Located 26km/16mi east of Vancouver, along the Barnett Highway, Port Moody hugs the end of the Burrard Inlet as a crescent shaped bay protected by the Coast Mountains.
Bordered by Coquitlam on the east and south, and Burnaby on the West, Port Moody completes the area known as the Tri-Cities which together occupy the region at the foot of Eagle Mountain. Port Moody is the smallest of the three cities – the other two being Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam.
Until fairly recently when Newport village was developed, Port Moody's neighbourhoods were well established communities; many rising up from the waterfront. These include the villages of Belcarra, a strictly residential rural community of barely 1,000, and Anmore, a semi-rural community.
Buntzen Lake
Anmore is also home to the 182ha/449ac Buntzen Lake recreation area, Vancouver's first hydro-electric project which involved bringing the water from Coquitlam Lake via a tunnel beneath Eagle Mountain. Water from Buntzen Lake then flows through penstocks down the steep mountain slope to two power plants located on Indian Arm.
Beside Anmore lies Ioco, a former company town that has since packed up shop and is awaiting redevelopment.
Untamed Wilderness
As a portal community to Belcarra Regional Park and Indian Arm parks, much of Port Moody's geography still retains a wilderness quality. While Belcarra still epitomizes the rugged, West Coast coastal rainforest – albeit somewhat tamed for recreational use, Indian Arm is as wild as ever.
Indian Arm
Formed in the Ice Age and stretching between the communities of Belcarra to the east and North Vancouver to the west, Indian Arm extends about 20km/12mi north from Burrard Inlet with cliffs of either granite or impenetrable forest that rise steeply on both sides of the narrow passage, directly into the sea.
Waterfalls at Indian Arm
There are several waterfalls including the largest, Granite Falls at the north end on the east side as well as Spray of Pearls Falls at Wigwam Creek in the north west corner, and Silver Falls on the western side at Elsay Creek. Along with Howe Sound, it is one of two saltwater fjords that lie within Metro Vancouver's environs.
Climate & Weather
Port Moody, like Vancouver, lies in a coastal temperate rainforest zone, and enjoys a mild climate with close to 2,000 hours of sunshine each year. Summer temperatures average 23°C/73°F while in January, the thermometer drops to an average of -4°C/25°F. Nestled up against the Coast Mountains, annual precipitation averages 163cm/16in and snow, when it falls, tends to melt within a few days.
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