The Goat River is a tributary of the Fraser River in British Columbia, Canada. Starting in the northern reaches of the Cariboo Mountains, it flows eastward and northeastward to join the Fraser near the settlement of Crescent Spur in the Robson Valley. Including its main tributary, the Milk River, its watershed covers 66,468 hectares (164,250 acres). Other major tributaries for the river include McLeod, North Star, Whitehorse, Quartz, Diggings and Kendall creeks. [1]
The river valley was an important travel route between the Robson Valley and the forested plateaus of the Bowron Lakes region for First Nations people. After the Cariboo Gold Rush began, a pack trail along the old route was opened to connect the goldfields with the Fraser. It was surveyed by Robert Buchanan, who gave the river its current name. Later, the trail was used to supply illicit liquor to the dry camps constructing the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway through the Robson Valley. After the construction of the rail line, the route fell into disuse. [2]
The area was mostly unvisited until the 1980s, when logging activities commenced in the river valley. A road was constructed up the lower river into the Milk River valley. In 1998 the Fraser Headwaters Alliance, an environmental advocacy group based in Dunster began opposition to the expansion of logging in the watershed. The FHA constructed a major hiking trail through the drainage in order to promote the natural beauty of the area. [3] Between 1998 and 2000 a new bridge and road into the upper river valley was constructed by a logging company, McBride Forest Industries, based in nearby McBride. [4] Timber licenses in the upper drainage were approved by the provincial government. In the early 2000s resistance by local groups and the high costs of accessing the upper river forced MFI to abandon its logging plans. [2]
The river has clear and relatively cold waters, reaching a maximum yearly temperature of about 8 °C (46 °F). [5] It supports populations of bull trout and chinook salmon, both of which use the river's gravel beds as spawning sites. It also supports mountain whitefish. The Milk River is glacially fed and contributes amounts of rock flour and sediment to the lower Goat. However, above its confluence with the Milk, the upper Goat River is not glacially fed and has exceptionally clear waters. [5]
The Goat watershed contains habitat for several large mammal species, including grizzly bears, mountain goats, wolverines and wolves. [1] Caribou migrate through the area, and can be found in high concentrations in several of the tributary drainages, notably McLeod Creek. [1]
The Goat River and adjacent valleys are covered by predominantly coniferous forests, falling into four of British Columbia's biogeoclimatic zones. In the lower river valley, the wet interior cedar-hemlock zone dominates, with old-growth stands of large western red cedar present. The Engellmann spruce-subalpine fir zone covers much of the rest of the drainage. Deciduous stands are present along the river's edge. The dominant ground cover in the valley is devil's club. [1]
The lower Goat and Milk River watersheds have seen some disturbance through human activities, mostly mining and logging. A logging road follows the lower river then continues into the Milk drainage. The upper river, however, is almost completely undisturbed and contains the second largest tract of unprotected old-growth forest in the Robson Valley region, [6] after the Raush River watershed to the south.
The historical route between Barkerville and the Fraser along the Goat valley was restored by the Fraser Headwater Alliance as a recreational hiking trail in 1998. 91 kilometres (57 mi) of trail were opened up between the Robson Valley and the Bowron Lakes. This trail is part of a national trail network; it joins with the Alexander MacKenzie Heritage Trail and the Gold Rush Pack Trail. The Goat River portion includes several stream fordings and a cable car over the Milk River. [7] The river is also used by kayakers. Heli-skiing operations take place on the high slopes above the upper river. [1]
The Molalla River is a 51-mile (82 km) tributary of the Willamette River in the northwestern part of Oregon in the United States. Flowing northwest from the Cascade Range through Table Rock Wilderness, it passes the city of Molalla before entering the larger river near Canby. The Molalla is the largest Willamette tributary unblocked by a dam.
The Kootenay or Kootenai river is a major river in the Northwest Plateau, in southeastern British Columbia, Canada, and northern Montana and Idaho in the United States. It is one of the uppermost major tributaries of the Columbia River, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. The Kootenay River runs 781 kilometres (485 mi) from its headwaters in the Kootenay Ranges of the Canadian Rockies, flowing from British Columbia's East Kootenay region into northwestern Montana, then west into the northernmost Idaho Panhandle and returning to British Columbia in the West Kootenay region, where it joins the Columbia at Castlegar.
