The Coldwater River is located in south central

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 ...

. It is the largest tributary of the

Nicola River The Nicola River , originally French Rivière de Nicholas or Rivière de Nicolas, adapted to Nicolas River, Nicola's River in English, is one of the major tributaries of the Thompson River in the Canadian province of British Columbia, entering th ...

, which it joins at the city of Merritt. The river drains a watershed of . Its traditional native name is ''Ntstlatko'' ("cold water").

Course

The Coldwater River originates in the

Cascade Mountains The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

west of

Coquihalla Pass Coquihalla Summit (el. ) is a highway summit along the Coquihalla Highway in British Columbia, Canada. It is the highest point on the highway between the cities of Hope and Merritt. It is located just south of the former toll booth plaza on the ...

. Its headwaters flow from

Zupjok Peak Zupjok Peak is a mountain summit located along the northwestern boundary of the Coquihalla Summit Recreation Area, in the North Cascades of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is situated north of the Coquihalla Highway, west of Zopkios Ri ...

and other high mountains such as Llama Peak,

Alpaca Peak Alpaca Peak is a granitic mountain located in the North Cascades of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is situated northwest of Coquihalla Summit, and southwest of Vicuna Peak, its nearest higher peak. Precipitation runoff from the peak ...

, Vicuña Peak, and

Guanaco Peak Guanaco Peak is a mountain located in the North Cascades of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is the highest summit of the Anderson River Group, a subset of the North Cascades. It is situated northwest of Coquihalla Summit, and northeas ...

. It flows generally north for before passing over and through the town of Merritt along what was formerly Pine Street, it then joins the Nicola River. Major tributary creeks include Midday, Voght, Brook, Juliet, and July. The river flows under the

Coquihalla Highway Coquihalla may refer to: *British Columbia Highway 5, also known as Coquihalla highway * Coquihalla River * Coquihalla Pass * Okanagan—Coquihalla, a federal electoral district in British Columbia * Coquihalla Canyon Provincial Park *Coquihalla Ri ...

at the Kingvale Interchange. The Coquihalla Highway runs through most of the Coldwater's valley, as do gas and oil pipelines.

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

tracks run along the northern part of the river. The river flows through two

Nlaka'pamux The Nlaka'pamux or Nlakapamuk ( ; ), also previously known as the ''Thompson'', ''Thompson River Salish'', ''Thompson Salish'', ''Thompson River Indians'' or ''Thompson River people'', and historically as the ''Klackarpun'', ''Haukamaugh'', ''Kni ...

Indian reserve In Canada, an Indian reserve (french: réserve indienne) is specified by the '' Indian Act'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." Ind ...

s belonging to the

Coldwater Indian Band Coldwater First Nation ( thp, C'eletkwmx) is a Nlaka'pamux First Nations government located in the Central Interior region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is a member of the Scw’exmx Tribal Council, which are two of three tri ...

: the Coldwater Indian Reserve 1 and Paul's Basin Indian Reserve 2.

Ecology

The river passes through two biogeoclimatic zones over its course. In its upper reaches, it passes through the Interior Douglas Fir Zone. As it passes into the Coldwater Valley bottom, the region changes to the drier

Ponderosa Pine ''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is the ...

/Bunch Grass Zone.

Fish species

Several species of

Pacific salmon ''Oncorhynchus'' is a genus of fish in the family Salmonidae; it contains the Pacific salmon and Pacific trout. The name of the genus is derived from the Greek ὄγκος (ónkos, “lump, bend”) + ῥύγχος (rhúnkhos, “snout”), in r ...

are present, including coho, chinook, and steelhead. Non-salmon species include bull trout, Rocky Mountain whitefish, longnose dace, redside shiner, bridgelip sucker, slimy sculpin, prickly sculpin, Pacific lamprey, leopard dace, longnose sucker, and rainbow trout.

References

{{authority control Canadian Cascades Nicola Country Rivers of British Columbia Tributaries of the Fraser River Kamloops Division Yale Land District

Course

Ecology

Fish species

See also

References