Little River Nature Park

Little River Nature Park is a protected area on the eastern shore of Vancouver Island in the Comox Valley Regional District. It is home to beaches, man-made ponds, an estuarine marsh, and well-drained forests dominated by Douglas-fir. The park is underlain by sand and gravel which was locally extracted in open pits; these have since become the ponds.

A 1959 soil map identifies, from north to south, the following complex units: Kye-Coastal Beach; Bowser-Custer; Parksville-Bowser. Kye loamy sand is a classic podzol with well-defined eluvial (A₂ or Ae) horizon. This series supports the well-drained forests. Coastal Beach land type represents bare or grassy regosol sand. The imperfectly drained Bowser loamy sand is podzolic but usually does not have an A₂ horizon. Similarly moist loamy sand podzolic soils with strong A₂ development are assigned to the Custer series. The Parksville sandy loam represents poorly drained gleysolic soils.

A population of the rare Seaside rein-orchid was identified on the beach. An avifauna survey found 52 bird species.

References

• [1]
• Soil Survey of Southeast Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands