The Spatsizi River is a tributary 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 ...

, rising near

Mount Gunanoot Mount Gunanoot is a mountain in the Spatsizi Plateau of the North-Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada, located just east of the headwaters of the Spatsizi River. It is named for Simon Gunanoot, a Gitxsan packer, entrepreneur and erstwhil ...

in the southeastern

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 ...

, British Columbia.

Etymology

"Spatsizi" is 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", a reference to the habit of mountain goats in the region of rolling in the red dust of a particular mountain, making their coat-hair red.

Geography

The Spatsizi River emerges near the foot of

in the

Skeena Mountains The Skeena Mountains, also known as the Skeenas, are a subrange of the Interior Mountains of northern British Columbia, Canada, essentially flanking the upper basin of the Skeena River. They lie just inland from the southern end of the Boundary ...

of north-central British Columbia. It then flows downslope and enters

Spatsizi Headwaters Provincial Park Spatsizi Headwaters Provincial Park is a provincial park in the Stikine Region of British Columbia, Canada. It was established on January 25, 2001 to protect the headwaters of the Spatsizi River while providing recreational facilities for visitor ...

from the south. The river continues north, leaving the park to enter a broad valley in the heart of the

. The flat-bottomed topography of the valley allows the river to meander considerably along much of its northwestward flow until it reaches the

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 ...

References

* * Rivers of British Columbia Stikine Country Tributaries of the Stikine River Cassiar Land District {{BritishColumbiaInterior-river-stub

Etymology

Geography

See also

References