Artifact Creek 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 drai ...

of Stewbomb Creek and part of the

Stikine River The Stikine River is a major river in northern British Columbia (BC), Canada and southeastern Alaska in the United States. It drains a large, remote upland area known as the Stikine Country east of the Coast Mountains. Flowing west and south f ...

watershed in northwest part of the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

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

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It flows generally southeast for roughly Lengths and distances measured using BCGNIS coordinates, topographic maps, online map servers, an
Toporama
/ref> to join Stewbomb Creek, which flows into the Little Iskut River.In turn the Little Iskut River flows to the

Iskut River The Iskut River, located in the northwest part of the 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 Lake the Iskut River flows south and wes ...

, the largest tributary of the Stikine River. Artifact Creek's watershed covers , and is entirely in Mount Edziza Provincial Park. The creek's mean annual discharge is estimated at . The mouth of Artifact Creek is located about southeast of

Telegraph Creek 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 ...

, British Columbia, about south of

Dease Lake Dease Lake is a small community located in the Cassiar Country of the Northern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It is located a few hours south of the Yukon border on Stewart–Cassiar Highway (Highway 37) at the south end of the lake ...

, British Columbia, and about southeast of Juneau, Alaska. Artifact Creek's watershed's land cover is classified as 51.4% barren, 15.3% shrubland, 14.5% herbaceous, 10.3% conifer forest, 8.2%

snow Snow comprises 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 throughout ...

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...

, and small amounts of other cover. Artifact Creek is in Mount Edziza Provincial Park, which lies within the 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 ...

, 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 ''Nahane' ...

people. The name of Artifact Creek and nearby Artifact Ridge and

Obsidian Ridge Obsidian Ridge is a volcanic mountain ridge in the Spectrum Range of northwestern British Columbia, Canada, located on the south side of Artifact Creek at the southeast end of Mount Edziza Provincial Park. It was named on January 2, 1980 by the G ...

comes from the abundant piles of stone chips left from the

knapping Knapping is the shaping of flint, chert, obsidian, or other conchoidal fracturing stone through the process of lithic reduction to manufacture stone tools, strikers for flintlock firearms, or to produce flat-faced stones for building or facing w ...

of obsidian tools and points by early Tahltan hunters.

Geography

Artifact Creek originates near Kitsu Peak, about south of

Mount Edziza Mount Edziza is a stratovolcano in the Stikine Country of northwestern British Columbia, Canada. The volcano and the surrounding area are protected within Mount Edziza Provincial Park. It consists of multiple peaks and ridges, with several gla ...

. It flows east and southeast between

to the south and Artifact Ridge to the north. It collects various small unnamed tributary streams before emptying into Stewbomb Creek about upstream from Stewbomb's confluence with the Little Iskut River.

Geology

The north side of Artifact Creek is bounded by a sequence of lava flows belonging to the Armadillo Formation of the

Mount Edziza volcanic complex The Mount Edziza volcanic complex is a large and potentially active north-south trending complex volcano in Stikine Country, northwestern British Columbia, Canada, located southeast of the small community of Telegraph Creek. It occupies the sou ...

. A single

ash flow A pyroclastic flow (also known as a pyroclastic density current or a pyroclastic cloud) is a fast-moving current of hot gas and volcanic matter (collectively known as tephra) that flows along the ground away from a volcano at average speeds of b ...

deposit also belonging to the Armadillo Formation is exposed on the south side of Artifact Creek. Along the north side of Artifact Creek are two poorly exposed, low, northeasterly trending ridges of

trachybasalt Trachybasalt is a volcanic rock with a composition between trachyte and basalt. It resembles basalt but has a high content of alkali metal oxides. Minerals in trachybasalt include alkali feldspar, calcic plagioclase, olivine, clinopyroxene and li ...

that may be intrusions linked to the Little Iskut conduit system.

References

{{Rivers of the Mount Edziza volcanic complex Cassiar Land District Mount Edziza volcanic complex Rivers of British Columbia Stikine Country Tahltan Tahltan Highland

Geography

Geology

See also

References