Telegraph Creek

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Telegraph Creek
Canada British Columbia location map 2.svg
Red pog.svg
Coordinates: 57°54′N131°10′W / 57.900°N 131.167°W / 57.900; -131.167 [1] Coordinates: 57°54′N131°10′W / 57.900°N 131.167°W / 57.900; -131.167 [2]
CountryCanada
Province British Columbia
Regional district Kitimat–Stikine
Area
[3]
 • Total1.46 km2 (0.56 sq mi)
Population
 (2016) [3]
 • Total53
 • Density36/km2 (94/sq mi)

Telegraph Creek is a small community located off Highway 37 in northern British Columbia at the confluence of the Stikine River and Telegraph Creek. [4] The only permanent settlement on the Stikine River, it is home to approximately 250 members of Tahltan First Nation and non-native residents. The town offers basic services, including Anglican and Catholic churches, a general store, a post office, a clinic with several nurses on-call around the clock, two Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers, and a K-9 school. Steep river banks and rocky gorges form the terraced nature of the geography.

Contents

The community includes Telegraph Creek Indian Reserve No. 6, Telegraph Creek Indian Reserve No. 6A, and Guhthe Tah Indian Reserve No. 12 [5] [6] [7] which are under the governance of the Tahltan First Nation of Telegraph Creek. Stikine Indian Reserve No. 7, which is one mile west (downstream) and on the opposite side of the Stikine River, is under the governance of the Iskut First Nation of the settlement of Iskut, which is on the river of the same name. The two bands together comprise the Tahltan Nation.

Tahltan (or Nahanni) refers to a Northern Athabaskan people that live around Telegraph Creek, Dease Lake and Iskut.

History

The Stikine region is the traditional home of the Tahltan people, who have lived there for generations. The modern history of the Telegraph Creek and Dease Lake area dates back to the 1860s and 1870s with the Stikine and Cassiar Gold Rushes. Telegraph Creek witnessed the discovery of gold by prospectors on the Stikine River in the 1860s and was the head of navigation. In 1866, the construction of the Russian-American Telegraph line to the Yukon gave Telegraph Creek its name.

As early as 10,000 years ago, the Tahltan people used obsidian from the Mount Edziza volcanic complex to make tools and weapons for trading material. This is the main source of obsidian found in northwestern British Columbia. [8] [9]

In 1874, Nellie Cashman, nicknamed "the Angel of Cassiar", opened a boarding house for miners in Telegraph Creek during the Cassiar gold rush. [10]

Author Edward Hoagland wrote extensively about Telegraph Creek in his 1969 book Notes from the Century Before: A Journal from British Columbia in which he reveals the presence of a high level of ghost activities. [11] [12]

Recreation

Telegraph and its surrounding areas are known for their hiking, riverboating, camping, hunting and fishing. There are organized tours lasting from half a day to several days.

The area surrounding Telegraph Creek holds five British Columbia Provincial parks:

Access

The road between Dease Lake, BC and Telegraph Creek is beautiful but rough, with 113 km (70 mi) of gravel, steep gradients (up to 20%), narrow passages along canyon walls with no guardrails, and sharp-angled switchbacks. Only the first 4.7 km (2.9 mi) stretch is paved. [13]

Telegraph Creek Road (also called Hwy. 51) should be driven with caution and awareness; it is suitable for most vehicles but is not recommended for large RVs and travel trailers. One source indicates that "the road is prone to washouts and rock slides". [14] [15] At times when the road is closed, the government of BC provides warnings on its www.DriveBC.ca Web site. [16]

The community can also be reached by water, via the Stikine River from Alaska and by air.

Notable people from Telegraph Creek

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stikine River</span> River in British Columbia and Alaska

The Stikine River is a major river in northern British Columbia, Canada and southeastern Alaska in the United States. It drains a large, remote upland area known as the Stikine Country east of the Coast Mountains. Flowing west and south for 610 kilometres (379 mi), it empties into various straits of the Inside Passage near Wrangell, Alaska. About 90 percent of the river's length and 95 percent of its drainage basin are in Canada. Considered one of the last truly wild large rivers in British Columbia, the Stikine flows through a variety of landscapes including boreal forest, steep canyons and wide glacial valleys.

Tahltan First Nations people native to northern British Columbia, Canada

The Tahltan or Nahani are a First Nations people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group who live in northern British Columbia around Telegraph Creek, Dease Lake, and Iskut. The Tahltan constitute the fourth division of the Nahane.

Dease Lake is a small community located in the Cassiar Country of the Northern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It is located a few hours south of the Yukon border on Stewart–Cassiar Highway at the south end of the lake of the same name. Dease Lake is the last major centre before the Alaska Highway while driving north bound, and also the junction to Telegraph Creek and the Grand Canyon of the Stikine. Dease Lake Indian Reserve No. 9 is located nearby and is under the governance of the Tahltan First Nation band government.

