Seace rivers -
The Peace is the largest and most important

of the rivers of the distriet. It has its source west
ef the Rocky mountains and close to the Pasific shore.
Its principal branch, the Finlay, springs from a wild
region calied the Stikine, an sipine land simost wholiy
unknowns ‘There amidst a vast variety of mountain peaks,
the infant river issues from a leke to begin its Longe
voyage of approximately 2500 miles to the Arctic seas
The Finlay is joineé by the Parsnip river shortly before Nh
it emerges from the Rocky mounteins. The combined stream
is calleé the Peace river.

The river after emerging from the mountains flows
in a G@eep trough-Like valley, varying in width from three-
quarters of a mile to two miles, and about 900 feet below
the level of the surrounding plateau. The depth of this
valley decreases with singular regularity with the descent
of the streams. Thus in the Peace River block the plateau J
er table lan@ is at an elevation of 900 or 1000 feet above 4
the river levels; at the towm of Peace River it is 700 feet
above the river Level, while at Fort Yermilion the banks are
scareely thirty feet abeve the low water level. At times
the river bed fills the entire bottom of the deep valley
through whieh it flows but more frequently, a wooded or
epen terrace lies between the foot of the riége ané the brink
of the water, or sometimes the land rises to the upper level
in a series of rounded, more of less abruptgascents.

fhrough the bleck the Peace has a width varying
from twenty to thirty chains; the depth at low weter would
average about fifteen feet. The shallowest place in the
main channel of the river at very low water, between Hudson
Hope and Pesee Hiver was found to be four feet. Generally
the depth is around eight or ten feet. The current varies
from three to five miles per houre The Peace river generally
is navigable from the 15th May to the 15th October. In the
spring the ice generally breaks up towards the latter part
of April. fhe river is a mountain stream and is not afiect~ i
ea by local showers, but the melting of the snow in the moun-
teins causes the river to rise about ten days after the spring
breakup. It then remains in a state of floeé till the \
latter part of Julye Heavy failcreins in the mountains fre- :
quently causes the river to rise again in the early part of ‘
the month of October. Slush ies usually commences to run ;
towards the latter scart of thet month and renders naviga-
tion wuisefe. The river is liable to freeze over at any
time during the month of Norember.

Kisketinew river. = i

The Kiskatineaw river takes its source near the
foot of the mountains. It eresses the south boundary of
the Peace River hlock in range 16. Ite course through
the block is = tortuous and with a general a@tfection in
the form of a horseshoe, first flowing northwesterly then
sorth, after which it turns practically east with a Little
northing to its confluence with the Peace river in range
1é. In the block the Kiskatinaw is joined by the Buffale
creeks (Tremblay creek), Sunset and Coal creeks and dy
numerous other smaller streams, The Kiskatinaw when normal .