Grand Canyon of the Stikine
Encyclopedia
The Grand Canyon of the Stikine is a 45 mile (72 km) stretch of the Stikine River
Stikine River
The Stikine River is a river, historically also the Stickeen River, approximately 610 km long, in northwestern British Columbia in Canada and southeastern Alaska in the United States...

 in northern British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. It has been compared to the Grand Canyon of the Colorado in scale and was called the "Yosemite of the North" by naturalist John Muir
John Muir
John Muir was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States. His letters, essays, and books telling of his adventures in nature, especially in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, have been read by millions...

. The canyon is home to a large population of mountain goat
Mountain goat
The Mountain Goat , also known as the Rocky Mountain Goat, is a large-hoofed mammal found only in North America. Despite its vernacular name, it is not a member of Capra, the genus of true goats...

s and other wildlife. Officially the canyon is described as unnavigable by any watercraft, however there have been 15 successful descents made by expert whitewater
Whitewater
Whitewater is formed in a rapid, when a river's gradient increases enough to disturb its laminar flow and create turbulence, i.e. form a bubbly, or aerated and unstable current; the frothy water appears white...

 kayakers since the first attempt in 1981.

Characteristics

The canyon begins in the vicinity of the 130th line of longitude, south of Tsenaglode Lake. The first road bridge across the Stikine was built in the 1970s as part of the Stewart-Cassiar Highway (BC Highway 37)
British Columbia provincial highway 37
Highway 37, known as the Stewart-Cassiar Highway, Terrace-Kitimat Highway from Kitimat to Terrace, and also as the Dease Lake Highway and Stikine Highway, is the northwesternmost highway in the province, and it is very scenic, passing through some of the most isolated areas of B.C...

. The bridge is situated just upstream of the start of the canyon section. An earlier pole-bridge had been constructed across the river in the area of Telegraph Creek, built by the Tahltan people from scavenged wire and other abandoned material left by the crews of the Collins Overland Telegraph project in the 1860s.

The canyon section comes to an end (or eases off) at the community of Telegraph Creek
Telegraph Creek, British Columbia
Telegraph Creek is a small community located off Highway 37 in Northern British Columbia at the confluence of the Stikine River and Telegraph Creek. The only permanent settlement on the Stikine River, it is home to approximately 350 members of the Tahltan First Nation, as well as another 50...

.

The canyon is steep-walled and was formed by the Stikine River cutting through layers of sedimentary and volcanic rock. The canyon is 300 metres (984 ft) deep in places whilst the Stikine River flowing through it varies in width from 200 metres (656 ft) to 2 metres (7 ft) close to the point where the Tanzilla River enters.

Hydroelectric plans

In 1980, BC Hydro
BC Hydro
The BC Hydro and Power Authority is a Canadian electric utility in the province of British Columbia generally known simply as BC Hydro. It is the main electric distributor, serving 1.8 million customers in most areas, with the exception of the Kootenay region, where FortisBC, a subsidiary of Fortis...

 began to study the feasibility of building a five-dam project in the Grand Canyon, however the plan quickly led to opposition by conservation groups and a long struggle over the fate of the river. The Stikine River Provincial Park
Stikine River Provincial Park
The Stikine River Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia. The park covers a total area of approximately 217,000 hectares. The main feature of the Stikine River Provincial Park is a portion of the Stikine River known as "The Grand Canyon"...

 (formerly the Stikine River Provincial Recreation Area) was created in 2001, at 257,177 ha. in size, to protect this stretch of the river.

Kayaking

The Grand Cayon of the Stikine is described by the world-class kayaker Doug Ammons as "one of the most challenging [kayak] runs anybody has ever found on this planet". Its whitewater
Whitewater
Whitewater is formed in a rapid, when a river's gradient increases enough to disturb its laminar flow and create turbulence, i.e. form a bubbly, or aerated and unstable current; the frothy water appears white...

 contains numerous grade V rapids with names such as Entry Falls, Wasson's Hole, The Wall and V-Drive. It is approached as an expedition with descents taking around three days to complete.

The canyon was first seen by American kayaker Rob Lesser in 1977 whilst on a trip to Alaska. He flew over the canyon in a plane and identified many grade V rapids. In places the overhang of the cliffs was such that it was not possible to see the river and the navigability of the canyon was uncertain. In 1981 Lesser, accompanied by a team of skilled kayakers and supported by a helicopter, made the first attempt to paddle the canyon. The team managed to complete some 60% of the river, however the crux, a place called the lower Narrows, was not paddled. One of the team members, John Wasson, was almost killed in a rapid now called Wasson's Hole.

In 1985 Lesser, along with Bob McDougall and Lars Holbeck, completed the first descent of the entire canyon. Their attempt was supported by helicopter for scouting and portaging assistance. The first self-contained descent was attempted in 1989 by Lesser, McDougall and Ammons. It almost ended in disaster when McDougall was ejected from his boat in the first grade V rapid, Entry Falls. Rather than swimming the dangerous river he chose to free solo climb a steep cliff to escape from the canyon.

As of 2006 there have been 25 self-contained attempts in a range of conditions, resulting in 15 successful descents.

Most attempts on the canyon are made in early fall when the water level is low. At that time of year the flow is between 4000 and 13000m3/s with the level varying by as much as 10 feet (3 m) in a day. The canyon is steep with many sections dropping 30m per kilometer. For much of the length of the canyon vertical cliffs make it difficult or impossible to climb out should an exit be required.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK