The Mistik Creek is a stream in the Hudson Bay

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

in the Northern Region of

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

, Canada, approximately northeast of

Bakers Narrows Bakers Narrows, Manitoba, is a small residential community approximately southeast of Flin Flon on Lake Athapapuskow. There are five subdivisions located near the lakeshore with a total of approximately 150 cottages, many of which are permanent ...

. ''Mistik'' is a Cree word for 'Tree'.

Description

The remote creek flows through Churchill River Upland portion of the

Midwestern Canadian Shield forests The Midwestern Canadian Shield forests ecoregion, in the Taiga and Boreal forests Biome, are of northern Canada. Setting This is an area of rolling hills with lakes both small and large, wetlands, and rocky outcrops on the Canadian Shield in no ...

and is surrounded by mixed forest with stands of black spruce,

white spruce White spruce is a common name for several species of spruce ('' Picea'') and may refer to: * ''Picea glauca'', native to most of Canada and Alaska with limited populations in the northeastern United States * '' Picea engelmannii'', native to the ...

jack pine Jack pine (''Pinus banksiana'') is an eastern North American pine. Its native range in Canada is east of the Rocky Mountains from the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories to Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, and the north-central and ...

, and trembling aspen. The shoreline is characterized by steeply sloping irregular rock ridges and poorly drained areas of muskeg. Mistik Creek area is largely pristine and home to

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 ma ...

black bear Black bear or Blackbear may refer to: Animals * American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species * Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species Music * Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...

, lynx,

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

, and beaver. It is part of the range of the Naosap

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: taxo ...

herd. Bird species include raven,

common loon The common loon or great northern diver (''Gavia immer'') is a large member of the loon, or diver, family of birds. Breeding adults have a plumage that includes a broad black head and neck with a greenish, purplish, or bluish sheen, blackish ...

spruce grouse The spruce grouse (''Canachites canadensis''), also known as Canada grouse, spruce hen or fool hen, is a medium-sized grouse closely associated with the coniferous boreal forests or taiga of North America. It is the only member of the genus ''C ...

, bald eagle and hawk owl. The creek is not easily accessible, but there is some trapping, hunting, and recreational fishing activity.

Lakes

Mistik Creek notably includes fourteen lakes, named in numeric order in Cree. In order from south to north, these lakes (including their English translation) are: * Payuk Lake ('One') — outflow * Neso Lake ('Two') * Nisto Lake = ('Three') * Nao Lake = ('Four') * Niyanun Lake ('Five') * Nikotwasik Lake ('Six') * Tapukok Lake ('Seven') * Uyenanao Lake ('Eight') * Kakat Lake ('Nine') * Mitatut Lake ('Ten') * Payukosap Lake ('Eleven') * Nesosap Lake ('Twelve') * Nistosap Lake ('Thirteen') * Naosap Lake =('Fourteen') —

source Source may refer to: Research * Historical document * Historical source * Source (intelligence) or sub source, typically a confidential provider of non open-source intelligence * Source (journalism), a person, publication, publishing institute o ...

Course

The river begins in Naosap Lake, and the upper lakes lie in very irregular basins with low banks surrounded by muskeg and flows slowly. Downstream, the lakes become smaller and the river portions form continuous rapids. At Neso Lake, the creek passes by the Neso Lake Provincial Park and under

Manitoba Highway 10 Provincial Trunk Highway 10 (PTH 10) is a provincial primary highway located in the Canadian province of Manitoba. PTH 10 begins at the International Peace Garden along the Canada–United States border near Boissevain. The highway runs north ...

, before emptying into

Lake Athapapuskow Lake Athapapuskow is a glacial lake in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, (Saskatchewan entry) Canada, located southeast of Flin Flon, Manitoba. The lake is in the Hudson Bay drainage basin and is the source of the Goose River. Description Lake Ath ...

via Payuk Lake's outflow Payuk Creek.

Mistik Creek Loop

The Mistik Creek Loop is a well-known remote wilderness canoe trip, in total length, which can be paddled in four to five days. The route is characterized by many short, unmarked portages around small sets of rapids. It begins and ends at

and relies on longer portages between

, Alberts Lake, and Naosap Lake

Tributaries

* Holt Lake (right) * Vamp Creek (left)

References