Geology and Mineral Deposits of Aiken Lake
Map-Area, British Columbia

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
LOCATION AND ACCESSIBILITY

Aiken Lake map-area occupies about 2,640 square miles of north-
central British Columbia, between latitudes 56 and 57 degrees and longi-
tudes 125 and 126 degrees. The area is included within Cassiar land
district and Omineca mining division.

Aiken Lake, in the west-central part of the area, may be reached by a
winter tractor road, 95 miles long, from Germansen Landing on Omineca
River. A fair motor road extends about 185 miles south from Germansen
Landing, via Fort St. James, to Vanderhoof on the Prince Rupert branch
of the Canadian National Railways. The northeastern part of the area
is accessible by boat from Summit Lake, 40 miles by road from Prince
George, by means of Crooked, McLeod, Parsnip, and Finlay Rivers. The
area may be conveniently serviced, through several suitable lakes, by
charter aircraft based at Fort St. James. In the years 1945 to 1948, the
carrying charge on freight flown in to Aiken Lake in lots of 1,200 pounds,
with no outgoing load, was 20 cents a pound.

TRAVEL WITHIN THE MAP-AREA

The main line of travel in the area is the winter tractor road entering
from the south and extending past Uslika Lake to Aiken Lake. This road
has been used by a tractor train as far as the crossing of Tenakihi Creek
(mile 50), and at one time, during a period of extreme low water, a truck
was driven to Uslika Lake. For the rest of its length it has been main-
tained as an excellent trail for pack-horse, pack-dog, and foot travel.
No bridges span the main streams, but Osilinka River, Thane Creek, and
Mesilinka River crossings are provided with manually operated cable-
cars, capable of carrying four persons, which are maintained by the
British Columbia Department of Public Works.

The pack-horse is the most practical means of transportation during
the summer season, and in almost all of the larger valleys sufficient feed
can be found to maintain a string of twenty horses. The Indians, and
many of the local prospectors and trappers, transport their goods by
pack-dogs in the summer and by toboggan in the winter.

The area is well supplied with trails. The Royal Canadian Mounted
Police pack-trail from Fort St. John to Telegraph Creek crosses the area
from east to west by way of Mesilinka River, Tutizika River, and

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