Clams
About Butter

Faint rings or ribs are seen on the shells. Shells are rounded on both ends.

These clams are often eaten raw and they make good steamers, and fantastic chowders.

Butter clams are found on the entire west coast including Alaska. The shells are up to five inches in length, they are heavy, oval to square-shaped and externally marked with concentric rings. When young, the Butter Clam is yellowish in color and they change to a grayish-white with age.

When disturbed, the clam withdraws completely into the shell, leaving only a slight opening neck area. Butter clams are normally buried in the substrate between 8-14 inches; sport diggers use shovels or forks. They prefer sand-gravel beaches and are concentrated in the lower intertidal and shallow subtidal zone.

Some beds have been in water as deep as 60 feet. They are an important commercial and sport clam. Many people consider them the best for chowder.

Pre-Contact West Coast indigenous peoples are commonly categorized in anthropological literature as “hunter gatherers”. However, new evidence suggests they cultivated bivalves in stone-walled foreshore structures called “clam gardens” which were only accessible at the lowest of tides. Judith Williams journeyed by boat around Desolation Sound, Cortes and Quadra Islands and north to the Broughton Archipelago to document the existence of these clam gardens. The result is a fascinating book that bids to change the way we think about West Coast aboriginal culture.