Iskut is a small, mostly Indigenous community in the Stikine Country of northwestern British Columbia. It is located on Highway 37, at the north end of Eddontenajon Lake just south of Dease Lake and the crossing of the Stikine River.

Kinaskan Lake Provincial Park Provincial park in British Columbia

Kinaskan Lake Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, located at the south end of Kinaskan Lake along the Stewart-Cassiar Highway near Mowdade Lake and southeast of Mount Edziza. At the south end of the park, the Iskut River, of which the lake is an expansion, spills over 12.2-metre Cascade Falls. The park is approximately 800 ha. in size.

Mount Edziza Provincial Park Provincial park in British Columbia

Mount Edziza Provincial Park is a provincial park in Cassiar Land District of northern British Columbia, Canada. It was established on 27 July 1972 to protect the Mount Edziza volcanic complex and the surrounding Tahltan Highland.

Mount Edziza

Mount Edziza is a stratovolcano in the Stikine Country of northwestern British Columbia, Canada. The volcano and the surrounding area are protected within Mount Edziza Provincial Park. It consists of multiple peaks and ridges, with several glaciers flowing in all directions. The summit is topped by an ice-filled caldera, which is almost 2 km (1 mi) wide. The three main peaks around the summit caldera are the southwest summit, the southeast summit and the north summit. Ice Peak overlaps the southern flank of Mount Edziza.

Spectrum Range

The Spectrum Range, formerly called the Spectrum Mountains and the Rainbow Mountains, is a subrange of the Tahltan Highland in the Stikine Country of northwestern British Columbia, 20 km west of the Stewart-Cassiar Highway, south of Mount Edziza and north of the Arctic Lake Plateau. The Spectrum Range falls within Mount Edziza Provincial Park. The range is lightly glaciated, as compared to the other ranges to the west. It is accessible only by foot or via helicopter; there are no roads to the range.

Interior Mountains Group of mountain ranges in British Columbia and Yukon

The Interior Mountains or Northern Interior Mountains are the semi-official names for an expansive collection of mountain ranges that comprises much of the northern half of the Canadian province of British Columbia and a large area of southern Yukon.

Stikine Country

The Stikine Country, also referred to as the Stikine District or simply "the Stikine", is one of the historical geographic regions of the Canadian province of British Columbia, located inland from the central Alaska Panhandle and comprising the basin of the Stikine River and its tributaries. The term Stikine–Iskut is also fairly common to describe the area, and references the Iskut River, the Stikine's largest tributary and describable as its south fork.

Tahltan, or Goon-da-chagga or Goon-tdar-shaga is an unincorporated locality and Indian reserve community of the Tahltan people located east of Telegraph Creek in northern British Columbia, Canada, near the confluence of the Stikine and Tahltan Rivers. The local First Nations government is the Tahltan Band Council. The specific name of the Indian Reserve is Tahltan Indian Reserve No. 1. Other reserves in the immediate vicinity, also governed by this band, are Tahltan Forks Indian Reserve No. 5, Upper Tahltan Indian Reserve No. 4 and Hiusta's Meadow Indian Reserve No. 2.

Stikine Plateau

The Stikine Plateau is a plateau in northern British Columbia, Canada. It lies between the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains on the west and southwest and the Cassiar Mountains along its northeast, and between the Skeena Mountains on its south and southeast and the Jennings and Nakina Rivers on the north.

The Tahltan First Nation, also known as the Tahltan Indian Band, is a band government of the Tahltan people. Their main community and reserves are located at Telegraph Creek, British Columbia. Their language is the Tahltan language, which is an Athabaskan language also known as Nahanni, is closely related to Kaska and Dunneza. Their Indian and Northern Affairs Canada band number is 682. The Tahltan First Nation is joined with the Iskut First Nation in a combined tribal council-type organization known as the Tahltan Nation.

Iskut River River in British Columbia, Canada

The Iskut River, located in the northwest part of the province of British Columbia is the largest tributary of the Stikine River, entering it about 11 km (6.8 mi) above its entry into Alaska.

Cascade Falls is a waterfall on the Iskut River in the Stikine Country of northwestern British Columbia, Canada, to the southeast of Mount Edziza and near the Stewart-Cassiar Highway. About 12.2 m (40 ft) tall, it is located at the south end of Kinaskan Lake Provincial Park.

