the town & Union Bay. Old rail bed remain in place today as public trails. A series of survey monuments also remains on the surface today. These have been tracked down, beginning with a concrete monument located slightly below ground in the vicinity of Cumberland Park & recorded to match the maps of the underground workings with the surface-level features today.

The mines at #Comox were technically advanced for their time, with partial mechanization & electrification well before 1900. The first documented use of electricity underground was in the No. 4 Mine in 1891, when four electrically-driven coal-cutters were installed.

Canadian Collieries (owned by #Dunsmuir family) Ltd. operated coal mines on Vancouver Island, including the Wellington Mines near Nanaimo & Comox Mines at Cumberland. Comox Mines had earlier been operated by Union #Colliery Company, the first of the mines being opened in 1888. The last of the Comox Mines, the No.8 Mine, was closed in 1953.

#BCMiningHistory #AbandonedMines #VancouverIsland #VanIsle #PacificNorthwest #PNW #BChistory #VancouverIslandHistory #photography #graffiti #InTheForest #No8Mine #CoalMiningHistory

#Moss covered big leaf maple trees are the main tree species growing in & around the trails & #riparian zones at #HeadquartersTownsite Park in #Merville on #VancouverIsland.

This is a view of part of the #TsolumRiver.

In 1964, Mount Washington Copper Mining Co. moved into its watershed & built a copper mine. By 1966, they left the area after extracting 940,000 tonnes of waste rock. Even though mining lasted only 3 years, repercussions of the mining practices can still be seen today. What was once a river that was sprawling with 15,000 coho salmon depleted to only 14 by 1984. In 1997, Tsolum River Task Force was formed by over 200 local residents with the goal of restoring Tsolum River's health & productivity.

The river previously supported large populations of salmon, steelhead & cutthroat trout & contributed significantly to the local economy. The economic benefit to the community, in 2007 dollars, was estimated at $2.7 million annually. Past remediation efforts have contributed to improved water quality in the Tsolum River. However, further improvement is needed in order to allow restoration of the fisheries resource.

A 6-ways partnership was founded in 2001 between the BC Ministry of Environment, Timber West, Tsolum River Restoration Society, Pacific Salmon Foundation, Environment Canada & Fisheries & Oceans Canada.
This partnership led to a successful wetland project, which reduced the copper levels to the point that fish stocks have now returned to the Tsolum River. The wetland has a limited life of 5-10 years, after which copper leachate will again impact the emerging fish populations.

Recommended reading:

https://thenarwhal.ca/three-years-of-mining-40-years-of-taxpayer-clean-up-for-river-downstream-of-vancouver-island-copper-mine/

https://charlesbrandt.ca/state-of-the-tsolum-report/

https://www.tsolumriver.org/reports.html

https://www.tsolumriver.org/recovery-plan.html

Access to this part of the river is on Farnham Rd.

#ComoxValley #PuntledgeBlackCreek #nature #rivers #VanIsle #PacificNorthwest #Cascadia #RiversOfVanIsle #BCRivers #WaterIsLife #watershed #MoodyMonday #ecological #ecosystems #SocialBC #Courtenay #RiverRestoration #NatureRestoration #WaterRestoration #VancouverIslandHistory #BCMiningHistory