Chilcotin River

BW

Template: Infobox River / Obsolete

The Chilcotin River is a 235 km long tributary of the Fraser River in southern British Columbia in Canada. It drains the Chilcotin Plateau, which lies between the Fraser River and the Coast Mountains. It originates northeast of the Itcha Mountain and flows into predominantly southeastern direction and flows about 22 km upstream of Gang Ranch in the Fraser River.

Course of the river

The Chilcotin River has drained the remote Itcha Lake, in Itcha Ilgachuz Provincial Park. Between the discharge from the Itcha Lake and the confluence with its main tributary, the Chilko River, located about 72 km traveled by the river in a southeasterly direction. In the upper and middle course of the river, particularly the 12-km from the Lake Itcha, are more leisurely stretches of river winding through wetlands. The Chicotin Falls is a small waterfall about 23 km downstream of the source at the end of a small ravine. The Chilcotin Lake, a smaller lake, located 44 km upstream from the Chilko estuary.

The confluence of the Chilko and Chilcotin belongs to the atypical cases in which the substantially water -rich river in the smaller river flows. Below the mouth of the Chilko Chilcotin forms a rather large and muddy river. It flows through three major canyons, the Bull Canyon, Big Creek Canyon and the Farwell Canyon. There are approximately 83 km from the Chilko inflow to the mouth of the Chilcotin. Farwell Canyon is another gorge about 15 km upstream of the confluence with the Fraser River.

Important tributaries

• Moore Creek
• Punkutlaenkut Creek
• Clusko River
• Palmer Creek
• Chilanko River
• Chilko River
• Big Creek