Sunset Beach

Sunset Beach is actually several beaches, held in place against three large rock groins just west of the Burrard Bridge on the north side of the entrance of False Creek. The inner shorelines of English Bay are oblique to the dominant wave action, which arrives from the west (roughly), so beaches don't stay put unless there's a natural promontory or an artificial structure of some sort for them to pile up against.

AERIAL VIEW

Looking at English Bay from the air is useful, since it shows the westward orientation of the beaches not just on Sunset Beach, but also the larger beach farther west on English Bay (December 2014) and the beaches in Kitsilano (May 2016) on the south side of the bay.

This last photo shows the seawall and path just west of Sunset Beach - I guess it illustrates the challenge of creating and maintaining beaches where the orientation is wrong (especially where there is also no sediment).