The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch 3,000 miles in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in the southwestern United States. Depending on differing definitions between Canada and the U.S., its northern terminus is located either in northern British Columbia's Terminal Range south of the Liard River and east of the Trench, or in the northeastern foothills of the Brooks Range/British Mountains that face the Beaufort Sea coasts between the Canning River and the Firth River across the Alaska-Yukon border. Its southernmost point is near the Albuquerque area adjacent to the Rio Grande rift and north of the Sandia–Manzano Mountain Range. Being the easternmost portion of the North American Cordillera, the Rockies are distinct from the tectonically younger Cascade Range and Sierra Nevada, which both lie farther to its west.
The Canadian Rockies or Canadian Rocky Mountains, comprising both the Alberta Rockies and the British Columbian Rockies, is the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains. It is the easternmost part of the Canadian Cordillera, which is the northern segment of the North American Cordillera, the expansive system of interconnected mountain ranges between the Interior Plains and the Pacific Coast that runs northwest–southeast from central Alaska to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico.
The Liard River of the North American boreal forest flows through Yukon, British Columbia and the Northwest Territories, Canada. Rising in the Saint Cyr Range of the Pelly Mountains in southeastern Yukon, it flows 1,115 km (693 mi) southeast through British Columbia, marking the northern end of the Rocky Mountains and then curving northeast back into Yukon and Northwest Territories, draining into the Mackenzie River at Fort Simpson, Northwest Territories. The river drains approximately 277,100 km2 (107,000 sq mi) of boreal forest and muskeg.
Liard River is a small community in northern British Columbia, Canada. It has a population of about 100 people. It is located at Kilometre 799 of the Alaska Highway, near the border of British Columbia and the Yukon Territory.
Fort Nelson is a community in northeast British Columbia, Canada, within the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality (NRRM). It held town status prior to 6 February 2009, when it amalgamated with the former Northern Rockies Regional District to form the NRRM, becoming its administrative centre. The NRRM is the first regional municipality in the province.
The Northern Rockies Regional Municipality (NRRM), formerly the Northern Rockies Regional District (NRRD), and before that the Fort Nelson–Liard Regional District, is a municipality in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. Although portrayed as a regional municipality in its official name, and existing on the same administrative level as a regional district, it is actually classified as a district municipality. The NRRM's offices are located in Fort Nelson, formerly an incorporated town that amalgamated with the NRRD on February 6, 2009 to form the NRRM. With the Peace River Regional District as the southern part, it was the northern part of the Peace River-Liard Regional District, which was split into two on October 31, 1987.
The Kechika River is a tributary of the Liard River, about 300 kilometres (190 mi) long, in northern British Columbia, Canada. The Kechika flows generally northwest through the northernmost section of the Rocky Mountain Trench before turning east to join the Liard, a major branch of the Mackenzie River system. The river's 22,700 km2 (8,800 sq mi) drainage basin is characterized by high glaciated peaks, boreal forest, and open tundra. With no settlements, roads or dams along its course, the Kechika is considered "one of British Columbia's finest examples of wilderness and undisturbed wildlife habitat."
The Muskwa River flows 257 kilometres (160 mi) through northern British Columbia, Canada. It is a major tributary of the Fort Nelson River - part of the Mackenzie River system. The river rises at Fern Lake in the Bedaux Pass in the Northern Rocky Mountains. From there, it flows generally east, then north, and then east again to meet with the Fort Nelson River just east of the town of Fort Nelson. The river drops approximately 1,100 metres (3,600 ft), its course taking it down the Rocky Mountain foothills through sub-alpine and boreal forest to meander across the forest and muskegs of the vast Liard River plains. From mouth to headwater, prominent tributaries include the Prophet River, Tuchodi River, and Gathto Creek. Much of the upper portions of this wilderness river and its watershed are located in the Northern Rocky Mountains Provincial Park, which is part of the larger Muskwa-Kechika Management Area. The region is a popular wilderness recreation destination.
Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. It is home to the second largest natural hot springs in Canada, after Deer River Hot Springs 15 km to the north east. It is a natural river of hot water rather than a spring fed man made pool. The park is part of the larger Muskwa-Kechika Management Area. The community of Liard River, British Columbia is located nearby.
