Nisga'a Memorial Lava Bed Provincial Park (

Nisga'a The Nisga’a (; ), formerly spelled Nishga or Niska, are an Indigenous people in British Columbia, Canada. They reside in the Nass River valley of northwestern British Columbia. The origin of the term ''Niska'' is uncertain. The spelling ' ...

: ) is a

provincial park Ischigualasto Provincial Park A provincial park (or territorial park) is a park administered by one of the provinces of a country, as opposed to a national park. They are similar to state parks in other countries. They are typically open to the ...

in the

Crater Creek Crater Creek is a tributary of Ksi Sii Aks (formerly "Tseax River") and part of the Nass River watershed in northern part of the province of British Columbia, Canada. It flows generally south and west for roughly Length measured using BCGNIS coor ...

Tseax River The Ksi Sii Aks (; formerly gazetted as the Tseax River ) is a tributary of the Nass River in northwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is most notable as the namesake of Tseax Cone, a volcano within its basin that was responsible for an eruption i ...

and

Nass River The Nass River is a river in northern British Columbia, Canada. It flows from the Coast Mountains southwest to Nass Bay, a sidewater of Portland Inlet, which connects to the North Pacific Ocean via the Dixon Entrance. Nass Bay joins Portland I ...

valleys of northwestern

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, about 80 kilometres north of

Terrace Terrace may refer to: Landforms and construction * Fluvial terrace, a natural, flat surface that borders and lies above the floodplain of a stream or river * Terrace, a street suffix * Terrace, the portion of a lot between the public sidewalk a ...

, and near the Nisga'a Villages of Gitlakdamix and

Gitwinksihlkw Gitwinksihlkw ( , ) formerly Canyon City, is a Nisga'a Village in the Nass River valley of northwestern British Columbia, Canada, near that river's confluence with the Tseax River. An older spelling is Kitwilluchsilt. It is one of four Nisga ...

. The park was established by Order in Council on April 29, 1992, expanded in 1995, included in the

Nisga'a Treaty The Nisga'a Final Agreement, also known as the Nisga'a Treaty, is a treaty that was settled between the Nisg̱a'a, the government of British Columbia, and the Government of Canada. It was signed on 27 May 1998 and came into effect on May 11, 2000. ...

in 2000, and is the first park in the province to be jointly managed by the government and a First Nation. An interpretive centre in a traditional Nisga'a

longhouse A longhouse or long house is a type of long, proportionately narrow, single-room building for communal dwelling. It has been built in various parts of the world including Asia, Europe, and North America. Many were built from lumber, timber and ...

informs visitors about the Nisga'a legend that accounts for the lava as well as geological causes. The park has waterfalls, pools,

cinder cones A cinder cone or scoria cone is a steep, conical landform of loose pyroclastic fragments, such as volcanic ash, clinkers, or scoria that has been built around a volcanic vent. The pyroclastic fragments are formed by explosive eruptions or lav ...

lava tree mold A lava tree mold, sometimes erroneously called a lava tree cast, is a hollow lava formation that formed around a tree trunk. They are created when lava flows through an area of trees, coating their exterior. The lava cools just enough to create a ...

lava tubes A lava tube, more rarely called a pyroduct, is a 'roofed conduit through which molten lava travels away from its vent'. If lava in the tube drains out, it will leave an empty cave. Lava tubes are common in low-viscosity volcanic systems. La ...

spatter cone Volcanic cones are among the simplest volcano, volcanic landforms. They are built by ejecta from a volcanic vent, piling up around the vent in the shape of a cone (geometry), cone with a central crater. Volcanic cones are of different types, depen ...

s, lava-dammed lakes, caves and other features created by lava flows. The park aims to protect moose, goats, marmots, bears and many other species of wildlife. The park covers 178.93 square kilometres in area.

Protected areas

Three small protected areas are contiguous with Nisga'a Memorial Lava Bed Provincial Park. Nisga'a Memorial Lava Bed Protected Area is a narrow, approximately corridor adjacent to Gitlaxt'aamiks established on December 13, 2011. Nisga'a Memorial Lava Bed Corridor Protected Area is a narrow corridor near Gitlaxt'aamiks. It covers about and was established on July 30, 2008. Nisga'a Memorial Lava Bed Corridor Protected Area (No. 2) is a narrow, approximately strip established on June 8, 2015, along the

Nisga'a Highway Nisga'a Highway, officially designated British Columbia Highway 113, is a highway in the Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine in British Columbia. It starts in Terrace, British Columbia, Terrace at British Columbia Highway 16, Highway 16. The ro ...

corridor in the northwestern portion of Nisga'a Memorial Lava Bed Provincial Park.

Recreation area

The former Nisga'a Memorial Lava Bed Recreation Area was annexed into Nisga'a Memorial Lava Bed Provincial Park in 1995, increasing the size of the park to .

Volcanic eruption

It is believed to be the site of Canada's most recent volcanic eruption and lava flow, a geological disaster that killed an estimated 2,000 people. The source of the eruption was the

Tseax Cone Tseax Cone ( ) is a small volcano in the Nass Ranges of the Hazelton Mountains in northwestern British Columbia, Canada. It has an elevation of and lies within an east–west valley through which a tributary of the Tseax River flows. The ...

. Large

lava flows Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or unde ...

dammed the

and destroyed two villages of the

people around the year 1700. Lava beds rise as much as above the modern road. The lava flow also buried the lower drainage of

Ksi Sii Aks The Ksi Sii Aks (; formerly gazetted as the Tseax River ) is a tributary of the Nass River in northwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is most notable as the namesake of Tseax Cone, a volcano within its basin that was responsible for an eruption i ...

and

Vetter Creek Vetter Creek is a tributary of the Nass River in the northern part of the province of British Columbia, Canada. From its source at Xhlawit (formerly "Vetter Mountain"), Vetter Creek flows generally east and north for roughly Length measured usi ...

. Nisga'a oral histories record the names of the two villages destroyed in the eruption, Wii Lax K'abit and Lax Ksiluux.

References

External links

Nisga'a Memorial Lava Bed Provincial Park
- BC Parks site *
Nisga'a Lisims - park website
{{British Columbia parks Provincial parks of British Columbia Volcanism of British Columbia Natural disasters in British Columbia Nisga'a Nass Country Lava fields 1992 establishments in British Columbia Protected areas established in 1992

Protected areas

Recreation area

Volcanic eruption

See also

References

External links