Smith River is an abandoned emergency airport and weather station in the

Liard Country The Liard Country, sometimes known simply as "the Liard", is the usual name for a region of far northern British Columbia, Canada, generally describing the immediate environs of the Liard River along the Alaska Highway, and west of the line of the R ...

of far northern

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. It is located southwest of the junction of Shaw Creek with the Smith River, which enters the Liard between the confluences of the

Toad Toad is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands. A distinction between frogs and toads is not made in scientif ...

and Coal Rivers. It is located just south of the British Columbia-

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

boundary, and is the location of the coldest temperature ever recorded in British Columbia and the eighth-coldest temperature on record in Canada: , on January 31, 1947. During World War II Smith River was built up and used as an airport base as defense against the Japanese if they should ever invade the mainland of North America. A 6000 ft long runway was built at Smith River, and the government maintained it until the 1970s, at which time the airport was abandoned. In the spring and summer of 1982, a forest fire consumed all the remaining buildings.

References

Unincorporated settlements in British Columbia Liard Country {{BritishColumbiaInterior-geo-stub

See also

References