Muncho Lake is a lake in northern British Columbia, Canada.
Toad River, originally Toad's River Post, is a highway service community in northern British Columbia, Canada, located at historic Mile 422 on Highway 97, the Alaska Highway, near the confluence of the Toad and Racing Rivers. The community primarily serves travelers and tourists with a highway maintenance station; a lodge with a restaurant, campground and gas station; a public telephone and a private 3000 foot airstrip. The Toad River Lodge boasts a "world famous" collection of over 10,000 hats (2016) thumbtacked to the ceiling, many of them donated by passersby on the Alaska Highway. Two miles north, The Poplars Campground offers camping, and motel rooms during the summer months (2011).
Muncho Lake Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, located on the Alaska Highway as it transits the northernmost Canadian Rockies west of Fort Nelson. The park is part of the larger Muskwa-Kechika Management Area. It is named after Muncho Lake, which is in the park and is both the name of the lake and of the community located there.
Scatter River Old Growth Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, located on the Liard River downstream from Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Park and Liard River Corridor Provincial Park and Protected Area. The park includes the Grand Canyon of the Liard, a 30 km stretch of canyon and whitewater between the Toad and Trout River converges with the Liard. The park includes high upland plateau and muskeg as well as stands of old growth spruce forests. Established in 1999, the park is c.1140 ha. in area.
The Muskwa Ranges are a group of mountain ranges in northern British Columbia, Canada. They are part of the Northern Rockies section of the Rocky Mountains and are bounded on their west by the Rocky Mountain Trench and on their east by the Rocky Mountain Foothills. They are delimited on the north by the Liard River and on the south by the Peace Reach of the Lake Williston reservoir, south of which the next major grouping of the Rockies is the Hart Ranges.
The Hart Ranges are a major subrange of the Canadian Rockies located in northeastern British Columbia and western Alberta. The mountains constitute the southernmost portion of the Northern Rocky Mountains.
The Northern Rocky Mountains, usually referred to as the Northern Rockies, are a subdivision of the Canadian Rockies comprising the northern half of the Canadian segment of the Rocky Mountains. While their northward limit is easily defined as the Liard River, which is the northward terminus of the whole Rockies, the southward limit is debatable, although the area of Mount Ovington and Monkman Pass is mentioned in some sources, as south from there are the Continental Ranges, which are the main spine of the Rockies forming the boundary between British Columbia and Alberta. Some use the term to mean only the area north of the Peace Arm of the Williston Reservoir, and in reference to Northern Rocky Mountains Provincial Park, while others consider the term to extend all the way south, beyond the limit of the Hart Ranges at Mount Ovington, to include the McBride area, the Sir Alexander Group and Mount Robson.
The Toad River is a river in the Canadian boreal forest, within the borders of the province of British Columbia.
The Sentinel Range is one of the northernmost sub-ranges of the Canadian Rockies, lying between Muncho Lake (SW) and the Liard River (N). The northernmost is the Terminal Range, so named for its position at the terminus of the Rockies, and lies to its west.
The Trout River is a tributary of the Liard River in far northern British Columbia, Canada, flowing northwest from headwaters at 58°44′N126°14′W, near Muncho Lake, to meet the Liard at the community of Liard River. It is at the upper end of the Grand Canyon of the Liard, which is part of Liard River Corridor Provincial Park and Protected Area.
The Muskwa-Kechika Management Area is a provincially-run tract of land in the far north of British Columbia. It has an advisory board that counsels the government on land-use decisions. Established by provincial government legislation in 1998, the area is meant to be preserved as a wild area, but development is not outright forbidden; the land is divided into different zones, with varying levels of protection, although the whole area is to be used according to an overall plan. The original concept called for 25% of the land to be turned into provincial parks, 60% to become "special management zones", and 15% to become "special wild land zones", where logging would be prohibited. The original size of the M-KMA was 4,450,000 hectares. However, in 2000, with the approval of the Mackenzie Land and Resource Management Plan (LRMP), over 1,900,000 hectares were added to the M-KMA for a total area of 6,400,000 hectares —an area slightly smaller than the US state of Maine, or the entire island of Ireland, or seven times the size of Yellowstone National Park, in Wyoming.
