Elk River (Kootenay River)
The Elk River ( Elk = elk deer ) is an approx. 185 km long river in the Regional District of East Kootenay in the Canadian province of British Columbia . It is an orographic left tributary of the Kootenay River .
River course
The Elk River has its origin in the Elk Lakes near the continental divide in the Continental Range , a mountain range of the Canadian Rocky Mountains . It flows through the Elk Valley in a southwest direction to flow into the Kootenay River and into Lake Koocanusa , just north of the British Columbia- Montana border . The Elk River flows through the towns of Elkford , Sparwood , Hosmer , Fernie and Elko .
Hydrology
Its catchment area covers 4450 km². Its mean discharge is around 76 m³ / s. During the snowmelt in May and June, the river usually carries the largest amounts of water.
history
David Thompson traveled along the Elk River in 1811 and named it the "Stag River". The river was named the "Elk River" on the Palliser map from 1857-58 and the "Stag or Elk River" on the 1862 map by Arrowsmith.
River structures
The Elko Dam was built on the Elk River in 1924. It is about 16 km above the confluence with Lake Koocanusa.
fauna
The Elk River is known for fly fishing across North America . In the river coming Cutthroatforelle ( Oncorhynchus clarkii ) and the bull trout ( Salvelinus confluentus ) ago.
Environmental aspects
In the Elk River Valley, five large open-cast coal pits mine a third of the world's coal that is used for steel production. For years, increased concentrations of selenium , phosphate and nitrate were measured in the river and attributed to the expansion of coal production. The selenium values exceed the legally permissible health guidelines.
Teck Mining is obviously working on reducing selenium levels.
Tributaries
Web links
- Elk River . In: BC Geographical Names (English)
- Geographical Names of Canada: Elk River
- Elk River Alliance
- Elk River Guiding Company
Individual evidence
- ↑ Elko Project Water Use Plan (PDF, 1.7 MB) BC hydro. April 7, 2005. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
- ↑ a b c d e Government of Canada: Historical Hydrometric Data Search Results: Station 08NK005
- ^ A b Government of Canada: Historical Hydrometric Data Search Results: Station 08NK002
- ^ Elk River . In: BC Geographical Names (English)
- ↑ C. Lussier, V. Veiga and S. Baldwin, "The geochemistry of selenium associated with coal waste in the Elk River Valley, Canada", Environmental Geology 44.8, October 2007, pp. 905-13, abstract .
- ↑ Your Concerns, Our Response: Selenium Management ( Memento of the original from March 7, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Teck 2009 Sustainability Report, retrieved 16 February 2011.