Middle Park is a high basin in the Rocky Mountains of north-central Colorado in the United States. It is located in Grand County, on the southwest slope of Rocky Mountain National Park, approximately 50 miles (80 km) west of Boulder.
The Cariboo Road was a project initiated in 1860 by the Governor of the Colony of British Columbia, James Douglas. It involved a feat of engineering stretching from Fort Yale to Barkerville, B.C. through extremely hazardous canyon territory in the Interior of British Columbia.
The Fraser Canyon is a major landform of the Fraser River where it descends rapidly through narrow rock gorges in the Coast Mountains en route from the Interior Plateau of British Columbia to the Fraser Valley. Colloquially, the term "Fraser Canyon" is often used to include the Thompson Canyon from Lytton to Ashcroft, since they form the same highway route which most people are familiar with, although it is actually reckoned to begin above Williams Lake, British Columbia at Soda Creek Canyon near the town of the same name.
Bowron Lake Provincial Park is a provincial park located in northern British Columbia, Canada, roughly 117 km (73 mi) east of the city of Quesnel. Other nearby towns include Wells and the historic destination of Barkerville. Once a popular hunting and fishing destination, today the park is protected and known for its abundant wildlife, rugged glaciated mountains, and numerous freshwater lakes.
The North Shore Mountains are a mountain range overlooking Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. Their southernmost peaks are visible from most areas in Vancouver and form a distinctive backdrop for the city.
The Rocky Mountain Trench, also known as the Valley of a Thousand Peaks or simply the Trench, is a large valley on the western side of the northern part of North America's Rocky Mountains. The Trench is both visually and cartographically a striking physiographic feature extending approximately 1,600 km (1,000 mi) from Flathead Lake, Montana to the Liard River, just south of the British Columbia–Yukon border near Watson Lake, Yukon. The trench bottom is 3–16 km (1.9–9.9 mi) wide and is 600–900 m (2,000–3,000 ft) above sea level. The general orientation of the Trench is an almost straight 150/330° geographic north vector and has become convenient as a visual guide for aviators heading north or south.
The Cariboo Mountains are the northernmost subrange of the Columbia Mountains, which run down into the Spokane area of the United States and include the Selkirks, Monashees and Purcells. The Cariboo Mountains are entirely within the province of British Columbia, Canada. The range is 7,700 square kilometres (3,000 sq mi) in area and about 245 km in length (southeast–northwest) and about 90 km at its widest (southwest–northeast).
The Macal River is a river running through Cayo District in western Belize. Sites along the river include the ancient Mayan town of Cahal Pech and the Belize Botanic Gardens. The Macal River discharges to the Belize River. There are several tributaries to the Macal River including the following streams: Privassion, Rio On, Rio Frio, Mollejon and Cacao Camp.
The British Columbia Interior, popularly referred to as the BC Interior or simply the Interior, is a geographic region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. While the exact boundaries are variously defined, the British Columbia Interior is generally defined to include the 14 regional districts that do not have coastline along the Pacific Ocean or Salish Sea, and are not part of the Lower Mainland. Other boundaries may exclude parts of or even entire regional districts, or expand the definition to include the regional districts of Fraser Valley, Squamish–Lillooet, and Kitimat–Stikine.
The Cariboo River is a tributary of the Quesnel River, one of the main tributaries of the Fraser River, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It flows through the Cariboo region of the British Columbia Interior, southeast of Prince George. Above Cariboo Lake it was formerly known as the Swamp River. The name was adopted, and replaced the former names, in 1936 in association with Cariboo Lake.
The Adams River is a tributary to the Thompson and Fraser Rivers in British Columbia, Canada. Beginning in the Monashee Mountains to the north, the Upper Adams River flows mainly southward and eventually reaches Adams Lake. The Lower Adams River begins at the southern end of the lake and flows into the extreme western end of Shuswap Lake. The river is one of the most important sockeye salmon breeding areas in North America. The run occurs in mid-October and can bring millions of fish to a concentrated area near the river mouth. Excavations of Secwepemc villages on the river have shown a long tradition of habitation and salmon fishing in the area. The river also served as an important transportation route for early logging operations in the watershed.
