Life on the reef revealed during super-low tide
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Updated: June 25, 2009 5:49 PM
The rocky reef in Willow Point teems with life.
But it’s not fully seen very often.
But that was different Tuesday during the lowest tide of the year, as dozens of explorers discovered the mulitude sealife that exists in and around the reef.
The reef, which extends hundreds of metres from the shore, is seldom exposed as much as it was Wednesday. It was shortly after noon, when the tide levels dropped to a rare zero feet.
The low tide attracted curious explorers, including students in North Island distance education program. They were armed with clipboards and buckets, intent on finding as many strange creatures as possible.
They weren’t disappointed. The reef was littered with purple sea stars – clumped in piles – sea anemones, urchins, spiny sun stars, crabs of all sizes and countless examples of the strange plants and barnacles which flourish on reefs. Some explorers even found an octopus.
The reef is often partially exposed at low tide, but it’s usually only once a month that the reef is exposed enough that people can walk out several hundred metres into the Discovery Passage on top of the reef.
The next ultra-low tide will be July 21, at about 11:30 a.m. when the tide will be just 12 centimetres (0.4 feet) high.
For a rough guide to Campbell River tides, visit www.dairiki.org/tides/daily.php/cam
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