Ashlu Creek is a short and swift river-like creek in
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, ...
. It is a tributary of the
Squamish River
The Squamish River is a short but very large river in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Its drainage basin is in size. The total length of the Squamish River is approximately .
Course
The Squamish River drains a complex of basins in the ...
and enters it about 24.3 km northwest of
Squamish.
Course
Ashlu Creek, often called the "Ashlu River" (due to its size) or "the Ashlu", begins at the outlet of an unnamed lake east of Mount Crerar. From there all the way to its mouth, it flows southeast. Starting at
Ashlu Falls is 3.9 km long Ashlu Canyon has several big
rapids
Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence.
Rapids are hydrological features between a ''run'' (a smoothly flowing part of a stream) and a ''cascade''. ...
and large drops making it one of the best kayaking locations in the area. It ends about 2.1 km above the river's mouth.
Hydroelectricity
A 49 megawatt
run-of-river
Run-of-river hydroelectricity (ROR) or run-of-the-river hydroelectricity is a type of hydroelectric generation plant whereby little or no water storage is provided. Run-of-the-river power plants may have no water storage at all or a limited amou ...
hydro installation below the canyon went online December 2009. A diversion weir 5 km above the power house feeds water down a bored tunnel to the site. It is owned by
Innergex Renewable Energy
Innergex Renewable Energy () is a developer, owner and operator of run-of-river hydroelectric facilities, wind energy, and solar farms in North America, France and South America. While many of the firm's operational assets are located in its home ...
and is expected to produce 265,000 MWh annually.
[http://www.innergex.com/en/ashlu-creek ]
Tributaries
Ashlu Creek's only major tributary is Tatlow Creek, which flows northeast from remote Tatlow Lake and joins the Ashlu about 15.8 km below its source. It does have several much smaller tributaries though:
*Shortcut Creek
*Snafu Creek
*Endell Creek
*Red Mountain Creek
*Pykett Creek
*Coin Creek
*Stuyvesedt Creek
*Roaring Creek
*Pokosha Creek
*Rob Creek
*Cassetta Creek
*Mowitch Creek
*Sigurd Creek
See also
*
List of British Columbia rivers
The following is a partial list of rivers of British Columbia, organized by watershed. Some large creeks are included either because of size or historical importance
(See Alphabetical List of British Columbia rivers ). Also included are lakes th ...
References
{{reflist
Sea-to-Sky Corridor
Rivers of the Pacific Ranges
Canyons and gorges of British Columbia
New Westminster Land District