The Feather Headwaters is the watershed of the Feather River above Lake Oroville, totaling 3,450 sq mi (8,900 km2). Subdivided into 3 watersheds, the North Fork Feather Watershed is 1,090 sq mi (2,800 km2)—including the West Branch drainage of about 282.5 sq mi (732 km2), the East Branch North Fork Feather Watershed is 1,010 sq mi (2,600 km2), and the Middle Fork Feather Watershed is 1,350 sq mi (3,500 km2)—including the South Fork drainage of about 132 sq mi (340 km2). Headwaters drainage is impaired by the Palermo Canal at Oroville Dam, the Hendricks Canal at the West Branch Feather River, and the Miners Ranch Canal at the South Fork's Ponderosa Reservoir. Additionally, the Pacific Gas and Electric Company releases Upper Feather water into the Hyatt Generating-Pumping Plant for hydroelectric generation during daily peak demand.
The Middle Fork American River is one of three forks that form the American River in Northern California. It drains a large watershed in the high Sierra Nevada west of Lake Tahoe and northeast of Sacramento in Placer and El Dorado Counties, between the watersheds of the North Fork American River and South Fork American River. The Middle Fork joins with the North Fork near Auburn and they continue downstream to Folsom Lake as the North Fork, even though the Middle Fork carries a larger volume of water.
The Raush River is a tributary of the Fraser River in British Columbia, Canada. It drains a watershed of approximately 100,000 hectares on the eastern flanks of the Cariboo Mountains, a sub-range of the Columbia Mountains. The river joins the Fraser near the community of Dunster in the Robson Valley. The river's name is the result of a transcription error; it was originally called the Rivière au Shuswap, this was recorded on some maps as R.auSh., which then became Raush on official maps. Its source is the Raush Glacier, and major tributary creeks include Black Martin and Quanstrom.
Aylesworth Creek is a tributary of the Lackawanna River in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately 4.9 miles (7.9 km) long and flows through Carbondale Township and the boroughs of Mayfield and Archbald. The watershed of the creek has an area of 6.73 square miles (17.4 km2). Part of the creek is impaired by abandoned mine drainage and/or resource extraction. The creek tends to be slightly acidic, but its iron, manganese, and aluminum concentrations do not need reduction to meet its total maximum daily load requirements. Its watershed is in the Appalachian Mountain section of the ridge and valley physiographic province. The headwaters of the creek are in the Moosic Mountains. The rock formations in the watershed mainly consist of interbedded sedimentary rock and sandstone.
Wilson Creek is a tributary of the Lackawanna River in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately 3.7 miles (6.0 km) long and flows through Fell Township. The watershed of the creek has an area of 3.82 square miles (9.9 km2). The creek is impaired by metals and pH from abandoned mine drainage. Some reaches of it also experience total flow loss. There are three discharges of acid mine drainage entering the creek: the Upper Wilson Outfall, the Lower Wilson Outfall, and the Molensky Slope Outfall. The watershed of the creek is in the Appalachian Mountain section of the Ridge and Valley physiographic province. The main rock types in the watershed are interbedded sedimentary rock and sandstone. The creek flows past areas of disturbed mining land.
Spruce Run is a tributary of Buffalo Creek in Union County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately 14 miles (23 km) long and flows through Hartley Township, Lewis Township, West Buffalo Township, White Deer Township, Buffalo Township, and Kelly Township. The watershed of the stream has an area of 27.2 square miles (70 km2). The stream has two named tributaries: Black Run and Muddy Run. It is not designated as an impaired waterbody, but it is affected by sediment and nutrients.
Rapid Run is a tributary of Buffalo Creek in Centre County and Union County in Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately 14.4 miles (23.2 km) long and flows through Miles Township in Centre County and Hartley Township, Lewis Township, West Buffalo Township, and Buffalo Township in Union County. The watershed of the stream has an area of 18.7 square miles (48 km2). Some streams in the watershed are impacted by nutrients, sediment, E. coli, and thermal radiation and one unnamed tributary is designated as an impaired waterbody. Rapid Run is a freestone mountain stream in the ridge and valley physiographic province. It flows through a lake known as Halfway Lake and also passes through the Rapid Run Gap.
Coordinates: 53°31′57″N120°33′34″W / 53.53250°N 120.55944°W
