Meager Creek is a creek in the southern

Pacific Ranges The Pacific Ranges are the southernmost subdivision of the Coast Mountains portion of the Pacific Cordillera. Located entirely within British Columbia, British Columbia, Canada, they run northwest from the lower stretches of the Fraser River to B ...

of the

Coast Mountains The Coast Mountains () are a major mountain range in the Pacific Coast Ranges of western North America, extending from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and virtually all of the British Columbia Coast, Coast of British Columbia sout ...

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 northeast into the

Lillooet River The Lillooet River is a major river of the southern Coast Mountains of British Columbia. It begins at Silt Lake, on the southern edge of the Lillooet Crown Icecap about 80 kilometres northwest of Pemberton and about 85 kilometres northwest of W ...

approximately northwest of the village of Pemberton and is adjacent to the Upper Lillooet Provincial Park. It is noted for a large set of surface

hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...

s, known as the Meager Creek Hot Springs. These are related to

volcanism Volcanism, vulcanism, volcanicity, or volcanic activity is the phenomenon where solids, liquids, gases, and their mixtures erupt to the surface of a solid-surface astronomical body such as a planet or a moon. It is caused by the presence of a he ...

of the

Mount Meager massif The Mount Meager massif is a group of volcanic peaks in the of the Coast Mountains in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Part of the Cascade Volcanic Arc of western North America, it is located north of Vancouver at the northern end of the P ...

on its north side. Keyhole Hot Springs, also known as Pebble Creek Hot Springs, fed from the same geothermal vents is much more accessible, via the ploughed Upper Lillooet FSR (Forest Service Road), and is a trail as opposed to to Meager Creek Hot Springs. Check the Forest Service Road Reports before travel. Public access reopened in the summer of 2008, several years after vandalism of the site and flooding damage to the access road and bridge had seen the site closed. On September 19, 2009, the Capricorn Creek Bridge was once again destroyed by a debris slide. The springs were closed to public access, except in winter, when they could be accessed over the top of the

Pemberton Icefield The Pemberton Icefield or Pemberton Icecap, is the southernmost of the series of very large icefields studding the Pacific Ranges of the southern Coast Mountains in British Columbia, Canada. Physical details Approximately in area, the icefield' ...

/ Meager Glacier by means of either

snowmobile A snowmobile, also known as a snowmachine (chiefly Alaskan), motor sled (chiefly Canadian), motor sledge, skimobile, snow scooter, or simply a sled is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. Their engines normally ...

or cross country skis. Until 2010, the site was serviced by Creekside Resources on a fee basis to use the pools. Though the pools are still officially closed, public access to the area has resumed. Because of limited access, there have been no

fecal coliform A fecal coliform (British: faecal coliform) is a facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped, gram-negative, non- sporulating bacterium. Coliform bacteria generally originate in the intestines of warm-blooded animals. Fecal coliforms are capable of growth ...

tests done. Prior to the slide, they were done on a monthly basis, except winter and the sand traps were cleared every 2 to 3 days. The pools must be shoveled out and flushed before use 45 minutes is the common practice. A new public trail, named VOC Harrison Hut Trail, opened in the summer of 2014. It was built and completed, in August 2014, by volunteers from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

Varsity Outdoor Club (VOC). In December 2015, the area was offered up for tenure by the BC Ministry of Forests; they were looking for a proposal to formally develop the existing ''ad hoc'' trail from the mark along the VOC Harrison Hut Trail, where it passes through a clear cut and connects to the old Meager Creek Hot Springs Trail, built on an existing decommissioned

logging road A gravel road is a type of unpaved road surfaced with gravel that has been brought to the site from a quarry or stream bed. Gravel roads are common in less-developed nations, and also in the rural areas of developed nations such as Canada and ...

.General Location and Extensive Use Area Maps
/ref> As the pools are officially closed, there is currently no fee. A fee structure will be reinstated if tenure is granted. First right of refusal goes to the historical operator: the Lil'wat First Nation's Creekside Resources. If they defer, the tenure applicant has proposed to maintain the pools. The historical fee prior to the 2010 slide was $5. Though people camp for free in unofficial sites in the Upper Meager Valley, it is not allowed around the hot spring pools as the Meager Creek Hot Springs Recreational Area is a Minimum Impact Site. Also, camping in the Valley bottom is prohibited because of significant seismic danger. Wildlife such as

wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

wolverine The wolverine ( , ; ''Gulo gulo''), also called the carcajou or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species, member of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscular carnivore and a solitary animal. The w ...

moose The moose (: 'moose'; used in North America) or elk (: 'elk' or 'elks'; used in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is the world's tallest, largest and heaviest extant species of deer and the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is also the tal ...

, raptors, hybrid

black-tailed deer Black-tailed deer or blacktail deer occupy coastal regions of western North America. There are two subspecies, the Columbian black-tailed deer (''Odocoileus hemionus columbianus'') which ranges from the Pacific Northwest of the United States and ...

mule deer The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer. Unlike the related whit ...

, hybrid

lynx A lynx ( ; : lynx or lynxes) is any of the four wikt:extant, extant species (the Canada lynx, Iberian lynx, Eurasian lynx and the bobcat) within the medium-sized wild Felidae, cat genus ''Lynx''. The name originated in Middle Engl ...

/ bob cat,

mountain goat The mountain goat (''Oreamnos americanus''), also known as the Rocky Mountain goat, is a cloven-footed mammal that is endemic to the remote and rugged mountainous areas of western North America. A subalpine to truly alpine species, it is a s ...

mountain sheep The argali (''Ovis ammon''), also known as the mountain sheep, is a wild sheep native to the highlands of western East Asia, the Himalayas, Tibet, and the Altai Mountains. Description The name 'argali' is the Mongolian word for wild sheep. It i ...

, and

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which i ...

inhabit the area as well as

grizzly The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horr ...

and

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family (biology), family Ursidae (). They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats ...

s. The area is about a two-hour drive from Pemberton on paved roads, gravel roads, and dirt tracks. Although normally reached by

four-wheel drive A four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, is a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case pr ...

vehicles and larger

pickup truck A pickup truck or pickup is a Truck_classification#Table_of_US_GVWR_classifications, light or medium duty truck that has an enclosed cabin (truck), cabin, and a back end made up of a cargo bed that is enclosed by three low walls with no roof (th ...

s, the last can be covered by snowmobile in winter.

Avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a Grade (slope), slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be triggered spontaneously, by factors such as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, othe ...

hazards relating to the combined volcanic and glacial character of the surrounding geography are real and ongoing. The valley of Meager Creek is one of the most active and hazardous in the

North American Cordillera The North American Cordillera, sometimes also called the Western Cordillera of North America, the Western Cordillera, or the Pacific Cordillera, is the North American portion of the American Cordillera, the mountain chain system along the Pacifi ...

Debris flow Debris flows are geological phenomena in which water-laden masses of soil and fragmented Rock (geology), rock flow down mountainsides, funnel into stream channels, entrain objects in their paths, and form thick, muddy deposits on valley floors. ...

s, mainly from the Mount Meager massif, have filled the valley to a depth of .Meager slide: One year later
/ref>

References

{{coord, 50, 36, 54, N, 123, 23, 40, W, source:BCNames/GeoBC_type:event_region:CA, display=title Pemberton Valley Natural hazards in British Columbia Rivers of the Pacific Ranges

See also

References