Coastal Resource Information System

Biophysical Shoreline

A shoreline can be subdivided into smaller pieces, and the characteristics of each piece described, recorded and classified. British Columbia's shoreline is subdivided into pieces where the morphology, sediment texture and dynamic physical processes do not vary in the along-shore direction (morpho-dynamic homogeneity). These alongshore units are dubbed 'shoreunits'. Shoreunits are further subdivided into across-shore components, which are categorized into zones (see illustration). British Columbia's shoreline was mapped and classified between 1995 and 2002. For more information on the mapping and classification process, please refer to the following documents:

• British Columbia Physical Shoreline Mapping System
• British Columbia Biological Shore-Zone Mapping System

The Biophysical Shoreline Database is the result of this mapping effort. The database holds many attributes describing the along-shore and across-shore components of each shoreunit, but of primary interest are the following:

• Physical Coastal Class
  
• Repetitive Shore Type
• Shoreline Habitat Class
• Exposure Class
• Biological Banding
• Form and Material
• Shoreline video
• 35mm biota slide imagery