Maritimes - Summer 2008

July 5 - 25, 2008

Day 18 - July 22: Parlee Beach, Dune de Bouctouche, Spring, & Dorchester Copper Mine: Parlee Beach

We had heard about the famously warm waters of Parlee Beach but as we were having our pizza dinner huddled behind one of the lifeguard chairs to protect us from the chilly wind, we weren't so sure about going for a swim. But Samantha would not be deterred. Shivering already as she was putting on her bathing suit, she was determined to go for a swim and luckily for her, Rubby was willing to wade on over to the 'island' with her. We even saw a couple of jelly fish! In the end we were happy to have visited when the beach wasn't so crowded. :)

Oh and the water was rated as fair/passable today. (!)

From the earthcache description:
"Parlee Beach, with its limited shore frontage, is one of the most popular beaches (400,000 visitors/year) in the Atlantic Provinces of Canada. However, development of visitor facilities and intensive visitor use prior to the 1970's resulted in the destruction of its beach-dune environment. A decreased quality of visitor experience due to the erosion of the sand beach resulted in public outcry for its restoration. This resoration was achieved in the late 1970's and as a result, this is a spectacular place of recreation and relaxation.

The beach and dunes of Parlee Beach are the result of constant action of the wind, tides, and ocean currents. After every storm, the shape of the dunes change. Critical to the retention of the dunes are the dune grasses in the spring, summer, and fall; and the snow and ice in the winter.

Sand on the beach is constantly being moved around. As you can see, each wave that comes in pushes around the sand on the beach, turning the ocean water at the shore brown. The difference in energy between summer and winter waves drastically changes the look of the beach.

To examine this seasonal change, it is good to have names for the different parts of the beach. In this case, we’ll look at three parts, the backshore, the foreshore, and offshore.

The backshore begins at the vegetated cliffs to the high tide level and is comprised of the berm and berm crest. The berm is the relatively flat sandy area where everyone loves to put their beach towels. At the berm crest, beach slopes more steeply to the high tide level. The width of the berm changes seasonally. During the summer it is wider than during the winter. This change in width results in the moving shoreward or seaward of the next two zones.

The foreshore begins at the high tide line and stretches to the low tide line. This section of beach in usually slopes downward at a uniform level. Because of the tides, this section of beach is periodically below sea level or above sea level.

Beyond the foreshore is the offshore beginning begins at the low tide line and extending off shore. This section of the beach is always below sea level but constantly affected by the waves. The offshore profile changes seasonally. During the summer, it is a relatively uniform slope down. During the winter, a trough (low point) forms with mounds of sand (bars) eroded from the berm shoreward and seaward of the trough.

The seasonal changes noted above are caused by the different energy levels of summer and winter waves. Winter storms generate shallow waves with more energy than summer waves. The winter waves erode sand off the beach and store it in offshore bars.

The winter waves are generated by local storms. They form large waves that do not extend deep beneath the ocean surface. Thus as they crash on the shore they have enough energy to pick up sand and pull it off of the foreshore into deeper water where the shallow waves do not reach. The largest storm generated waves also erode the face of the berm crest, reducing the width of the berm. The sand is then deposited in sandbars off-shore.

During summer, the waves are generated by storms far out to sea. These waves are milder but because they have been traveling across greater distances, they have developed into deeper waves. As these waves come to shore they pick up the sand that was deposited int he off-shore sand bars and transport it back onto the foreshore. As the water flows back to the ocean, there is not enough energy to transport as much sand as the wave brought onto the forshore back off shore, resulting in a net gain of sand. This results in the gradual build up of the berm crest and the berm widens for the summer."

A stop to pick up pizza for our supper on the beach.

Huddled behind a life guard chair for shelter from the wind,
we enjoy a lovely pizza picnic for dinner.

The dutiful dad heads for the waters with the little girl who insisted on going swimming.

Samantha skipping across the sandy beach.

Samantha and Rubby on their little island.

Skipping rocks

Brrrr... and they say this is warmest ocean beach in the maritimes!

A jellyfish.

Despite shivering from the cold, Samantha insisted on one last trip to the island.

A happy little girl.

Birds flying by as the sun sets.

The fools who braved the waters at Parlee Beach.

Before we leave, we take a picture of the sand dune for the earthcache requirement.

Shouldn't this lighthouse be closer to the water?

While rubby gets a few more caches in the area,
Samantha checks out the playground at the beach.

Samantha's first time on the fireman's pole.

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