Itcha Ilgachuz Provincial Park is a

provincial park Ischigualasto Provincial Park A provincial park (or territorial park) is a park administered by one of the provinces of a country, as opposed to a national park. They are similar to state parks in other countries. They are typically open to the ...

in the

Chilcotin Country The Chilcotin () region of British Columbia is usually known simply as "the Chilcotin", and also in speech commonly as "the Chilcotin Country" or simply Chilcotin. It is a plateau and mountain region in British Columbia on the inland lee of the Co ...

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 ...

. The park is 111,977 hectares in size and contains Far Mountain and

Mount Downton Mount Downton is the highest summit of the diameter Itcha Range, located northeast of Anahim Lake and east of Far Mountain in the Chilcotin District of the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It lies within Itcha Ilgachuz Provincia ...

, its two most prominent peaks.

History and conservation

Established in 1995 the park was recommended for protection under the

Cariboo The Cariboo is an intermontane region of British Columbia, Canada, centered on a plateau stretching from Fraser Canyon to the Cariboo Mountains. The name is a reference to the caribou that were once abundant in the region. The Cariboo was the ...

- Chilcotin Land-Use Plan, and designated a Class A Park. Itcha Ilgachuz protects alpine grasslands, wetlands, and wildlife habitat. The

Itcha Range The Itcha Range, also known as the Itchas, is a small isolated mountain range in the West-Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It is located northeast of the community of Anahim Lake. With a maximum elevation of , it is the lowest of t ...

and

Ilgachuz Range The Ilgachuz Range is a name given to an extinct shield volcano in British Columbia, Canada. It is not a mountain range in the normal sense, because it was formed as a single volcano that has been eroded for the past 5 million years. It lies on ...

are

shield volcano A shield volcano is a type of volcano named for its low profile, resembling a warrior's shield lying on the ground. It is formed by the eruption of highly fluid (low viscosity) lava, which travels farther and forms thinner flows than the more v ...

es that formed 5 and 2.5 million years ago as the

North American Plate The North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, Cuba, the Bahamas, extreme northeastern Asia, and parts of Iceland and the Azores. With an area of , it is the Earth's second largest tectonic plate, behind the Pacific ...

drifted over the

Anahim hotspot The Anahim hotspot is a hypothesized hotspot in the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It has been proposed as the candidate source for volcanism in the Anahim Volcanic Belt, a long chain of volcanoes and other magmatic features tha ...

. These ranges are situated in the

rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from water bodies (such as oceans and large lakes) is carrie ...

of the

Coast Mountains The Coast Mountains (french: La chaîne Côtière) are a major mountain range in the Pacific Coast Ranges of western North America, extending from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and virtually all of the Coast of British Columbia ...

, and support a high diversity of plant and animal species including

woodland caribou Woodland caribou may refer to two North American reindeer (''Rangifer tarandus'') populations: * Boreal woodland caribou The boreal woodland caribou (''Rangifer tarandus caribou''; but subject to a recent taxonomic revision. See Reindeer: taxon ...

Recreation

The park has a network of unmaintained trails for hikers or equestrian users. One trail is open to mountain biking. Wilderness backcountry camping and fishing or hunting (with a license) are permitted. Fish habitat is limited by steep terrain, with Itcha Lake supporting populations of

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coasta ...

and

bull trout The bull trout (''Salvelinus confluentus'') is a char of the family Salmonidae native to northwestern North America. Historically, ''S. confluentus'' has been known as the " Dolly Varden" (''S. malma''), but was reclassified as a separate specie ...

. In winter, a network of snowmobile trails and play areas is available that avoids the preferred winter range of the woodland caribou.

Location

The park is north of BC Highway 20 near the community of

Anahim Lake :''The subject of this article should not be confused with Anaham, which is a different community located nine kilometres east of Alexis Creek, British Columbia, which is in the same area.'' Anahim Lake is a small community in British Columbia. ...

. There are no roads in the park.

References

External links

{{British Columbia parks Geography of the Chilcotin Provincial parks of British Columbia 1995 establishments in British Columbia Protected areas established in 1995