Crater Creek

Last updated
Crater Creek
Canada British Columbia relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Mouth of Crater Creek
Location
Country Canada
Province British Columbia
District Cassiar Land District
Physical characteristics
Source Mount Philippa
 • location Coast Mountains
 • coordinates 55°11′4″N128°51′20″W / 55.18444°N 128.85556°W / 55.18444; -128.85556 [1]
 • elevation1,425 m (4,675 ft) [2]
Mouth Ksi Sii Aks
 • coordinates
 55°6′8″N128°58′41″W / 55.10222°N 128.97806°W / 55.10222; -128.97806 [3] [2]
 • elevation
200 m (660 ft) [4]
Length25 km (16 mi) [5]
Basin size104 km2 (40 sq mi), [6]
Discharge 
 • average4.21 m3/s (149 cu ft/s) [6]
Basin features
Topo map NTS 103P2 Lava Lake

Crater Creek is a tributary of Ksi Sii Aks (formerly "Tseax River") [3] and part of the Nass River watershed in northern part of the province of British Columbia, Canada. [7]

Contents

It flows generally south and west for roughly 25 km (16 mi) [5] to join Ksi Aii Aks, which flows into Nass River near the community of Gitlaxt'aamiks (formerly "New Aiyansh"). Crater Creek's watershed covers 104 km2 (40 sq mi), [6] and is mostly within the Nisga'a Memorial Lava Bed Protected Area and Nisga'a Memorial Lava Bed Provincial Park. [8] [9] The creek's mean annual discharge is estimated at 4.21 m3/s (149 cu ft/s). [6]

The mouth of Crater Creek is located about 122 km (76 mi) northeast of Prince Rupert, British Columbia, about 425 km (264 mi) northwest of Prince George, British Columbia, about 170 km (110 mi) east of Ketchikan, Alaska; about 760 km (470 mi) north of Vancouver, British Columbia, and about 485 km (301 mi) southeast of Juneau, Alaska. Crater Creek's watershed's land cover is classified as 45.5% conifer forest, 25.5% barren, 14.0% shrubland, and small amounts of other cover. [6]

Crater Creek lies within the traditional territory of the Nisga'a First Nation. Most of the creek's drainage is in Nisga'a Memorial Lava Bed Provincial Park (Nisga'a: Anhluut'ukwsim Lax̲mihl Angwinga'asankswhl Nisg̲a'a), which was included in the Nisga'a Treaty in 2000. It was the first provincial park in British Columbia to be jointly managed by the government and a First Nation. [10]

Geography

Crater Creek originates in glaciers on the north slope of Mount Philippa. [11] It flows north through an icy and barren land for about 2 km (1.2 mi) before turning west and entering shrublands and coniferous forests. After flowing west for about 3.5 km (2.2 mi) Crater Creek turns south, flowing through a valley between Mount Philippa on the east and other highlands of the Hazelton Mountains on the west. [2] [12] [13]

The creek flows south for about 11 km (6.8 mi) before entering Melita Lake, [14] after which the creek turns west. The volcanic vent Tseax Cone is just south of Melita Lake. [15] After passing Tseax Cone the creek flows generally west through lava beds for about 6.5 km (4.0 mi). It passes just north of Lava Lake before passing under the Nisga'a Highway and joining Ksi Sii Aks, a tributary of the Nass River. [2] [12] [13]

History

The Tseax Cone, along lower Crater Creek, was the source of an eruption during the 18th century that killed approximately 2,000 Nisga'a people from poisonous volcanic gases, and at least three villages were destroyed, making it one of the most deadly natural disasters in Canadian history.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Derived from BCGNIS, topographic maps, and Toporama
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Toporama (on-line map and search)". Atlas of Canada . Natural Resources Canada . Retrieved 7 February 2025.
  3. 1 2 "Crater Creek". BC Geographical Names .
  4. ↑ Elevation derived from ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model, using Toporama, BCGNIS coordinates, and topographic maps.
  5. 1 2 Length measured using BCGNIS coordinates, topographic maps, and Toporama
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "Northwest Water Tool". BC Water Tool. GeoBC, Integrated Land Management Bureau, Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Government of British Columbia. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
  7. ↑ "Crater Creek". Geographical Names Data Base . Natural Resources Canada.
  8. ↑ "Nisga'a Memorial Lava Bed Protected Area". BC Geographical Names .
  9. ↑ "Nisga'a Memorial Lava Bed Park". BC Geographical Names .
  10. ↑ "Anhluut'ukwsim Lax̱mihl Angwinga'asanskwhl Nisg̱a'a Park [a.k.a. Nisg̱a'a Memorial Lava Bed Park]". BC Parks . Retrieved 7 February 2025.
  11. ↑ "Mount Philippa". BC Geographical Names .
  12. 1 2 Mussio, Russell; Mussio, Wesley (2018). Northern BC Backroad Mapbook. Mussio Ventures. p. 47. ISBN   979-8986387901 . Retrieved 7 February 2025.
  13. 1 2 British Columbia Road & Recreation Atlas. Benchmark Maps. 2024. p. 131. ISBN   978-1-926806-87-7.
  14. ↑ "Melita Lake". BC Geographical Names .
  15. ↑ "Tseax Cone". BC Geographical Names .
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.