Centennial
Beach is on the west side of Boundary Bay, which is off
of the Strait of Georgia. The beach here is a very extensive
tide flat with sand stretching as far as you can see. A stream
travels down the beach and out to the Bay, but even the stream is
nearly out of view from the shoreline. It is literally over a
mile from the shoreline to the waters of the Bay during low tide.
There are some tide pools on the sand when you approach the
stream and some eel grass beds in and near the stream. A few
stranded crab traps tend to dot the tide flat and provide the only home
for the few gastropod species you find here. Batillaria are the
only common gastropod here and they are extremely abundant.
Out
on the tide flat looking west back toward the shore
Near stream midway out,
looking east across the
bay
Species List:
Following is a list of mollusk species observed at this
location by members and associates of the club. This is by no
means a complete list of the species which may occur at this site.
Revisions and additions to the data are made as we acquire new
information. When a site contains more than one very distinctive
type of habitat or if multiple sites were included in a single
location, then a
species list for each is included. We indicate
frequency of occurrence based on our observations. This is an
indicator of how likely it is that you may be able to find this
species yourself and is not a formal population survey.
Frequency Code:
(Based on the assumption that you are looking in the appropriate
location where the species
likes to live - on rocks, in sand, etc. Some populations fluctuate seasonally. Ours are based
on the spring/summer seasons.) [4] - Rare - very difficult to find, maybe only a couple found after repeated visits to the site [3] - Uncommon - difficult to find, may not see on every trip but dedicated searching may turn up a few [2] - Common - easy to find, should locate a number of them on any given day [1] - Abundant - very easy to find, large numbers should be seen on every trip
