Chilko River
The Chilko River is a 75-kilometre-long (47 mi) river in the Chilcotin District of the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada, flowing northeast from Chilko Lake to the Chilcotin River.[2] Its main tributary is the Taseko River.
Chilko River | |
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Chilko River and cliffs made of lava flows and ash beds from former extensive volcanic activity in this region. | |
Location | |
Country | Canada |
Province | British Columbia |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | Chilko Lake |
• location | Chilcotin Plateau |
• coordinates | 51°37′33″N 124°8′30″W |
• elevation | 1,166 m (3,825 ft)[1] |
Mouth | Chilcotin River |
• location | Upstream from Bull Canyon |
• coordinates | 52°5′47″N 123°27′37″W[2] |
• elevation | 739 m (2,425 ft)[1] |
Length | 75 km (47 mi) |
Basin size | 6,880 km2 (2,660 sq mi)[3] |
Discharge | |
• location | near mouth[3] |
• average | 88.2 m3/s (3,110 cu ft/s)[3] |
• minimum | 7.79 m3/s (275 cu ft/s) |
• maximum | 482 m3/s (17,000 cu ft/s) |
Basin features | |
Tributaries | |
• right | Taseko River |
The Chilko is the Chilcotin River's main tributary. In fact at their confluence the Chilko River is quite a bit larger than the Chilcotin. It is also the main reason why the lower reaches of the Chilcotin are very silty. The Chilko gets most of its silt from the Taseko River, which joins it a few kilometers above the Chilko's mouth.
Name origin
The name derives from the Chilcotin language name Tŝilhqóx,[4] meaning "ochre river".[5] The related name of the Chilcotin River is from that of the Tsilhqot'in people, meaning "people of the ochre river".[6]
References
- Elevation derived from ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model, using GeoLocator, and BCGNIS coordinates
- "Chilko River". BC Geographical Names.
- "Archived Hydrometric Data Search". Water Survey of Canada. Archived from the original on 24 December 2010. Retrieved 17 August 2013. Search for Station 08MA001 Chilco River near Redstone
- Cook, Eung-Do (2013). A Tsilhqút'ín Grammar. UBC Press. p. 629. ISBN 978-0-7748-2518-4. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
- Akrigg, G. P. V.; Akrigg, Helen B. (1997). British Columbia Place Names. UBC Press. p. 45. ISBN 978-0-7748-0637-4. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
- "Chilko Lake". BC Geographical Names.