The Parsnip River is a 240 km long river in central British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, 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...

. It flows generally north-westward from the Parsnip Glacier in the Hart Ranges to the Parsnip Reach of Williston Lake

Williston Lake

Williston Lake is a reservoir created by the W. A. C. Bennett Dam and is located in the Northern Interior of British Columbia, Canada.-Geography:...

, formed by the impounding of the waters of the Peace River

Peace River (Canada)

The Peace River is a river in Canada that originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows to the northeast through northern Alberta. The Peace River flows into the Slave River, a tributary of the Mackenzie River. The Mackenzie is the 12th longest river in the world,...

 by the W.A.C. Bennett Dam in 1968. Prior to that, the Parsnip joined with the Finlay River

Finlay River

The Finlay River is a 402 km long river in north-central British Columbia flowing north and thence south from Thutade Lake in the Omineca Mountains to Williston Lake, the impounded waters of the Peace River formed by the completion of the W.A.C. Bennett Dam in 1968. Prior to this, the Finlay...

 to form the Peace at Finlay Forks, with both sharing an alignment along the Rocky Mountain Trench

Rocky Mountain Trench

The Rocky Mountain Trench, or the Trench or The Valley of a Thousand Peaks, is a large valley in the northern part of the Rocky Mountains. It is both visually and cartographically a striking physiographic feature extending approximately from Flathead Lake, Montana, to the Liard River, just south...

.

Name origin

The river's name derives from the abundance of cow-parsnip (Heracleum lanatum), also known as Indian rhubarb, which grows along its banks.

History

The Parsnip is of historical significance as forming part of the route Alexander MacKenzie took in his epic journey to the Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

 in 1793.

Fish populations and their protozoan and metazoan parasites in the headwater areas of the McGregor River

McGregor River

The McGregor River is a tributary of the Fraser River in the Canadian province of British Columbia.The river is named in honor of Captain James Herrick McGregor who fought and died in 1915 at the Second Battle of Ypres, in Belgian Flanders.-Course:...

 (Pacific drainage) and of the Parsnip River (Arctic drainage) were the subject of studies carried out in the 1970's concerning the proposed diversion of waters across the continental divide. Three parasites (Ceratomyxa shasta

Ceratomyxa shasta

Ceratomyxa shasta is a myxosporean parasite that infects salmonid fish on the Pacific coast of North America. It was first observed at the Crystal Lake Hatchery, Shasta County, California, and has now been reported from Idaho, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and Alaska .-Life history:In...

, Cryptobia salmositica, and Haemogregarina irkalukpiki) were identified as posing the greatest threat to the fisheries resources of the immediate area and also to the downstream areas. Based in part on these studies, the British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority, in a public announcement, suspended engineering studies of the proposed diversion.

Tributaries

• Hominka River
• Anzac River
• McLeod Lake
  McLeod Lake, British Columbia
  McLeod Lake is an unincorporated community located on Highway 97 in northern British Columbia, Canada, north of Prince George. It is notable for being the first continuously inhabited European settlement established west of the Rocky Mountains in present-day Canada...
  
  
• Missinka River
  • Crooked River
    Crooked River
    -Places:In Canada:*Crooked River **Crooked River Provincial ParkIn New Zealand:*Crooked River In the United States:* Crooked River * Crooked River * Crooked River * Crooked River...
    
    
  • Carp Lake