Stikine River
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, 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 BC, the Stikine flows through a variety of landscapes including boreal forest, steep canyons and wide glacial valleys.
Known as the "fastest-flowing navigable river in North America," the Stikine forms a natural waterway from northern interior British Columbia to the Pacific coast. The river has been used for millennia by indigenous peoples including the Tlingit and Tahltan for fishing, hunting and trade. It provided access for fur traders and prospectors during the 1800s and remained an important transportation route until the 1970s, when roads were finally opened to the northern interior. However, most of the Stikine basin remains wilderness, with only a few small settlements; only two bridges, one disused, cross the river along its entire length. The river's salmon run supports large commercial and subsistence fisheries, and its extensive estuary and delta provide habitat for numerous fish and migratory bird species.
Despite its isolation, the Stikine is a destination for recreational activities including boating, hunting and fishing. The river's Grand Canyon, known for its dangerous rapids, has been called the "K2 of white-water challenges" and has only been run by a handful of expert kayakers. During the latter part of the 20th century, numerous large parks and protected areas were established in the Stikine basin, and by the beginning of the 21st century some 60 percent of the basin was under some form of conservation management. However, in recent decades the water quality and natural beauty of the Stikine have been threatened by new energy, transport and mining developments in northern BC.
Names
The river was known to the Tlingit as Shtaxʼheen, "bitter river" or "muddy river", in reference to its murky glacial waters. The Stikine group of Tlingit, Shtaxʼhéen Ḵwáan, takes its name from the river. The Tahltan called the river Spatsizi, "red goat", referring to the mountain goats whose white coats were often colored by the red earth of the region. One tributary of the upper Stikine retains the name of Spatsizi River. Another Tahltan name for the river was Tudessa, "long river", from which the Tudenekoten clan of Tahltan took its name. Russian fur traders called the river , changed to Stikine by the United States Coast Survey in 1869 after the Alaska Purchase. Other 19th century names for the river include "St. Francis River" and "Pelly's River". A historic alternative spelling was Stickeen, reflected in the short-lived British Stickeen Territories.Geography
The Stikine River basin covers about in the Stikine Region and Regional District of Kitimat–Stikine, BC, with a small portion in the City and Borough of Wrangell, Alaska. Most of the Stikine basin corresponds with the southern half of the Stikine Plateau, a vast and mostly forested region of dissected plateaus, rolling hills and narrow valleys in northwest BC. The Stikine Plateau is bordered on the east by the Cassiar Mountains and Omineca Mountains and on the south by the Stikine Ranges of the Skeena Mountains. All three ranges are part of BC's Interior Mountains. To the west are the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains, which run along the U.S.–Canada border. After collecting runoff from the Stikine Plateau, the Stikine River slices west through the Coast Mountains, emptying into the Inside Passage roughly in the middle of the Alexander Archipelago, which shelters Inside Passage waterways from the Pacific Ocean.Image:Glacier in the Knik area along the Stikine River, Alaska, circa 1908.jpg|thumb|right|The Shakes Glacier along the lower Stikine River in Alaska
The extensively glaciated Coast Mountains are the tallest mountains in the Stikine basin, with the highest point being Mount Ratz, above sea level. The highest points of the Stikine Plateau are generally around. The Cassiar and Omineca Mountains, rising, are also rugged but have less relief than the Coast Mountains due to their higher base elevation. The Tahltan Highland is located between the Coast Mountains and the Stikine Plateau. Drainage basins adjacent to the Stikine are the Taku River to the northwest, the Dease, Kechika and Finlay Rivers to the north and east, and the Skeena, Nass and Unuk Rivers to the south.
