Whitesail Lake Map-Area

Average precipitation at Wistaria over a 25-year period to 1950 was
18.02 inches, the heaviest precipitation being in November and December.
Kitimat on the coast just west of the area records an average precipitation
over a 15-year period to 1927 of 88.98 inches. In the mountains at the
head of the large lakes the precipitation is still greater, with snowfalls up
to 50 feet. Some of this snow remains throughout the summer giving rise
to numerous alpine and cirque glaciers.

: At Wistaria frost occurs in practically every month of the year. From

the records examined, only June and July were frost free and then not
every year. Warmest months are June, July and August which average
about 56 degrees Fahrenheit; coldest months are December, January and
February which average 18 degrees Fahrenheit. High temperatures in
summer are 80 to 85 degrees and low temperatures in winter are 40 to 50
degrees below zero. The climate in the eastern part of the area is typical
of the plateau region of British Columbia but the southwestern and western
parts have a coast climate.

Previous Work

The first explorer to enter the region was Alexander Mackenzie who,
on his famous journey in 1793 from the Peace River to the coast at Bentinck
Arm, passed just south of the area. In the summer of 1874 James Richard-
son of the Geological Survey of Canada and Charles Horetzky on behalf
of the Canadian Pacific Railway, explored Gardner Canal as far as Kemano
Bay and proceeded up Kemano River for a distance of some 25 miles. They
also explored Kitimat Arm, and Richardson described the flat-lying, heavily
timbered land along Kitimat River. In 1875 G. M. Dawson traversed the
country between Fraser River and the Coast Mountains from Bella Coola
valley to Francois Lake. This trip included a visit to the Nechako River
and canyon, now the site of the Kenney Dam which blocks the eastward
flow of the Nechako River. He also visited Francois Lake and described
the rock outcrops and general country along both shores. Assistants
were sent to gather rock specimens from Ootsa Lake to the south. In
1905 William Fleet Robertson, provincial mineralogist for British Columbia,
briefly visited Francois and Ootsa Lakes on a trip from Quesnel to Hazelton
along the old ‘Telegraph’ trail.

Settlers began to inhabit the shores of Ootsa Lake in the first decade
of the century. By 1914 and 1915 there was considerable interest in the
mineral showings on Mount Sweeney and Sibola Peak and in 1916 John D.
Galloway of the British Columbia Department of Mines made a recon-
naissance trip south from the Grand Trunk Railway to Bella Coola, along

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