6

gently rounded. They are small mountains having maximum altitudes of
about 2,200 feet. The mountains lying north of Shegunia River are much
higher than Nine Mile Mountain and foster many small glaciers.

Skeena River is a wide, swift, turbid stream scarcely navigable for
boats, although river steamers did ascend as far as Hazelton prior to
completion of the railway to South Hazelton late in 1912. The river flows
in a southerly direction across the west half of Hazelton map-area to its
junction with Bulkley River, then swings southwest for 12 miles as far as
Skeena Crossing, and then westerly on its trip to the sea. Bulkley River
flows northwest for 35 miles from Smithers and then west for 8 miles to
where it joins the Skeena. Hazelton is on the north side of Bulkley River
where it empties into Skeena River. Kispiox River runs southeast to join
the Skeena 6 miles north of Hazelton, and Babine River flows into the
Skeena from the east 30 miles north of Hazelton. All these rivers are
swift and unfit for canoes due to the numerous rapids and steep-walled
rock canyons.

Where spared by fire the valleys and mountain slopes up to elevations
of 4,500 feet are well forested with one or more of the following types of
trees: hemlock, spruce, cedar, balsam, poplar, and jack pine. Large
numbers of cedar poles are shipped each year from South Hazelton and
New Hazelton, but cedar trees are scarce near Smithers. The average
rainfall in Bulkley Valley at Smithers is a little under 20 inches a year,
but it is considerably more at Hazelton.

DESCRIPTIONS OF LODE DEPOSITS

Fortune Hill Claim (1)1
Reference: Ann. Rept., Minister of Mines, B.C., 1983, p. 97.

The Fortune Hill claim, owned by Lars Hagan of Hazelton, is on the
west bank of Skeena River about 4 miles above the mouth of Kispiox River.
The prospect workings are on the east side of a hill that drops steeply
for about 500 feet to the river. The property is reached by a trail from
Love’s farm.

About 200 feet above the river a mineralized replacement zone is
exposed by four open-cuts for 275 feet along the side of the hill. This zone
ranges from 2 to 5 feet in width and follows the bedding of the enclosing
sediments, which strike north and dip 30 degrees west into the hill. The
wall-rocks are indurated sandstone composed of subangular grains of
quartz and chert cemented by siderite with a little extremely fine argill-
aceous material. The replacement zone follows a bed in the sandstone that
is unusually rich in siderite. The siderite is replaced by disseminated
pyrite with minor amounts of pyrrhotite, arsenopyrite, chalcopyrite, and
sphalerite. The replacement process was accompanied by the introduction
of silica and the quartz and chert grains in the mineralized zone are
largely recrystallized.

1 This number appears on the accompanying index map (Figure 1) and indicates
the approximate location of the property.