The Stikine basin is very sparsely populated; in 2005, the entire basin was home to about 1,300 people. The only established communities are Iskut, Telegraph Creek and Bob Quinn Lake, all in British Columbia. Dease Lake is located just outside the northern edge of the basin, near the Tanzilla River. The larger towns of Wrangell and Petersburg, Alaska are located close to the mouth of the river, but are not within the drainage basin. Forests cover about 50 percent of the basin, and most of the remainder is covered by treeless tundra or permanent ice and snow. About 73 percent of the basin in BC is considered to be in a wilderness or semi-wilderness condition.
Due to the rain shadow effect of the Coast Mountains, the interior Stikine basin has a much drier and more variable climate than the coast. Wrangell experiences a humid continental climate, with monthly average temperatures ranging from a low of in January to in July. The average annual precipitation is. Dease Lake, about northeast of Telegraph Creek, experiences a subarctic climate with monthly average temperatures ranging from in January to in June, and an average annual precipitation of just. In the interior, freezing temperatures are observed in six months of the year.
Course
The headwaters of the Stikine are in the Spatsizi Plateau, the southeasternmost sub-plateau of the Stikine Plateau. Originating on Mount Umbach above sea level in the Spatsizi Plateau Wilderness Provincial Park, it flows northeast through a chain of small lakes, including Tuaton and Laslui Lakes, then turns north, following a meandering course along the western foothills of the Omineca Mountains and the Cassiar Mountains. The river enters Stikine River Provincial Park, turning west at the confluence with the Chukachida River, then northwest at the confluence with the Spatsizi River. At the confluence with the Pitman River, it turns due west again, now flowing along the south side of the Three Sisters Range, then receives the Klappan River from the south. North of Iskut, it is crossed by BC Highway 37, the only road bridge across the Stikine.Image:Mt_Glenora_Stikine_Valley_01.jpg|thumb|left|View of the Stikine River valley near Glenora, BC
Below Highway 37, the river enters the Grand Canyon of the Stikine, a deep canyon cutting between the Tanzilla and Klastline Plateaus, both sub-plateaus of the Stikine Plateau. Here, it flows much more swiftly, falling in between Highway 37 and Telegraph Creek. At one point the channel narrows from wide to just wide, a place known as the "Tanzilla Slot", where it squeezes between sheer walls of volcanic rock. After receiving the Tuya and Tahltan Rivers from the north it flows through Mount Edziza Provincial Park, home to the dormant stratovolcano Mount Edziza, the central feature of the Mount Edziza volcanic complex. Just downstream is Telegraph Creek, the only permanent settlement on the river. Telegraph Creek, upstream of the Stikine's mouth, is considered the head of navigation on the Stikine.
Turning south, the Stikine flows through the Tahltan Highland along the eastern side of the Coast Mountains, where it receives numerous tributaries including the Chutine and Porcupine Rivers. The gradient flattens considerably compared to the upper course, and after the Chutine confluence it becomes wide and braided. Its course takes it around the east and south sides of the massive Stikine Icecap, the source of numerous glaciers that descend to the valley floor. John Muir, who visited the Stikine country in 1879, described the lower Stikine as "a Yosemite 100 miles long" due to its hundreds of glaciers and other glacially formed features. The Stikine is joined by its largest tributary, the Iskut River, from the east before passing the former border station of Stikine, BC where it enters Alaska. Turning west, the river cuts through the Coast Mountains for to the sea. In Alaska, the channel gradient is very low, with tidal influences felt up to upstream from the mouth.
The mouth of the Stikine forms a large delta opposite Mitkof Island about north of Wrangell and southeast of Petersburg. The main channel empties into the Eastern Passage at the head of Sumner Strait and Stikine Strait, while the North Arm splits off from the main channel and flows into Frederick Sound. King Slough splits southwest from the North Arm and enters Dry Strait, which connects the north end of Eastern Passage to Frederick Sound. Farm Island and Dry Island are situated between the north and main channels, with King Slough dividing the two. Due to sediment deposits from the Stikine River delta, Dry Strait is often dry at low tide and thus unsuitable for most ships using the Inside Passage. Marine traffic typically uses the Wrangell Narrows or the Chatham Strait further west.