The White Rock, White Rock

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The White Rock is located beside the City's promenade and is a popular tourist attraction.

Brought to the shores of this oceanside locale by the last glaciation, the White Rock is an important landmark for boaters and was a prominent fixture in the stories of the Semiahmoo Bay First Nations people and was also the inspiration for the name of the town. Located along the two and a half kilometre promenade on the beach front, the Rock is an interesting place to visit and enjoy both its unique and odd history.

The White Rock, located along the promenade beside the sandy and rocky beaches of Semiahmoo Bay, is an oddity among the small rocks, grassy hillside and driftwood on the beaches surrounding it. Brought from the mountains during the last glaciation, this giant bounder containing quartz, feldspar and mica was an important element of early native stories and later became the inspiration for the naming of the town.

The Coast Salish native peoples believed that the White Rock (known to the Semiahmoo peoples as P'quals which means White Top) was hurled across the Strait of Georgia from Vancouver Island by a the son of a Sea God who fell in love with a Cowichan princess. The young man who was enraged they were not permitted to marry threw the rock and declared they would move to wherever it landed. These settlers later became the Semiahmoo First Nation.

This distinctive boulder weighs over 486 tonnes and was coloured white initially by shellfish eating seagulls whose guano covered the rock. It was so identifiable that sailors passing through the area used it as a beacon. Now the rock gets a fresh coat of paint annually to keep it white as it is a frequent target for graffiti.

This landmark with an interesting history is an unique stop along the two and a half kilometre White Rock promenade.