Spatsizi Plateau Wilderness 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 ...

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 ...

, protecting most of the

Spatsizi Plateau The Spatsizi Plateau is a plateau in the upper basin of the Stikine River in north-central British Columbia, Canada. Most of the plateau, which is a sub-plateau of the Stikine Plateau, is enshrined in either Spatsizi Plateau Wilderness Provincial ...

, the southeasternmost subplateau of the

Stikine Plateau The Stikine Plateau is a plateau in northern British Columbia, Canada. It lies between the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains on the west and southwest and the Cassiar Mountains along its northeast, and between the Skeena Mountains on its sout ...

, and the upper reaches of the basin of the

Stikine River The Stikine River is a major river in northern British Columbia (BC), Canada and southeastern Alaska in the United States. It drains a large, remote upland area known as the Stikine Country east of the Coast Mountains. Flowing west and south f ...

Etymology

"Spatsizi" is an anglicization of a phrase from the

Sekani language The Sekani language or Tse’khene is a Northern Athabaskan language spoken by the Sekani people of north-central British Columbia, Canada. Phonology Consonants Sekani has 33 consonants: Vowels Tone Sekani has two tones: low and high. Hig ...

meaning "red goat" (''tspah''=goat, ''tsije''=red).

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 ...

s in the region roll on a particular red-coloured mountain, with the ochre dust colouring their coats red.

History

Originally established by an

Order in Council An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council ('' Ki ...

(OIC) at approximately 1,668,000 acres (675,016 ha) more or less, it was converted by the Protected Areas of British Columbia Amendment Act, 2001, legislation by the then-new

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

government to 696,091 ha (1,720,078 acres) more or less, and was again reduced by the Parks and Protected Areas Statutes Amendment Act, 2003, to 695,102 ha (1,717,634 acres) more or less.

Geography

The park borders

Stikine River Provincial Park The Stikine River Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia. The park covers a total area of approximately 217,000 hectares. The main feature of the Stikine River Provincial Park is a portion of the Stikine River known as "The Grand ...

to the north,

Tatlatui Provincial Park Tatlatui Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, located at the southern end of the Spatsizi Plateau and around the headwaters of the Firesteel River, part of the Finlay-Peace River basin and therefore in the Arctic ...

to the southeast, and completely surrounds

Gladys Lake Ecological Reserve Gladys Lake Ecological Reserve is an ecological reserve located in the Eaglenest Range of the Spatsizi Plateau in north-central British Columbia, Canada. It was established in 1975 under the ''Ecological Reserves Act'' to facilitate scientific r ...

Ecology

This is the range of the province's largest remaining herd of

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 ...

, as well as mountain goats,

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 ...

, grizzlies and

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 ...

References

External links