Slatechuck Mountain, known as Kaagan in the

Haida language Haida (', ', ', ') is the language of the Haida people, spoken in the Haida Gwaii archipelago off the coast of Canada and on Prince of Wales Island in Alaska. An endangered language, Haida currently has 24 native speakers, though revitalizat ...

, is a summit on south-central

Graham Island Graham Island () is the largest island in the Haida Gwaii archipelago (previously known as the Queen Charlotte Islands), lying off the mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada. It is separated by the narrow Skidegate Channel from the other pri ...

in Haida Gwaii, formerly known as the

Queen Charlotte Islands Haida Gwaii (; hai, X̱aaydag̱a Gwaay.yaay / , literally "Islands of the Haida people") is an archipelago located between off the northern Pacific coast of Canada. The islands are separated from the mainland to the east by the shallow Hec ...

of the

North Coast of British Columbia North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' i ...

, Canada. It is located about 9 km west of

Daajing Giids (), known as Queen Charlotte from 1891–2022, is a village municipality in the Haida Gwaii archipelago (also known as the "Queen Charlotte Islands") in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is located on the southern end of Graham Is ...

(formerly Queen Charlotte City), on Skidegate Inlet, and just south of Yakoun Lake, the island's largest lake, which is the source of the northward-flowing

Yakoun River The Yakoun River is the largest river on Haida Gwaii, off the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada. Estimated to be in length, it is located on Graham Island, the northernmost and largest of the archipelago, and runs in a twisting course ge ...

. Slatechuck Mountain is important in the culture of the

Haida people Haida (, hai, X̱aayda, , , ) are an indigenous group who have traditionally occupied , an archipelago just off the coast of British Columbia, Canada, for at least 12,500 years. The Haida are known for their craftsmanship, trading skills, and ...

as the source of a rare black form of

argillite :''"Argillite" may also refer to Argillite, Kentucky.'' Argillite () is a fine-grained sedimentary rock composed predominantly of indurated clay particles. Argillaceous rocks are basically lithified muds and oozes. They contain variable amo ...

used in Haida art. Known also as "black slate", this form of argillite occurs nowhere else in the world and only Haida have the right to quarry it. The black argillite occurs only at certain locations on the mountain's slope, above the basin of

Slatechuck Creek Slatechuck Creek is a short but culturally important stream on Graham Island in the Queen Charlotte Islands of the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada. Only 6.7 km in length , it is located on the south flank of the small range including ...

. The name "Slatechuck" is a local Chinook Jargon usage, combining "slate" with the word for water, river or lake, and is a reference to the creek being where the slate is found.

References

''Canadian Mountain Encyclopedia entry "Slatechuck Mountain"

BC Govt MINFILE Record Summary "Slatechuck Creek
* Haida One-thousanders of British Columbia Graham Island {{FirstNations-stub