Telegraph Creek is a small community located off Highway 37 in 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, ...

at the confluence 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 ...

and Telegraph Creek. The only permanent settlement on the

, it is home to approximately 250 members of

Tahltan First Nation The Tahltan First Nation, also known as the Tahltan Indian Band, is a band government of the Tahltan people. Their main community and reserves are located at Telegraph Creek, British Columbia. Their language is the Tahltan language, which is an ...

and non-native residents. The town offers basic services, including Anglican and Catholic churches, a general store, a post office, a clinic with several nurses on-call around the clock, two

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...

officers, and a K-9 school. Steep river banks and rocky gorges form the terraced nature of the geography. The community includes Telegraph Creek Indian Reserve No. 6, Telegraph Creek Indian Reserve No. 6A, and Guhthe Tah Indian Reserve No. 12 which are under the governance of the Tahltan First Nation of Telegraph Creek. Stikine Indian Reserve No. 7, which is one mile west (downstream) and on the opposite side of the Stikine River, is under the governance of the

Iskut First Nation The Iskut First Nation is a band government of the Tahltan people. Their main reserve is Iskut IR No.6, located at Iskut, British Columbia; Iskut is in the same vicinity, while the band's third reserve, Stikine River IR No. 7 is located one mile w ...

of the settlement of

Iskut Iskut is a small, mostly Indigenous community in the Stikine Country of northwestern British Columbia. It is located on Highway 37, at the north end of Eddontenajon Lake just south of Dease Lake and the crossing of the Stikine River. Communi ...

, which is on the river of the same name. The two bands together comprise the

Tahltan Nation The Tàłtàn Nation is a tribal council-type organization (but ''not'' a tribal council) combining the governments of two band governments of the Tahltan people in the Stikine Country of the Northern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. The two ...

Tahltan The Tahltan or Nahani are a First Nations people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group who live in northern British Columbia around Telegraph Creek, Dease Lake, and Iskut. The Tahltan constitute the fourth division of the ''Nahane' ...

(or Nahanni) refers to a

Northern Athabaskan Northern Athabaskan is a geographic sub-grouping of the Athabaskan language family spoken by indigenous peoples in the northern part of North America, particularly in Alaska (Alaskan Athabaskans), Yukon, and the Northwest Territories. The Northe ...

people that live around Telegraph Creek,

Dease Lake Dease Lake is a small community located in the Cassiar Country of the Northern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It is located a few hours south of the Yukon border on Stewart–Cassiar Highway (Highway 37) at the south end of the lake o ...

and

History

The Stikine region is the traditional home of the

people, who have lived there for generations. The modern history of the Telegraph Creek and Dease Lake area dates back to the 1860s and 1870s with the Stikine and

Cassiar Gold Rush The Cassiar Country, also referred to simply as the Cassiar, is a historical geographic region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The Cassiar is located in the northwest portion of British Columbia, just to the northeast of the Stikin ...

es. Telegraph Creek witnessed the discovery of gold by prospectors on the Stikine River in the 1860s and was the head of navigation. In 1866, the construction of the

Russian-American Telegraph Russian Americans ( rus, русские американцы, r=russkiye amerikantsy, p= ˈruskʲɪje ɐmʲɪrʲɪˈkant͡sɨ) are Americans of full or partial Russian ancestry. The term can apply to recent Russian immigrants to the United Stat ...

line to the

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 ...

gave Telegraph Creek its name. As early as 10,000 years ago, the Tahltan people used

obsidian Obsidian () is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed when lava extrusive rock, extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth. It is an igneous rock. Obsidian is produced from felsic lava, rich in the lighter elements s ...

from the

Mount Edziza volcanic complex The Mount Edziza volcanic complex is a large and potentially active north-south trending complex volcano in Stikine Country, northwestern British Columbia, Canada, located southeast of the small community of Telegraph Creek. It occupies the sout ...

to make

tool A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...

s and

weapon A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, s ...

s for trading material. This is the main source of obsidian found in northwestern British Columbia. In 1874,

Nellie Cashman Ellen Cashman (1845 – 4 January 1925) was an Irish nurse, restaurateur, businesswoman and philanthropist in Arizona, Alaska, British Columbia and Yukon. Cashman led a rescue party to miners to the Cassiar Country gold mine in the Cassi ...

, nicknamed "the Angel of Cassiar", opened a boarding house for miners in Telegraph Creek during the

Cassiar gold rush The Cassiar Country, also referred to simply as the Cassiar, is a historical geographic region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The Cassiar is located in the northwest portion of British Columbia, just to the northeast of the Stikin ...

. Author

Edward Hoagland Edward Hoagland (born December 21, 1932) is an American author best known for his nature and travel writing. Life Hoagland was born in New York, New York and attended Harvard University. He joined the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus ...

wrote extensively about Telegraph Creek in his 1969 book ''Notes from the Century Before: A Journal from British Columbia'' in which he reveals the presence of a high level of ghost activities.

Recreation

Telegraph and its surrounding areas are known for their hiking, riverboating, camping, hunting and fishing. There are organized tours lasting from half a day to several days. The area surrounding Telegraph Creek holds five British Columbia Provincial parks: *

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 ...

and

Mount Edziza Provincial Park Mount Edziza Provincial Park is a provincial park in Cassiar Land District of northern British Columbia, Canada. It was established on 27 July 1972 to protect the Mount Edziza volcanic complex and the surrounding Tahltan Highland. Geography The p ...

(both located near Telegraph Creek) *

Great Glacier Provincial Park Great Glacier Provincial Park is a provincial park located in the Stikine Country region of British Columbia, Canada. It was established on January 25, 2001 to protect Great Glacier and the surrounding mountainous terrain. The park lies in the t ...

( to the southwest) *

Choquette Hot Springs Provincial Park Choquette Hot Springs Provincial Park is a provincial park located in the Stikine Country region of British Columbia, Canada. It was established on January 25, 2001, to protect Stikine River Hot Springs, the largest hot springs on the Canadian sid ...

(southwest of Telegraph Creek) *

Border Lake Provincial Park Border Lake Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, located on the right (west) bank of the Unuk River and extending from that river's crossing of the Canada–United States border The border between Canada and ...

( to the south)

Access

The road between Dease Lake, BC and Telegraph Creek is beautiful but rough, with of gravel, steep gradients (up to 20%), narrow passages along canyon walls with no guardrails, and sharp-angled switchbacks. Only the first stretch is paved. Telegraph Creek Road (also called Hwy. 51) should be driven with caution and awareness; it is suitable for most vehicles but is not recommended for large RVs and travel trailers. One source indicates that "the road is prone to washouts and rock slides". At times when the road is closed, the government of BC provides warnings on its www.DriveBC.ca Web site.{{cite web , url=https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2021TRAN0056-000727 , title=Telegraph Creek Road west of Dease Lake closed until further notice , date=April 15, 2021 , work=Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, BC, access-date=21 January 2021 , quote= The community can also be reached by water, via the Stikine River from Alaska and by air.

Notable people from Telegraph Creek

* Dempsey Bob, carver * Dale Campbell, carver

References

External links

British Columbia.com
- Telegraph Creek

Telegraph Creek Telegraph Creek is a small community located off Highway 37 in northern British Columbia at the confluence of the Stikine River and Telegraph Creek. The only permanent settlement on the Stikine River, it is home to approximately 250 members of ...