Cheslatta River facts for kids

The Cheslatta River is a river in British Columbia, Canada. It flows into the Nechako River, which is a major branch of the Fraser River. The Cheslatta River runs through an area called the Nechako Plateau.

Before the 1950s, the Cheslatta River was a small stream. But after the Kenney Dam was built, it became much larger. Today, the Cheslatta River provides almost all the water for the Nechako River in this area.

The name "Cheslatta" comes from the Dakelh language. It means "top of small mountain" or "small rock mountain at east side."

River's Path: How It Flows

Before the 1950s, the Cheslatta River started near Ootsa Lake. When the Kenney Dam was built, many lakes, including Ootsa Lake, joined together. This created a huge body of water called the Nechako Reservoir.

Skins Lake, a smaller lake nearby, also became part of this reservoir. A special gate, called a spillway, was built at Skins Lake. This spillway lets extra water out of the reservoir and into the Cheslatta River. So, Skins Lake is now seen as where the Cheslatta River begins.

From Skins Lake, the Cheslatta River flows generally east and a little south. Other streams like Moxley Creek and Dog Creek join it. The river then widens into a long, narrow area called Cheslatta Lake. Knapp Creek also flows into Cheslatta Lake.

After Cheslatta Lake, the river flows a short distance and then widens again into Murray Lake. Bird Creek joins the river here. Finally, after Murray Lake, the river flows a few kilometers. It then tumbles over Cheslatta Falls before joining the Nechako River. Many small streams also add water to the Cheslatta River along its way.

Water Flow: How Much Water?

The Cheslatta River used to be quite small. Its average water flow was about 5 cubic meters per second (m³/s). That's like 5,000 liters of water flowing by every second.

But after the Nechako Reservoir was created, things changed a lot. Water is now released from the reservoir into the Cheslatta River through the Skins Lake Spillway. These releases average about 94.7 m³/s. This is much more water than the river used to carry!

Sometimes, the water flow can be very high. In 2007, there was a flood with a flow of 600 m³/s. Flows above 400 m³/s are common. The river has even gone above 500 m³/s four times.

History of the River

The Cheslatta River you see today is quite new. It has only existed in its current form since the 1950s. Before that, it was a small, winding stream. It flowed through wet areas and fields north and east of Ootsa Lake. The lower part of the river was even called Murray Creek.

The Kemano Power Project

The river changed because of a big project called the Kemano Power Project. This project was built to create electricity. It moves water from the Nechako River basin to the Pacific Ocean. This water powers a factory that makes aluminium in a town called Kitimat.

In the early 1950s, the Kenney Dam was built on the Nechako River. This dam created the huge Nechako Reservoir. Workers also blasted a 10-mile (16 km) long tunnel through the Coast Mountains. This tunnel connects the Nechako Reservoir to a power station in Kemano, British Columbia. Electricity from Kemano is sent 82 km (51 mi) to Kitimat. The company that built this project was Alcan. Today, Rio Tinto Alcan runs the Kemano Power Project.

Impact on the Cheslatta T'en People

When the Kenney Dam was built, about 200 Cheslatta T'en people lived along the Cheslatta River and Cheslatta Lake. They lived in four villages and had 17 special land areas called Indian Reserves.

In 1953, these Indigenous people had to move from their homes. They lost about 1,053 hectares (2,600 acres) of their land. They were moved to a place called Grassy Plains, which was 48 km (30 mi) away.

The Cheslatta T'en lost their traditional village sites and hunting grounds. Sadly, three of their important burial sites were also affected by the new reservoir's water. The Cheslatta people say they were promised that any graves that would be flooded would be moved. Alcan, the company, says the Cheslatta understood that some graves might be flooded.

However, when water was first released from the Nechako Reservoir in 1957, it flowed through one of the burial sites. This caused many graves to be disturbed. The Cheslatta people say that remains were found in and around Cheslatta Lake that summer. They also say that these burial sites have been flooded at least twice a year since the Skins Lake spillway started working.

In 1992, new crosses and grave markers were put up at two of the burial sites. This was part of a project to help the Cheslatta community. But within a month, more water was released, and the new markers were washed away into Cheslatta Lake.

Changes to the River's Flow

The Kenney Dam has no gates to control the water. It completely blocks the Nechako River. This means the riverbed below the dam, in the Nechako Canyon, is now dry.

Instead, a spillway was built at Skins Lake, about 75 km (47 mi) west of the dam. This spillway releases extra water from the Nechako Reservoir into the Cheslatta River. It took several years for the huge Nechako Reservoir to fill up. During this time, the Cheslatta River stayed natural. But by 1957, the reservoir was full. Alcan then began releasing large amounts of water into the Cheslatta River.

Before 1957, the Cheslatta River was a small stream. Its average flow was about 5 m³/s. But Alcan started releasing much more water than the river could naturally handle. This caused the river to dig a deeper channel. It also led to a lot of soil and rock being washed away. This material then filled the Cheslatta and upper Nechako Rivers with sediment.

The area between the Skins Lake spillway and Cheslatta Lake was not a river before. It was a mix of fields and small lakes. The water released from the reservoir washed away soil, gravel, grass, and trees. All this material was carried down into the Cheslatta River and then into the Nechako River.

In 1961, the Cheslatta's flow reached about 420 m³/s. This caused the river to change its path, bypassing Cheslatta Falls. Huge amounts of mud and debris were dumped into the Nechako River. The Cheslatta eventually returned to its original path over the falls. But in 1972, it again took the new path around the falls. This washed away an entire hill and filled the Nechako River with even more debris. After the 1972 flood, Alcan built a special dam, called a coffer dam, to stop the river from taking the shortcut again.

River's Rocks and Land

The big increase in water flow and the erosion along the Cheslatta River have uncovered many layers of rock and soil. These layers are from the late Quaternary and Holocene periods. This has been very helpful for geologists. They can study these layers to understand the history of the region's land and how it formed over time.