steamers of light draught from its mouth to Glenora, 126
miles, and, under favourable circumstances, to Telegraph
Creek, 12 miles farther. The current of the navigable
portion is swift, averaging about five miles per hour. There
are no rapids properly so called. Between Telegraph Creek
and the mouth, the river falls about 540 feet—an average
descent of more than four feet per mile. In this reach
Little Canyon, about 80 miles from the mouth, is about
three-fifths of a mile long, and, in places, not more than
150 feet wide. It is bordered by massive granite cliffs,
200 to 300 feet in height. Above Telegraph Creek is the
Grand Canyon, which extends for many miles with banks
often 300 feet high, and is quite impassable either by
steamers or boats. Miners are said to have travelled
through it in winter on the ice. Of the tributaries to the
Stikine, the Tuya, Tahltan, and First South Fork Rivers
are all reported to flow through narrow gorges near their
mouths with substantial descents.

Water Supply.—There is a striking difference between
coastal and inland precipitation in the Stikine watershed.
At the mouth of the river, precipitation exceeds 60 inches,
whereas at Telegraph Creek, on the inland side of the
mountains, it is so small that irrigation is necessary on
cultivated land. No records have been obtained of the
discharge of the Stikine River or of any of its tributaries,

but variations in flow are probably great, due to the lack
of natural storage reservoirs.

Power. Resources.—There have been no water-power
developments in the Stikine watershed, and information
is too meagre to permit an estimate of undeveloped resources,
except.in a most approximate manner. At Grand Canyon
and Little Canyon, conditions are such that heads could
be concentrated by the construction of dams. At Grand
Canyon, a head of 50 feet and run-off factors of 0-25 c.f.s.
per square mile for ordinary minimum flow and 0-70 c-f.s.
per square mile for ordinary six months flow indicate
potentials of 13,400 horse-power and 37,500 horse-power,
respectively. At Little Canyon, under the same conditions,
the corresponding figures are 16,500 horse-power and 44,000
horsepower. These estimates are entirely provisional and

are made solely for the purpose of giving some approximation
of power possibilities.

Power Markets.—No markets for power are now
apparent in the Stikine watershed, and future markets will

probably depend on the development of mineral resources
ot the area.

Nass River

The Nass River is the most northerly of the Pacific
Coast rivers which flow wholly through British Columbia.
Draining an area of 7,660 square miles, it rises in high
mountains, but flows for the greater part of its course

through a wide, rolling plain traversed by slate ridges.”

In crossing the Coast Mountains, the lower part of the
tiver flows through a deep, narrow valley. The river is

affected by tidal waters for a distance of 12 miles above its
mouth, and during the open water season—May to October
inclusive—it is navigable by shallow draught boats for
the last 30 miles of its course. Above this point, it pursues
a very turbulent course through a slate canyon from 150
feet to 250 feet deep. The principal tributaries of the
Nass are Vile Creek, Brown Bear Creek, Cranberry River,
Seaskinnish River, and Tseax River from the east; and
Meziadin River, Willoughby Creek, and Kinskuch River
from the .west.

Water Supply—The Nass River water supply is
received from mountain drainage, and the range between
high and low water flow is great, about 100 to1. Discharge
records have been kept at Aiyansh, forty-five miles from the
mouth (Drainage area 6,900 square miles) from August,
1929, to date. In this period, a maximum discharge of
192,000 c.f.s. was recorded in June, 1936, and a minimum
discharge of 1,900 c.f.s. in April, 1936. The mean flow of
the river is approximately 30,000 c.f.s. A number of
relatively small lakes which might offer opportunities for
storage reservoirs exist on tributaries of the Nass, but it
is not believed their combined effect on the flow of the
main river would be of substantial significance.

Power Resources.—The Nass River basin contains no
developed power. Five possible power sites have been
noted on the river. Two of these are just below the mouth
of Cottonwood Creek, and one is below White River, one
below Brown Bear Creek, and one below Cranberry River.
The two lower sites have been examined in some detail.
The power possibilities at the five sites are estimated to
total 102,800 horse-power at ordinary minimum flow, or
571,400 horse-power at ordinary six months flow. Other
power possibilities exist on tributaries, the greatest of
which is a site on the Seaskinnish River, where 30,000
horse-power could be developed.

Power Markets—No power markets are in sight at
present, and future markets would probably be based on
the development of the forest.and mineral resources of
the area.

Skeena River

The Skeena River, draining an area of about 21,000
square miles, rises to the east of the Coast Mountains,
flows in a general southwesterly direction for over 300
miles, and empties into the Pacific Ocean near Prince
Rupert. Near the headwaters of the river, the watershed
is rugged and mountainous, but its lower valleys and those
of its larger tributaries are wider and less broken, although
they are bordered by high mountains. The Canadian
National Railways line follows the valley of the Bulkley,
a main tributary, to its junction with the Skeena at Hazelton,
and thence along the Skeena to Prince Rupert. A highway
closely parallels the railway along the Skeena. The river
falls about 725 feet, with a relatively even gradient from
Hazelton for a distance of 154 miles to tidewater, about

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