Mica Creek is a small

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

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 ...

that was used as a base of operations for the construction of the

Mica Dam Mica Dam is a hydroelectric embankment dam spanning the Columbia River 135 kilometres north of Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada. It was built as one of three Canadian projects under the terms of the 1964 Columbia River Treaty and is operate ...

hydroelectric project 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 exce ...

in the 1960s and 1970s. It is located 148 km north of Revelstoke, British Columbia on Highway 23 and situated at the convergence of the

Revelstoke Lake Lake Revelstoke or Revelstoke Lake or Revelstoke Lake Reservoir is an artificial lake on the Columbia River, north of the town of Revelstoke, British Columbia and south of Mica Creek. This lake is the reservoir formed by the Revelstoke Dam, whi ...

(the Columbia River) and a stream called Mica Creek. The village is effectively a relocation of Mica, which had been at the confluence of the Columbia and Mica Creek proper. The creek itself was named for the flakes of mica minerals which could be found floating in its waters. The Mica Creek area was one of the foci of the

Big Bend Gold Rush The Big Bend Gold Rush was a gold rush in the Big Bend Country of the Colony of British Columbia (now a Canadian province) in the mid-1860s. History Discovery & early miners In 1861, the gold commissioner at Rock Creek reported a First Nations ...

of the 1860s. The village of Mica Creek reached its peak population of approximately 4000 people around 1973, at the time of the opening of the Mica Dam. At that time there were quite a number of amenities including a school, church,

ski lodge A ski lodge or day lodge is a building located in a ski area that provides amenities such as food, beverages, seating area, restrooms, and locker rooms for skiers and snowboarders. Larger resorts have a day lodge at each base area and also at mid- ...

community center Community centres, community centers, or community halls are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole co ...

, outdoor swimming pool, police station,

fire hall __NOTOC__ A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equipment, fire h ...

, grocery store and post office. As the village reduced in population, these were gradually shut down; the high school closed its doors in 1978. At the time of the construction of the Revelstoke Dam downriver in the early 1980s, the townsite of Mica Creek was moved to a higher position 500 meters inland from the Columbia River to accommodate flooding which created the dam's reservoir,

Lake Revelstoke Lake Revelstoke or Revelstoke Lake or Revelstoke Lake Reservoir is an artificial lake on the Columbia River, north of the town of Revelstoke, British Columbia and south of Mica Creek. This lake is the reservoir formed by the Revelstoke Dam, w ...

. Annual snowfall at Mica Creek averages 620 cm, usually reaching a depth of 1–2 meters by mid-winter, making it ones of the snowiest communities in Canada. Two heli-skiing operators are based at Mica, CMH Monashees and Mica Heli Guides. As of October 2005, Mica Creek is no longer incorporated as a village, but most of the buildings of the old townsite are still maintained such as the recreation center (curling rink, swimming pool, sauna, gymnasium) as well as a handful of houses, cottages, and gazebos. The old Mica Creek Ski Hill chalet still exists, although the lift has been removed. Since 2011, BC Hydro has been upgrading the Mica Dam with the installation of 2 additional generator-turbine units. Consequently, the village currently houses about 400 workers, predominantly in the temporary Chief Kinbasket Lodge.

References

* {{authority control Unincorporated settlements in British Columbia Columbia Country Populated places in the Columbia-Shuswap Regional District Ghost towns in British Columbia British Columbia populated places on the Columbia River

See also

References