Bourgeaux Creek is a

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''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 into which they ...

of the Little Iskut River and part of the

Stikine River The Stikine River ( ) is a major river in northern British Columbia (BC), 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 ...

watershed Watershed may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, an area of land where surface water converges (North American usage) Music * Watershed Music Festival, an annual country ...

in northwest part of the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. It flows generally east for roughly Lengths and distances measured using BCGNIS coordinates, topographic maps, online map servers, an
Toporama
/ref> to join the Little Iskut River, a tributary of the

Iskut River The Iskut River, located in the northwest part of the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia, is the largest tributary of the Stikine River, entering it about above its entry into Alaska. From its source at Kluachon Lak ...

, which in turn is the largest tributary of the Stikine River. Gerlib Creek joins Bourgeaux Creek about upstream of Bourgeaux's confluence with the Little Iskut River. Bourgeaux Creek's mean annual discharge is estimated at . Its watershed covers and is entirely in

Mount Edziza Provincial Park Mount Edziza Provincial Park is a provincial park in Cassiar Land District of northern British Columbia, Canada. It was established on 27 July 1972 to showcase the Mount Edziza volcanic complex and the surrounding Tahltan Highland. Geography The ...

. The watershed's

land cover Land cover is the physical material at the land surface of Earth. Land covers include flora, concrete, built structures, bare ground, and temporary water. Earth cover is the expression used by ecologist Frederick Edward Clements that has as ...

is classified as 37.7%

barren Barren primarily refers to a state of barrenness (infertility) Barren may also refer to: Places * Barren, Missouri *Barren County, Kentucky *Barren Island (Andaman Islands) * Barren Island, Brooklyn * Barren River Lake Other uses * ''Barren Coun ...

, 29.0%

conifer forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological functio ...

, 14.8%

shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally o ...

, 13.0%

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...

, 4.6%

snow Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...

glacier A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

, and small amounts of other cover. The mouth of Bourgeaux Creek is located about southeast of

Telegraph Creek 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 250 members of ...

, British Columbia, about south of

Dease Lake Dease Lake is a small community in the Cassiar Country of the Northern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It is 230 km south of the Yukon border on Stewart–Cassiar Highway (Highway 37) at the south end of the lake of the same na ...

, British Columbia, and about southeast of

Juneau, Alaska Juneau ( ; ), officially the City and Borough of Juneau, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Alaska, located along the Gastineau Channel and the Southeast Alaska, Alaskan panhandle. Juneau was named the ...

. Bourgeaux Creek is in

, which lies within the traditional territory of the

Tahltan First Nation The Tahltan First Nation, also known as the Tahltan Indian Band, is a band government of the Tahltan people. Their main community and reserves are located at Telegraph Creek, British Columbia. Their language is the Tahltan language, which is an ...

, of the

Tahltan The Tahltan or Nahani are a First Nations people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group who live in northern British Columbia around Telegraph Creek, Dease Lake, and Iskut. The Tahltan constitute the fourth division of the ''Nahan ...

people.

Geography

Bourgeaux Creek originates on the east side of Raspberry Pass, about south of

Mount Edziza Mount Edziza ( ; ) is a volcanic mountain in Cassiar Land District of northwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is located on the Big Raven Plateau of the Tahltan Highland which extends along the western side of the Stikine Plateau. Mount Ed ...

. Raspberry Pass forms a boundary between the

Spectrum Range The Spectrum Range, formerly gazetted as the Spectrum Mountains and the Rainbow Mountains, is a small mountain range in Cassiar Land District of northwestern British Columbia, Canada. Located at the southern end of the Tahltan Highland, it bord ...

to the south and the Mount Edziza area to the north. From its source, Bourgeaux Creek flows east, collecting a number of unnamed tributary streams. The one named tributary, Gerlib Creek, joins Bourgeaux Creek from the north, about upstream of Bourgeaux's mouth at the Little Iskut River. Artifact Ridge lies on the south side of Bourgeaux Creek's watershed. Significant mountains on the north side include Hoyaa Peak, Esja Peak, Armadillo Peak, Tadeda Peak, and Cache Hill.

History

Bourgeaux Creek was named for F. Bourgeaux, a member of the

Western Union Telegraph Company The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the company ch ...

party which, in 1866, explored the area for an overland telegraph route to Europe via Alaska, the Bering Strait and Asia. That telegraph was never built, but the nearly Yukon Telegraph Line was constructed by the Dominion Government Telegraph Service between 1897 and 1901 to send messages from

Ashcroft, British Columbia Ashcroft is a village municipality that straddles the Thompson River in the Thompson Country region of south central British Columbia, Canada. East of British Columbia Highway 1, BC Highway 1 and on British Columbia Highway 97C, BC Highway 97C, t ...

in the south to

Dawson City Dawson City is a town in the Canadian territory of Yukon. It is inseparably linked to the Klondike Gold Rush (1896–1899). Its population was 1,577 as of the 2021 census, making it the second-largest municipality in Yukon. History Prior t ...

Yukon Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...

in the north. This telegraph line followed Bourgeaux Creek to Raspberry Pass, then continued down Raspberry Creek, thence north to the community of

on the Stikine River. The Yukon Telegraph Line operated until 1936 and only remnants remain today. The historic Yukon Telegraph Trail follows its route.

References

{{Mount Edziza volcanic complex Cassiar Land District Rivers of the Mount Edziza volcanic complex Stikine Country Tahltan Tahltan Highland

Geography

History

See also

References