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Provincial Park - British Columbia, Canada
Botanical Beach is located on San Juan Point in Botany Bay at the northern end of Juan de Fuca Provincial Park on the south coast of Vancouver Island, about 50 miles west-northwest of Victoria and near Port Renfrew. Juan de Fuca Provincial Park was established on April 4, 1996, by combining three former parks into one. Botanical Beach offers one of the best opportunities to view intertidal marine creatures and plants on Vancouver Island. The area features 251 hectares of upland habitat and is best known for its abundance of intertidal life including red, purple and orange starfish and sea urchins, white gooseneck barnacles, blue mussels, green sea anemones, and sea cucumbers. The region is so biologically significant that the University of Minnesota installed the first marine research station in the Pacific Northwest at Botanical Beach in 1901. The area has been used for research by numerous universities in BC and Washington. A low tide of 1.2m or less is best for viewing the tide pools. The park often experiences rough surf and rogue waves, so swimming is not recommended.