Every town has a story.

In the case of Maple Ridge, British Columbia, it’s a story involving two quintessentially west coast industries: fishing and logging. The town’s location on the Fraser River has made it ideal for both of those things for centuries.

On our walks, we’ve certainly seen evidence of fishing, from the boats moored at Port Haney to the fresh end product proudly displayed in the fish counters of the local markets.

Today, it was the evidence of logging that took centre stage on our nature walk in the riverside portion of Kanaka Creek Regional Park. And while we were there, we found the answer to why the creek’s name sounds like it belongs in Hawaii.

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When we ride the SkyTrain to Richmond or Surrey, we cross the Fraser at an area with many, many log booms. The river there is wide and deep enough to support larger ships. I was surprised to see log booms here where the river is much narrower, but the logs aren’t necessarily awaiting transportation. Storing softwood logs in water apparently prevents staining, splitting, and decay caused by fungus and insects.

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Maple Ridge may not technically qualify as a “boom town” in the sense of boom vs. bust, but it is definitely home to “booms” of logs, and a range of lumberyards and wood processors.

It’s definitely something we didn’t know before moving here.