Churn Creek is a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...

of the

Fraser River The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of Vancouver. The river's annual ...

in the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British Nor ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

Course

Churn Creek flows generally north before turning northeast on its final leg through grasslands, joining the Fraser River just south of the headquarters of the

Gang Ranch A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collective ...

and opposite the community of Dog Creek and associated creek. Most of its lower course is a heavily-eroded canyon lined by benchlands, and is protected in Churn Creek Protected Area, which also includes the ecological preserve of the Empire Valley Ranch. Its source at approximately is at two subalpine lakes (one of which is called Horse Lake) on the northeastern shoulder of Big Dog Mountain, the northernmost major summit of the Shulaps Range, and flowing north and northwesterly until reaching the southern skirt of Poison Mountain, a northeastern outpost of the Camelsfoot Range, where it continues northwesterly, forming a divide with a small upper tributary of the

Yalakom River The Yalakom River is a tributary of the Bridge River, which is one of the principal tributaries of the Fraser River, entering it near the town of Lillooet, British Columbia Lillooet () is a district municipality in the Squamish-Lillooet region o ...

, the main north fork of the Bridge River which divides those two ranges. From there it proceeds northwest, falling steeply from the high plateau between those two ranges, joining at the bottom of that grade with an unnamed creek from Swartz (Fish) Lake, one a chain of lakes in the area of the Mud Lakes Pass, at the divide with the basin of Tyaughton Creek, also a tributary of the Bridge River. From there it turns north in its main trajectory, forming the northwestern flank of the northern

Camelsfoot Range The Camelsfoot Range is a sub-range of the Chilcotin Ranges subdivision of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in British Columbia. The Fraser River forms its eastern boundary. The range is approximately 90 km at its maximum length and ...

. It is joined in its upper reaches by its two main left tributaries, Lone Valley Creek and Dash Creek, which drain the southernmost Chilcotin Plateau just north of the edge of the Chilcotin Ranges and the

Spruce Lake Protected Area The Spruce Lake Protected Area, formerly known variously as the Southern Chilcotin Mountains Provincial Park, Southern Chilcotins, and also as South Chilcotin Provincial Park, is a 71,347-hectare Protected Area in the British Columbia provincial ...

(now known as the South Chilcotin Mountain Park, created in 2010, which consists of a smaller area than the original Protected Area).

References

{{authority control Tributaries of the Fraser River Rivers of British Columbia Lillooet Land District

Course

See also

References