Woss Lake Provincial Park
Encyclopedia
Woss Lake Provincial Park is a provincial park
in British Columbia
, Canada
, located 75 kilometres southeast of Port McNeill
, near the community of Woss
, which is also known as Woss Lake.
, which made its way over the Tahsis divide..
populations, a salmon fishery and potentially, habitat for the endangered Vancouver Island marmot
. The park also contains a nameless, intact secondary watershed of 16 km² that drains into the head of Woss Lake. This unnamed drainage contains valuable Chinook salmon
and steelhead spawning habitat and a sensitive delta area with a variety of rare plant species.
Provincial park
A provincial park is a park under the management of a provincial or territorial government in Canada.While provincial parks are not the same as national parks, their workings are very similar...
in 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...
, located 75 kilometres southeast of Port McNeill
Port McNeill, British Columbia
Port McNeill is a town in the North Island region of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada with a population of 2,623 . Located on Vancouver Island's north-east shore on Queen Charlotte Strait, it was originally a base camp for loggers, Port McNeill became a settlement in 1936...
, near the community of Woss
Woss, British Columbia
Woss, British Columbia, commonly known as Woss Lake, is a small west coast village in the Nimpkish Valley, located south east of Port McNeill, and north of Campbell River on Highway 19, in northern Vancouver Island...
, which is also known as Woss Lake.
History
The park was established 1995. Woss Lake Provincial Park is within the traditional territory of the Namgis First Nation. The park contains a portion of a First Nations traditional cross-island trade route known as the Grease TrailGrease trail
A grease trail is an overland trade route, part of a network of trails connecting the Pacific coast with the Interior in the Pacific Northwest. Trails were developed for trade between indigenous people, particularly the trade in eulachon oil. The grease from these small fish could be traded for...
, which made its way over the Tahsis divide..
Geography
The park is 66.34 km². The park landscape includes the southern portion of Woss Lake, as well as very steep forested slopes above the lake and the permanent snowfields and north facing slopes of Rugged Mountain, part of the Haihte Range.Conservation
Woss Lake Provincial Park is a very steep, forested, seldom visited wilderness area. The park contains Roosevelt elkRoosevelt elk
The Roosevelt elk , also known as Olympic elk, is the largest of the four surviving subspecies of elk in North America...
populations, a salmon fishery and potentially, habitat for the endangered Vancouver Island marmot
Marmot
The marmots are a genus, Marmota, of squirrels. There are 14 species in this genus.Marmots are generally large ground squirrels. Those most often referred to as marmots tend to live in mountainous areas such as the Alps, northern Apennines, Eurasian steppes, Carpathians, Tatras, and Pyrenees in...
. The park also contains a nameless, intact secondary watershed of 16 km² that drains into the head of Woss Lake. This unnamed drainage contains valuable Chinook salmon
Chinook salmon
The Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, is the largest species in the pacific salmon family. Other commonly used names for the species include King salmon, Quinnat salmon, Spring salmon and Tyee salmon...
and steelhead spawning habitat and a sensitive delta area with a variety of rare plant species.