Castle Creek, also known locally as Cottonwood Creek, is a tributary of the
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of Vancouver. The river's annual d ...
in the
Robson Valley
The Robson Valley is a geographic region of the Canadian province of British Columbia, comprising the section of the Rocky Mountain Trench that lies southeast of the city of Prince George following the Fraser River to the Yellowhead Pass. The nam ...
region of
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, ...
. Castle Creek flows from its source at Castle Creek glacier in the
Cariboo Mountains
The Cariboo Mountains are the northernmost subrange of the Columbia Mountains, which run down into the Spokane area of the United States and include the Selkirks, Monashees and Purcells. The Cariboo Mountains are entirely within the province of ...
to its confluence with the Fraser near
McBride. The Castle Creek glacier has seen major retreats in the late 2010s, receding by an average of 15 metres a year. The creek provides hydroelectricity through a "
run-of-the-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 ...
" instream generating station run by
BC Hydro
The British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority, operating as BC Hydro, is a Canadian electric utility in the province of British Columbia. It is the main electricity distributor, serving more than 4 million customers in most areas, with the excep ...
, which provides 34 gigawatt hours of electricity annually.
See also
*
List of rivers of British Columbia
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
External links
Tributaries of the Fraser River
Robson Valley
Rivers of British Columbia
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