Meager Creek is a creek in the southern

Pacific Ranges , photo = Mount Garibaldi (50997016501).jpg , photo_size = 280px , photo_caption = Mount Garibaldi massif as seen from Squamish , map = , map_image = South BC-NW USA-relief PacificRanges.png , m ...

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 ...

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 northeast into the

Lillooet River The Lillooet River is a major river of the southern Coast Mountains of British Columbia. It begins at Silt Lake, on the southern edge of the Lillooet Crown Icecap about 80 kilometres northwest of Pemberton and about 85 kilometres northwest of W ...

approximately northwest of the village of Pemberton and is adjacent to the

Upper Lillooet Provincial Park Upper Lillooet Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, 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 ...

. It is noted for a large set of surface

hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...

s, known as the Meager Creek Hot Springs. These are related to

volcanism Volcanism, vulcanism or volcanicity is the phenomenon of eruption of molten rock (magma) onto the surface of the Earth or a solid-surface planet or moon, where lava, pyroclastics, and volcanic gases erupt through a break in the surface called ...

of the

Mount Meager massif The Mount Meager massif is a group of volcanic peaks in the of the Coast Mountains in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Part of the Cascade Volcanic Arc of western North America, it is located north of Vancouver at the northern end of the ...

on its north side. Keyhole Hot Springs, also known as Pebble Creek Hot Springs, fed from the same geothermal vents is much more accessible, via the ploughed Upper Lillooet FSR (Forest Service Road), and is a trail as opposed to to Meager Creek Hot Springs. Check the Forest Service Road Reports before travel. Public access reopened in the summer of 2008, several years after vandalism of the site and flooding damage to the access road and bridge had seen the site closed. On September 19, 2009, the Capricorn Creek Bridge was once again destroyed by a debris slide. The springs were closed to public access, except in winter, when they could be accessed over the top of the

Pemberton Icefield The Pemberton Icefield or Pemberton Icecap, is the southernmost of the series of very large icefields studding the Pacific Ranges of the southern Coast Mountains in British Columbia, Canada. Physical Details Approximately in area, the icefield's s ...

/ Meager Glacier by means of either

snowmobile A snowmobile, also known as a Ski-Doo, snowmachine, sled, motor sled, motor sledge, skimobile, or snow scooter, is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. It is designed to be operated on snow and ice and does not ...

or cross country skis. Until 2010, the site was serviced by Creekside Resources on a fee basis to use the pools. Though the pools are still officially closed, public access to the area has resumed. Because of limited access, there have been no

fecal coliform A fecal coliform (British: faecal coliform) is a facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped, gram-negative, non-sporulating bacterium. Coliform bacteria generally originate in the intestines of warm-blooded animals. Fecal coliforms are capable of growth ...

tests done. Prior to the slide, they were done on a monthly basis, except winter and the sand traps were cleared every 2 to 3 days. The pools must be shoveled out and flushed before use 45 minutes is the common practice. A new public trail, named VOC Harrison Hut Trail, opened in the summer of 2014. It was built and completed, in August 2014, by volunteers from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

Varsity Outdoor Club (VOC). In December 2015, the area was offered up for tenure by the BC Ministry of Forests; they were looking for a proposal to formally develop the existing ''ad hoc'' trail from the mark along the VOC Harrison Hut Trail, where it passes through a clear cut and connects to the old Meager Creek Hot Springs Trail, built on an existing decommissioned

logging road A gravel road is a type of unpaved road surfaced with gravel that has been brought to the site from a quarry or stream bed. They are common in less-developed nations, and also in the rural areas of developed nations such as Canada and the Unite ...

.General Location and Extensive Use Area Maps
/ref> As the pools are officially closed, there is currently no fee. A fee structure will be reinstated if tenure is granted. First right of refusal goes to the historical operator: the Lil'wat First Nation's Creekside Resources. If they defer, the tenure applicant has proposed to maintain the pools. The historical fee prior to the 2010 slide was $5. Though people camp for free in unofficial sites in the Upper Meager Valley, it is not allowed around the hot spring pools as the Meager Creek Hot Springs Recreational Area is a Minimum Impact Site. Also, camping in the Valley bottom is prohibited because of significant seismic danger. Wildlife such as

wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; plural, : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been reco ...

wolverine The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for "gluttony, glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is ...

moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult mal ...

, raptors, hybrid

black-tailed deer Two forms of black-tailed deer or blacktail deer that occupy coastal woodlands in the Pacific Northwest of North America are subspecies of the mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus''). They have sometimes been treated as a species, but virtually all r ...

mule deer The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer. Unlike the related whit ...

, hybrid

lynx A lynx is a type of wild cat. Lynx may also refer to: Astronomy * Lynx (constellation) * Lynx (Chinese astronomy) * Lynx X-ray Observatory, a NASA-funded mission concept for a next-generation X-ray space observatory Places Canada * Lynx, Ontar ...

/ bob cat,

mountain goat The mountain goat (''Oreamnos americanus''), also known as the Rocky Mountain goat, is a hoofed mammal endemic to mountainous areas of western North America. A subalpine to alpine species, it is a sure-footed climber commonly seen on cliffs and ...

mountain sheep The argali (''Ovis ammon''), also known as the mountain sheep, is a wild sheep that roams the highlands of western East Asia, the Himalayas, Tibet, and the Altai Mountains. Description The name 'argali' is the Mongolian word for wild sheep. I ...

, and

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which in ...

inhabit the area as well as

grizzly The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...

and

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...

s. The area is about a two-hour drive from Pemberton on paved roads, gravel roads, and dirt tracks. Although normally reached by

four-wheel drive Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

vehicles and larger

pickup truck A pickup truck or pickup is a light-duty truck that has an enclosed cabin, and a back end made up of a cargo bed that is enclosed by three low walls with no roof (this cargo bed back end sometimes consists of a tailgate and removable covering) ...

s, the last can be covered by snowmobile in winter.

Avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and earth ...

hazards relating to the combined volcanic and glacial character of the surrounding geography are real and ongoing. The valley of Meager Creek is one of the most active and hazardous in the North American Cordillera.

Debris flow Debris flows are geological phenomena in which water-laden masses of soil and fragmented rock rush down mountainsides, funnel into stream channels, entrain objects in their paths, and form thick, muddy deposits on valley floors. They generally ...

s, mainly from the Mount Meager massif, have filled the valley to a depth of .Meager slide: One year later
/ref>

References

{{coord, 50, 36, 54, N, 123, 23, 40, W, source:BCNames/GeoBC_type:event_region:CA, display=title Pemberton Valley Natural hazards in British Columbia Rivers of the Pacific Ranges

See also

References