Photos: Check out these stunning drone images of Squamish's oceanfront

Local John Buchanan took these breathtaking drone photos of Squamish's oceanfront this week. 

The first three images show the construction underway at Oceanfront Squamish. 

The 40.5-hectare (100-acre) development by Matthews West will eventually include 2,500 new homes for 6,500 residents, commercial businesses, light industry, offices, a campus, and public parks and trails. 

Most visible is the waterfront 4.5 hectare (11-acre) District Sp'akw'us Feather Park, which at build-out will include a water sports beach, recreation beach, open green spaces, slacklines, and public art installations. 

The two-year construction of the part got underway in August of 2021. 

The port

Buchanan also shows the Squamish Terminals, a deep-water, break-bulk terminal. 

The port has two berths and three warehouses.

If curious, you can track the vessel schedule on the Terminals' website. 

The Spit

Two of the images show the current status of the Squamish Spit deconstruction as part of a larger "Restore the Shore" initiative. 

The first 300 metres of the berm have been removed. 

Ultimately, 900 metres of the artificial structure will be removed. 

The project, spearheaded by the Squamish River Watershed Society, is being done in collaboration with Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) and Fisheries and Oceans Canada to improve fish habitat, particularly that of juvenile chinook.

The work is funded by the Coastal Restoration Fund, Pacific Salmon Foundation, Healthy Waters Initiative and the BC Hydro Fish & Wildlife Compensation Program (FWCP).

Planning and permit development for Phase 2 — removing the remaining 600 metres — is underway, with work anticipated to start in October 2022.

Darrell Bay

The last of Buchanan's images are of the floating dock at Darrell Bay, which includes a publicly-owned ferry dock that is part of an emergency ferry route to and from the Lower Mainland that would be available should Highway 99 become impassible.

It was originally called Shannon Bay, referring to early area settler William Shannon. 

According to the Squamish Public Library archives, Shannon arrived in the Squamish Valley in 1888 and declared it to be "fertile and good for settlers." 

He bought up properties in the area, including the area of Shannon Falls and Darrell Bay.

The name was later changed by the Burgess family for its namesake Darrell B. Burgess. The family owned the property and had established a recreational fishing camp there.

The Sḵwx̱wú7mesh name for it is Qu-tsa-tso-tsein, meaning "island in mouth."