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Thesis
APPLICATION OF XBEACH MODELING FOR ASSESSING NATURAL AND ANTHROPOGENIC INFLUENCES ON SEDIMENT DEPOSITION AT SHINGLE POINT, BRITISH COLUMBIA
Washington State University
Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
05/2025
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000007325
Abstract
In recent years, mariculture has been the focus of numerous anthropological and archaeological studies across the Northwest Coast. Clam gardens (also termed sea gardens) were utilized by Coast Salish and other Northwest Coast peoples to provide food security, sustainability, and resilience. As elements of the built environment, they also represent significant engagements with coastal landscapes. This thesis presents research that focuses on the latter element, evaluating the potential impacts that clam gardens had on coastal landscape change in locations where they were constructed. The case study presented focuses on Shingle Point, Valdes Island, British Columbia, where a large clam garden was constructed over the last several millennia. This study uses methods including remote sensing and numerical modeling to characterize the potential changes in sedimentation and erosion associated with investments in the shorelines at the site. The objective is to consider clam gardens not just as food production features, but as large-scale agents of long-term coastal processes. The results of the simulations suggest that significant sedimentation occurs less during isolated events, and the current shape of the spit is likely the result of many different events interacting with the clam garden and shaping and extending the spit over time. The broader goal of the research is to demonstrate that process-based numerical modeling can provide a useful view of the role of clam gardens in shaping the evolution of cultural keystone places.
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Details
- Title
- APPLICATION OF XBEACH MODELING FOR ASSESSING NATURAL AND ANTHROPOGENIC INFLUENCES ON SEDIMENT DEPOSITION AT SHINGLE POINT, BRITISH COLUMBIA
- Creators
- Cameron Blumhardt
- Contributors
- Colin Grier (Chair)Rachel A. Horowitz (Committee Member)John Blong (Committee Member)Nicholas Cohn (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Department of Anthropology
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 104
- Identifiers
- 99901220471001842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis