Nisga'a Memorial Lava Bed Provincial Park (

Nisga'a The Nisga’a , often formerly spelled Nishga and spelled in the Nisga'a language as (pronounced ), are an Indigenous people of Canada in British Columbia. They reside in the Nass River valley of northwestern British Columbia. The name is a r ...

: ) 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

Nass River The Nass River is a river in northern British Columbia, Canada. It flows from the Coast Mountains southwest to Nass Bay, a sidewater of Portland Inlet, which connects to the North Pacific Ocean via the Dixon Entrance. Nass Bay joins Portland Inl ...

valley in northwestern

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 ...

, about 80 kilometres north of

Terrace Terrace may refer to: Landforms and construction * Fluvial terrace, a natural, flat surface that borders and lies above the floodplain of a stream or river * Terrace, a street suffix * Terrace, the portion of a lot between the public sidewalk a ...

, and near the Nisga'a Villages of Gitlakdamix and

Gitwinksihlkw Gitwinksihlkw ( , ) formerly Canyon City, is a Nisga'a Village in the Nass River valley of northwestern British Columbia, Canada, near that river's confluence with the Tseax River. An older spelling is Kitwilluchsilt. It is one of four Nisga'a ...

. The park was established by Order in Council on April 29, 1992, expanded in 1995, included in the

Nisga'a Treaty The Nisga'a Final Agreement, also known as the Nisga'a Treaty, is a treaty that was settled between the Nisg̱a'a, the government of British Columbia, and the Government of Canada that was signed on 27 May 1998 and came into effect on May 11, 2000 ...

in 2000, and is the first park in the province to be jointly managed by the government and a

First Nation Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

. An interpretive centre in a traditional Nisga'a

longhouse A longhouse or long house is a type of long, proportionately narrow, single-room building for communal dwelling. It has been built in various parts of the world including Asia, Europe, and North America. Many were built from timber and often rep ...

informs visitors about the Nisga'a legend that accounts for the lava as well as geological causes. The park has waterfalls, pools,

cinder cones A cinder cone (or scoria cone) is a steep conical hill of loose pyroclastic fragments, such as volcanic clinkers, volcanic ash, or scoria that has been built around a volcanic vent. The pyroclastic fragments are formed by explosive eruptions or ...

, tree moulds,

lava tubes A lava tube, or pyroduct, is a natural conduit formed by flowing lava from a volcanic vent that moves beneath the hardened surface of a lava flow. If lava in the tube empties, it will leave a cave. Formation A lava tube is a type of lava ca ...

, spatter cones, a lava-dammed lake, caves and other features created by lava flows. The park aims to protect moose, goats, marmots, bears and many other species of wildlife. The park covers 178.93 square kilometres in area.

Volcanic eruption

It is believed to be the site of Canada's most recent volcanic eruption and lava flow, a geological disaster that killed an estimated 2,000 people. The source of the eruption was the

Tseax Cone The Tseax Cone ( ), also called the Tseax River Cone or the Aiyansh Volcano, is a young and active cinder cone and adjacent lava flows associated with the Nass Ranges and the Northern Cordilleran Volcanic Province. It is located east of Crater C ...

. Large

lava flows Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...

med the

and destroyed two villages of the

people around the year 1700. Lava beds rise as much as 12 metres above the modern road. Nisga'a oral histories record the names of the two villages destroyed in the eruption, Wii Lax K'abit and Lax Ksiluux.

References

External links

Nisga'a Memorial Lava Bed Provincial Park
- BC Parks site *
Nisga'a Lisims - park website
Provincial parks of British Columbia Volcanism of British Columbia Natural disasters in British Columbia Nisga'a Nass Country Lava fields 1992 establishments in British Columbia Protected areas established in 1992 {{BritishColumbiaInterior-geo-stub

Volcanic eruption

See also

See also

References

External links