The Fort Nelson River, often shortened to simply the Nelson River, is in north-eastern

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. It flows generally north-westward to the

Liard River The Liard River of the North American boreal forest flows through Yukon, British Columbia and the Northwest Territories, Canada. Rising in the Saint Cyr Range of the Pelly Mountains in southeastern Yukon, it flows southeast through British Co ...

, a tributary of the Mackenzie River, which empties into the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...

. The river drains a watershed of and is formed by the confluence of the

Fontas River The Fontas River, originally Fantasque's River, after the name of a chief of the Sekani people, is a river in northeastern British Columbia, Canada, having its origin in northwestern Alberta, Canada. It joins the Sikanni Chief River southeast of th ...

flowing from the east, and the

Sikanni Chief River The Sikanni Chief River, is a river in the Northern Rocky Mountains region of the northern British Columbia Interior, interior of British Columbia, Canada. Its headwaters are near Mount McCusker, northeast of the head of the Finlay Arm of Williston ...

flowing from the south. These, along with the Sahtaneh and Muskwa Rivers, constitute the major tributaries. The source of the Sikanni Chief, on the eastern slope of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

, is ultimately the headwater of the Fort Nelson River. The land through which the river flows is generally flat, a mixture of

boreal forest Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, ...

s and

muskeg Muskeg (Ojibwe: mashkiig; cr, maskīk; french: fondrière de mousse, lit. ''moss bog'') is a peat-forming ecosystem found in several northern climates, most commonly in Arctic and boreal areas. Muskeg is approximately synonymous with bog or ...

. The area is rich in wildlife, and forestry and mining (especially oil and gas) are major industries.

History

The river has a rich history. The

Dene The Dene people () are an Aboriginal peoples in Canada, indigenous group of First Nations in Canada, First Nations who inhabit the northern Boreal forest of Canada, boreal and Arctic regions of Canada. The Dene speak Northern Athabaskan languag ...

and

Sekani Sekani or Tse’khene are a First Nations people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group in the Northern Interior of British Columbia. Their territory includes the Finlay and Parsnip River drainages of the Rocky Mountain Trench. The nei ...

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

used it for food and trade. The river itself is named for the town of Fort Nelson, established in 1805 by the

North West Company The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what is present-day Western Canada and Northwestern Ontario. With great weal ...

as a

fur trading The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most ...

post near the river's junction with the

Muskwa River The Muskwa River flows through northern British Columbia, Canada. It is a major tributary of the Fort Nelson River - part of the Mackenzie River system. The river rises at Fern Lake in the Bedaux Pass in the Northern Rocky Mountains. From the ...

. With the abandonment of the village and trading post at Nelson Forks and Fort Nelson's relocation roughly eight kilometres southwest up the Muskwa River to better access the

Alaska Highway