Introduction
The Pacific coast of Canada is a leading-edge continental margin backed by rugged mountains up to 4,000 m in elevation. It is characterised by a relatively narrow continental shelf and an irregular and mainly rocky coastal zone with countless inlets, fiords and islands (Clague and Bornhold 1980). The coastline has been extensively modified by Pleistocene glaciers and is affected by nearshore currents and waves. Energy levels are highest on exposed shores adjacent to the open North Pacific Ocean and lowest in sheltered inshore waters of the fiords and inlets.
Coast of British Columbia
The coastal areas of British Columbia can be divided broadly into three physiographic regions (Holland 1964). The first physiographic region is the Coast Mountains, into which all the fiords of mainland British Columbia extend. The Coastal Trough comprises of the Hecate Depression on the north and the Georgia Depression on the south. The Outer Mountain area includes the mountains of Haida...
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Clague, J. (2010). British Columbia. In: Bird, E.C.F. (eds) Encyclopedia of the World's Coastal Landforms. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8639-7_19
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