The Tuya River is a major tributary of the Stikine River in northwest part of the province of British Columbia, Canada. From its source at High Tuya Lake in Tuya Mountains Provincial Park just south of Ash Mountain, the highest peak of the Tuya Range, the Tuya River flows south about 200 km (120 mi) to meet the Stikine River in the Grand Canyon of the Stikine. The Tuya River's main tributary is the Little Tuya River. The Tuya River divides the Tanzilla Plateau on the east from the Kawdy Plateau, to the northwest, and the Nahlin Plateau, to the southwest. All three are considered sub-plateaus of the Stikine Plateau. The Tuya River's watershed covers 3,575 km2 (1,380 sq mi), and its mean annual discharge is estimated at 36.9 m3/s (1,300 cu ft/s). The mouth of the Tuya River is located about 24 km (15 mi) northeast of Telegraph Creek, British Columbia, about 67 km (42 mi) southwest of Dease Lake, British Columbia, and about 210 km (130 mi) east of Juneau, Alaska. The Tuya River's watershed's land cover is classified as 35.7% shrubland, 31.4% conifer forest, 14.0% mixed forest, 7.2% herbaceous, and small amounts of other cover.

Classy Creek is a tributary of the Tuya River in northwest part of the province of British Columbia, Canada. It flows generally southeast and south roughly 20 km (12 mi) to join the Tuya River about 10 km (6.2 mi) north of the Tuya River's confluence with the Stikine River in the Grand Canyon of the Stikine, near Telegraph Creek Road, unofficially called Highway 51, a spur of the Stewart–Cassiar Highway.

Hartz Creek is a tributary of the Tahltan River, part of the Stikine River watershed in northwest part of the province of British Columbia, Canada. It flows generally south and southwest for roughly 14 km (8.7 mi) to join the Tahltan River about 4.5 km (2.8 mi) north of Tahltan, British Columbia at the Tahltan River's confluence with the Stikine River. Hartz Creek's watershed covers 39.1 km2 (15.1 sq mi), and its mean annual discharge is estimated at 0.315 m3/s (11.1 cu ft/s). The mouth of Hartz Creek is located about 18 km (11 mi) northeast of Telegraph Creek, British Columbia, about 73 km (45 mi) southwest of Dease Lake, British Columbia, and about 200 km (120 mi) east of Juneau, Alaska. Hartz Creek's watershed's land cover is classified as 44.2% shrubland, 30.7% mixed forest, 20.8% conifer forest, and small amounts of other cover.

The Inhini River is a tributary of the Iskut River in the northwest part of the province of British Columbia, Canada, in Cassiar Land District. From its source in the glaciers of Simma Mountain and Mount Rastus, the Inhini River flows north for about 25 km (16 mi) to the Iskut River just east of the Iskut's confluence with the Stikine River.

The Little Iskut River is a tributary of the Iskut River in the northwest part of the province of British Columbia, Canada, in Cassiar Land District. From its source at Little Ball Lake in Mount Edziza Provincial Park the Little Iskut River flows about 45 km (28 mi), generally north to the vicinity of Mowdale Lake, then southeast and south to the Iskut River just below Cascade Falls. The Little Iskut River is part of the Stikine River drainage basin, as the Iskut River is a major tributary of the Stikine.

References

  1. ↑ "Telegraph Creek". Geographical Names Data Base . Natural Resources Canada.
  2. ↑ "Telegraph Creek". Geographical Names Data Base . Natural Resources Canada.
  3. 1 2 Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2017-02-08). "Census Profile, 2016 Census - Telegraph Creek, Indian reserve [Census subdivision], British Columbia and Kitimat-Stikine, Regional district [Census division], British Columbia". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2020-09-21.
  4. ↑ "Telegraph Creek (community)". BC Geographical Names .
  5. ↑ "Telegraph Creek Indian Reserve 6". BC Geographical Names .
  6. ↑ "Telegraph Creek Indian Reserve 6A". BC Geographical Names .
  7. ↑ BCGNIS entry "Guhthe Tah Indian Reserve 12"
  8. ↑ Journey & Transformations: British Columbia Landscapes Archived 2007-10-11 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 2007-10-13
  9. ↑ Catalogue of Canadian volcanoes - Stikine Volcanic Belt: Mount Edziza Archived 2008-06-10 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 2007-10-13
  10. ↑ Kathy Weiser (2017), "Nellie Cashman – Pioneering the Mining Camps", Legends of America, Retrieved 20 January 2018
  11. ↑ Flint, R.W. (September 11, 1969). "Ah! Wilderness". The New York Review of Books . Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  12. ↑ Johnson, Tim. "Ted Hoagland: The making of an essayist". Burlington Free Press. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  13. ↑ "An Explorer's Guide to the Telegraph Creek Road". Explore North. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  14. ↑ "The unpaved road to Telegraph Creek is a Canadian classic". Dangerous Roads. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  15. ↑ "Rock slide blocking northern B.C. highway; no detour available". CTV News. November 6, 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  16. ↑ "Telegraph Creek Road west of Dease Lake closed until further notice". Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, BC. April 15, 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
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