The Kitsault River is a river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

 on the North Coast of British Columbia

British Columbia Coast

The British Columbia Coast or BC Coast is Canada's western continental coastline on the Pacific Ocean. The usage is synonymous with the term West Coast of Canada....

, 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...

, located at the head of Alice Arm

Alice Arm

Alice Arm is the east arm of Observatory Inlet, which itself is an arm of Portland Inlet, on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada, near the border with the American state of Alaska...

, which is the east arm of Observatory Inlet

Observatory Inlet

Observatory Inlet is an inlet on the North Coast of British Columbia. It is a northward extension of Portland Inlet, other sidewaters of which include the Portland Canal. The entrance of Observatory Inlet, from Portland Inlet, lies between Ramsden Point and Nass Point. Ramsden Point also marks, to...

, which is a sidewater of Portland Inlet

Portland Inlet

Portland Inlet is an inlet of the Pacific Ocean on the coast of British Columbia, Canada, approximately 55 kilometers north of Prince Rupert, British Columbia. It joins the Chatham Sound opposite the Dixon Entrance. It is 40 kilometers long and as much as 13 kilometers wide...

 (see Portland Canal

Portland Canal

The Portland Canal is an arm of Portland Inlet, one of the principal inlets of the British Columbia Coast. It is approximately long. The Portland Canal forms part of the border between southeastern Alaska and British Columbia. The name of the entire inlet in the Nisga'a language is K'alii...

). Located at the mouth of the river are the localities of Alice Arm

Alice Arm, British Columbia

Alice Arm is a locality and former post office and steamer landing on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada, located on the east side of Observatory Inlet at the mouth of the Kitsault River....

 (a former post office and steamer landing), Kitsault

Kitsault, British Columbia

Kitsault is an unincorporated settlement on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada, at the head of Alice Arm, Observatory Inlet and at the mouth of the Kitsault River. The locality of Alice Arm and the Nisga'a community of Gits'oohl are in the immediate vicinity...

 (a former mining town) and Gits'oohl, a community of the Nisga'a people which formerly was the Gitzault Indian Reserve No. 24 (prior to the Nisga'a Treaty).

Name

"Kitsault" is derived from the Nisga'a language

Nisga'a language

Nisga’a is a Tsimshianic language of the Nisga'a people of northwestern British Columbia. Nisga'a people, however, do not like the term Tshimshianic as they feel that it gives precedence to Coast Tsimshian. Nisga’a is very closely related to Gitksan...

phrase and the name of the local Nisga'a community, Gits'oohl, which means "at the inside", "a ways in back (of something)", i.e. the inlets. Variant spellings have included Kitzault, Kitzaulte, Gitzault, Chigitsoult, and Kitsaulte.