What are Clam Gardens?

Clam gardens are beach flats that have been expanded for clams to grow in a larger area of a specific intertidal zone. The different species of clams, like all creatures of the shoreline, live in specific zones of the intertidal that meet their unique needs for food, water, and sediment. A “clam garden” or “wuwuthim” in Tla’amin language, is a natural clam beach that has been cleared of rocks and terraced with a rock wall to increase clam production. The wall acts as a barrier for sand to build up against,to create a longer flat area of shallow water.

These rock walls could be anywhere in size from 0.5 to 2 metres tall, and span many kilometres along the shoreline. By extending the beach flat seaward and clearing the beach of large cobbles, clam gardens create more suitable habitat or living space for clams. It is important to have a clear beach for clams because they need to get oxygen from the water and air above them.

To keep the clam garden healthy for the clams, the beach was constantly dug to introduce clean, oxygenated sea water into the ground. Also, any rocks that roll onto the beach, or are swept up with the tide need to be cleared and added to the wall. It is only with constant care and maintenance that a clam garden will flourish and provide many clams.

Clam gardens are found throughout Tla’amin territory, and the archaeological record reveals that the practice was quite wide spread; Northwest Coast peoples from Alaska south to Washington state built and used clam gardens.