Chilko River
Encyclopedia
The Chilko River is a 75 km waterway in the Chilcotin District
of the Central Interior of British Columbia
, Canada
, connecting Chilko Lake
to the Chilcotin River
. Its main tributary is the Taseko River
.
The Chilko is actually quite a bit larger than the Chilcotin when it reaches it (it is easily the Chilcotin's largest tributary). It is also the main reason why the lower reaches of the Chilcotin are very silty. The Chilko gets most of its silt
from the Taseko River, which joins it a few kilometers above the its mouth.
name Tsilhqox, meaning "red ochre river". The related name of the Chilcotin River is from that of the Tsilhqot'in
people, meaning "people of the red ochre river".
Chilcotin District
The Chilcotin District of British Columbia is usually known simply as "the Chilcotin", and also in speech commonly as "the Chilcotin Country" or simply Chilcotin. It is a plateau and mountain region in British Columbia on the inland lea of the Coast Mountains on the west side of the Fraser River....
of the Central Interior of British Columbia
British Columbia Interior
The British Columbia Interior or BC Interior or Interior of British Columbia, usually referred to only as the Interior, is one of the three main regions of the Canadian province of British Columbia, the other two being the Lower Mainland, which comprises the overlapping areas of Greater Vancouver...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, connecting Chilko Lake
Chilko Lake
Chilko Lake is a 180 km² lake in west-central British Columbia, at the head of the Chilko River on the Chilcotin Plateau. The lake is about 65 km long, with a southwest arm 10 km long. It is one of the largest lakes by volume in the province because of its great depth, and the...
to the Chilcotin River
Chilcotin River
The Chilcotin River is a long tributary of the Fraser River in southern British Columbia, Canada. It drains the Chilcotin Plateau, which lies between the Fraser River and the Coast Mountains...
. Its main tributary is the Taseko River
Taseko River
The Taseko River , or Desiqox in the original Chilcotin, is a tributary of British Columbia's Chilko River, a tributary of the Chilcotin River which joins the Fraser near the city of Williams Lake....
.
The Chilko is actually quite a bit larger than the Chilcotin when it reaches it (it is easily the Chilcotin's largest tributary). It is also the main reason why the lower reaches of the Chilcotin are very silty. The Chilko gets most of its silt
Silt
Silt is granular material of a size somewhere between sand and clay whose mineral origin is quartz and feldspar. Silt may occur as a soil or as suspended sediment in a surface water body...
from the Taseko River, which joins it a few kilometers above the its mouth.
Name origin
The name derives from the Chilcotin languageChilcotin language
Chilcotin is a Northern Athabaskan language spoken in British Columbia by the Tsilhqot’in people....
name Tsilhqox, meaning "red ochre river". The related name of the Chilcotin River is from that of the Tsilhqot'in
Tsilhqot'in
The Tsilhqot'in are a Northern Athabaskan First Nations people that live in British Columbia, Canada...
people, meaning "people of the red ochre river".