The Seton River 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 drainag ...

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 annua ...

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 Nort ...

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

. The name is relatively new, and encompasses what had formerly been the Seton Portage River or Portage Creek (aka Portage River) and Seton Creek (which shows up on some topos as "Section Creek" due to a mis-read of old hand-written maps).

Course

The Seton River originates at the foot of Anderson Lake and runs initially for only 3 km to the head of

Seton Lake Seton Lake is a freshwater fjord draining east via the Seton River into the Fraser River at the town of Lillooet, about long, in area and lies at an elevation of . Its depth is . The lake is natural in origin but was raised slightly as part o ...

. From the foot of Seton Lake to the Fraser its remaining course is 5 km in length, with much of its flow diverted via the

Seton Canal The Seton Canal is a diversion of the flow of the Seton River from Seton Dam, just below the flow of Seton Lake, to the Seton Powerhouse on the Fraser River at the town of Lillooet, British Columbia, Canada. The canal bridges Cayoosh Creek 300 ...

to the Seton Powerhouse (also known because of its location as the Lillooet Powerhouse). The river's course is generally eastward to join the Fraser River at the town of

Lillooet Lillooet () is a district municipality in the Squamish-Lillooet region of southwestern British Columbia. The town is on the west shore of the Fraser River immediately north of the Seton River mouth. On BC Highway 99, the locality is by road abo ...

. The upper section between the lakes was historically known as the Portage River or Seton Portage River; its flow is augmented by Whitecap Creek, from the northwest midway along its length, and by Spider Creek nearer Seton Lake. The lower section was formerly named Seton Creek and commonly mislabelled on some maps as "Section Creek", apparently a misrendering of the archaic spelling Seaton Creek. Just below the foot of Seton Lake its flow is considerably augmented by the addition of the waters of

Cayoosh Creek Cayoosh Creek is a northeast-flowing tributary of the Seton River in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The name Cayoosh Creek remains on the bridge-sign crossing the stream on BC Highway 99 and continues in use locally to refer to the ...

, a name which originally applied all the way to the Fraser until the name "Seton River" was coined by the Canadian Geographic Names Board in 1950.BC Names/GeoBC entry "Cayoosh Creek"
/ref> "Cayoosh Creek" is still generally applied to the river below that point by local residents, often with the spelling "Cayoose Creek", which is also the old name of the Sekw’el’wás First Nation (i.e. "Cayoose Creek Indian Band"). Above Anderson Lake, the main watercourse of the Seton drainage is named the

Gates River The Gates River is a short river in the Lillooet Country of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Approximately 14.5 km in length, it flows generally northeast from the outlet of Birken Lake (aka Gates Lake or Summit Lake) to i ...

; numerous creeks along Anderson lake contribute substantially to the volume supplied by the Gates; these include McGillivray Creek, Haylmore Creek, and Lost Valley Creek.

References

{{Reflist Tributaries of the Fraser River Lillooet Country Rivers of the Pacific Ranges Cariboo Land District

Course

See also

References