{"id":3281,"date":"2016-06-12T21:39:41","date_gmt":"2016-06-13T04:39:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leslieval.com\/?p=3281"},"modified":"2016-06-12T21:39:41","modified_gmt":"2016-06-13T04:39:41","slug":"walking-a-curious-shoreline-and-road-hornby-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leslieval.com\/?p=3281","title":{"rendered":"WALKING A CURIOUS SHORELINE AND ROAD \u2013 Hornby Island"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"IMG_1679\"<\/a>Walking the shoreline south from Ford Bay on Hornby Island toward the south end of the \"IMG_1692\"<\/a>island at Norman Point is an other-worldly experience. The shore is composed of layers of sandstone, each of which seems to weather differently under the vigorous assault of waves and wind. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This is the northern extent of the strong katabatic winds that often descend from the mountainous backbone of Vancouver Island and are here called the Qualicum winds. They result from a pressure imbalance between west and east and a gap in the mountains that lets the wind funnel through. Similar downslope winds exist all around the world including the Santa Annas of Southern California, the Chinooks of the Rockies, the Mistral of southern France and many more. As we passed a portion of this shoreline yesterday, white spray flew upward in great white mustaches as wave after wave crashed in.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"IMG_1715\"<\/a>At some places, the sandstone surface is pockmarked with thousands of small holes, some still containing water and tiny sea creatures from the previous tides and waves. At others, large cavities are etched out of creamy featureless sandstone cliffs. Walking over this landscape feels at times as if one is flying over some part of Southern Utah or perhaps some distant villages and canyons in exotic eastern Turkey or North Africa.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n