Britannia Beach, British Columbia

Britannia Beach is a small community of about 300 people on the mainland shore of Howe Sound in British Columbia. It has long been the most notorious mining ground in North America, being still extremely polluted years after the mining operation shut down.

It is located approximately 30 kilometers north of Vancouver on the Sea-to-Sky Highway. The town is host to the British Columbia Museum of Mining, on the grounds of the old Britannia Mines.

The Post Office opened on January 1, 1907 and was named after the mine nearby, which was named after the Britannia Range it situated on. The mountain in term was named after the ship HMS Britannia (III) in 1859 by Captain Richards. In late 19th century and until mid-20th century, Britannia was the largest copper mine in the British Commonwealth. Its ownership later shifted to Anaconda Mining, a now-defunct US-based company.

In 1940s, there were talks to build an artist village in Britannia's hills. But that did not proceed.

Ferries services stopped around May 1965.

After Anaconda gave up the mine in 1974 because it is no longer profitable, it did not attempt to clean up the chemical wastes that the mine still produces autommtically, since the British Columbian and federal laws did not require them to do so. The economy of the town diminished rapidly, and the railway station shut down soon after.

The water in Britannia Creek is extremely clear and trasnparent -- which is a bad sign, since that means no living creatur can survive it. The river water cannot be consumed by human either.

A Vancouver-based accounting firm bought the entire town, making Britannia still a "company town". The living conditions were less than idea and the accounting firm did not attempt to clean up the polluted land either. All residents were tenants of the company.

In 1950s?, about 100 Britannia residents died after a flood. In 1991, another flood occurred, although there was no casualty this time. Miscalculation of the dynamite caused the explosion at the dam to cause more troubles than anticipated.

The 250 Britannia residents in 2000 are in fact mostly not the descendants of the miners, most of whom have long ago moved away. Many present-day Britannia residents have moved here in the past 10 or 20 years. Nevertheless, most of these enduring residents have chosen to reside in Britannia despite the difficulties.

In summer 2003, the provincial government took up the responsibility and bought the town from the firm and took it upon itself to finance the land reclamation and cleanup projects. A highway will pass right thru Britannia and the new town will host 5000 people. Some BC observers speculate that this generous deed is to give southern BC a better image in time for the 2010 Winter Olympics that it will host.

Scientists from the University of British Columbia designed the