The Twin River 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

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 ...

in the 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 ...

. From its source in

Twin Glacier Twin Glacier is a glacier in northwestern British Columbia, Canada, located on the northern and eastern flanks of Hoodoo Mountain. It lies at the headwaters of the Twin River. The glacier originates from the Andrei Icefield. See also *List of ...

the Twin River flows south for about ,Length measured using BCGNIS coordinates, topographic maps, an
Toporama
/ref> east of

Hoodoo Mountain Hoodoo Mountain, sometimes referred to as Hoodoo Volcano, is a potentially active stratovolcano in the Northern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It is located northeast of the Alaska–British Columbia border on the north side of the Isk ...

to the Iskut River north of the Craig River watershed. The Twin River's watershed covers , and its mean annual discharge is an estimated . The river's 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 77.2%

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 ...

, 9.8%

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 ...

, 4.5%

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 ...

, and small amounts of other cover. The mouth of the Twin River is located about east-northeast of

Wrangell, Alaska Wrangell (, ) is a List of boroughs and census areas in Alaska, borough in Alaska, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population was 2,127, down from 2,369 in 2010. Incorporated as a consolidated city–county ...

, about northwest of

Stewart, British Columbia Stewart is a district municipality at the head of the Portland Canal in northwestern British Columbia, Canada, near the Alaskan panhandle. In 2021, it had a population of 517. History The Nisga'a, who live around the Nass River, called th ...

, and about south of

Telegraph Creek, British Columbia 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 ...

. The Twin River is in the traditional territory of the

Tlingit The Tlingit or Lingít ( ) are Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. , they constitute two of the 231 federally recognized List of Alaska Native tribal entities, Tribes of Alaska. Most Tlingit are Alaska Natives; ...

, specifically the Shtax'héen Ḵwáan, commonly known as the Stikine River people. It is also in the asserted 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 ...

and

Iskut First Nation The Iskut First Nation is a band government of the Tahltan people. Their main reserve is Iskut IR No.6, located at Iskut, British Columbia; Iskut is in the same vicinity, while the band's third reserve, Stikine River IR No. 7 is located one mile w ...

, 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

The Twin River originates from the

meltwater Meltwater (or melt water) is water released by the melting of snow or ice, including glaciers, glacial ice, tabular icebergs and ice shelf, ice shelves over oceans. Meltwater is often found during early spring (season), spring when snow packs a ...

s of

, a

valley glacier Glacier morphology, or the form a glacier takes, is influenced by temperature, precipitation, topography, and other factors. The goal of glacial morphology is to gain a better understanding of glaciated landscapes and the way they are shaped. T ...

that flows from the Andrei Icefield which dominates the mountains north of Twin River and from which numerous glaciers extend in all directions. This large glacial field is named after the son of Olav Mokievsky-Zubok, a

glaciologist Glaciology (; ) is the scientific study of glaciers, or, more generally, ice and natural phenomena that involve ice. Glaciology is an interdisciplinary Earth science that integrates geophysics, geology, physical geography, geomorphology, clim ...

who carried out significant glaciological work in the Coast Mountains from the 1960s to the 1970s. From Twin Glacier the Twin River flows south through glacial meltwater lakes, then through a coastal western hemlock forest. About north of the Iskut River the Twin River is joined by its west fork tributary, flowing south from another lobe of Twin Glacier. This lobe surrounds the northwestern base of Hoodoo Mountain. About north the two lobes merge in the main body of Twin Glacier. Although the forks are similar in size and flow, Canadian NTS topographic maps and databases like

BC Geographical Names The BC Geographical Names (formerly BC Geographical Names Information System or BCGNIS) is a geographic name web service and database for the Canadian province of British Columbia run by the Base Mapping and Geomatic Services Branch of the Integr ...

identify the east fork as the Twin River while leaving the west fork unnamed. From the confluence of the two forks, the Twin River continues south through an increasingly

braided channel A braided river (also called braided channel or braided stream) consists of a network of river channels separated by small, often temporary, islands called ''braid bars'' or, in British English usage, '' aits'' or ''eyots''. Braided streams te ...

before emptying into the Iskut River.

References

{{Reflist Cassiar Land District Tributaries of the Iskut River Rivers of the Boundary Ranges Stikine Country Tahltan Tlingit