Telkwa is a village located along
British Columbia Highway 16
Highway 16 is a highway in British Columbia, Canada. It is an important section of the Yellowhead Highway, a part of the Trans-Canada Highway that runs across Western Canada. The highway closely follows the path of the northern B.C. alignment o ...
, nearly southeast of the town of
Smithers
Smithers is a surname of English origin. It derives from the Middle English term "smyther", referring to a metalsmith, and is thus related to the common occupational surname Smith. The name Smither is related.
People
*Alan Smithers (born 1938), ...
and west of the city of
Prince George, in northwest
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.
History
Settlement in the area began around 1904 in a townsite known as Aldermere on the hill above Telkwa. Around 1907, people began to move down the hill to be closer to water supplies and the anticipated route of the
Grand Trunk Pacific Railway
The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway was a historic Canadian transcontinental railway running from Fort William, Ontario (now Thunder Bay) to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, a Pacific coast port. East of Winnipeg the line continued as the National Tra ...
. The name Telkwa is possibly an Indigenous term for "meeting of the waters" which appropriately describes the confluence of the
Bulkley and
Telkwa River
Telkwa is a village located along British Columbia Highway 16, nearly southeast of the town of Smithers and west of the city of Prince George, in northwest British Columbia, Canada.
History
Settlement in the area began around 1904 in a townsi ...
s in town.
Demographics
In the
2021 Census of Population conducted by
Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...
, Telkwa had a population of 1,474 living in 562 of its 584 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 1,327. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
Attractions
The history of the town can be explored at the Telkwa Museum and on a tour of the historic former town site of Aldermere. Telkwa hosts an annual barbecue and demolition derby on Labour Day weekend. The town also has Eddy Park, at the riverside with a small gazebo, right off the highway to sit and have a picnic and watch the Bulkley River go by.
Fort Telkwa Riverfront Accommodations & RV Campground is situated on the Bulkley River just south of Telkwa on Highway 16. It stretches over a quarter mile along the Bulkley River, world renowned for its Steelhead fishing. There is a full service gas station, a convenience store and restaurant, building supply store, bar with a cold wine and beer as well as a fish truck on the bank of the Bulkley River at the end of Hankin avenue.
There are 4 trails; The Hunter Basin Road which is 8 km long, Winfield Creek Road Trail, 12.5 km., McDowell Lake Trail 10.5 km and Telkwa Pass Trail 51 km long.
Tyhee Lake and Campground is 2.6 kilometers north east of Telkwa and offers swimming, boating, biking and camping as well as great trout fishing. Tyhee Lake Provincial Park offers 59 campsites, 2 double sites and 4 tent sites.
Infrastructure
Transportation
Via Rail
Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via, is a Canadian Crown corporation that is mandated to operate intercity passenger rail service in Canada. It receives an annual subsidy from Transport Canada to offset the cost of operating ...
's
Jasper – Prince Rupert train
Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases,Kostov, R. I. 2010. Review on the mineralogical systematics of jasper and related rocks. – Archaeometry Workshop, 7, 3, 209-213PDF/ref> ...
calls at the
Telkwa railway station
Telkwa station is a railway station in Telkwa, British Columbia. It is on the Canadian National Railway mainline and serves Via Rail as a flag stop for the Jasper – Prince Rupert train
Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cr ...
several times per week.
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Villages in British Columbia
Populated places in the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako
Bulkley Valley