Stave River
Encyclopedia
The Stave River is a tributary of the Fraser
, joining it at the boundary between the municipalities of Maple Ridge
and Mission
, about 35 km east of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
, in the Central Fraser Valley
region.
Blocked since the 1920s by two dams built by the BC Electric Railway
at Stave Falls
and one at Ruskin
, the only free-flowing parts of the Stave today are the 3 km between Ruskin
Dam and the Fraser
and the 45 km from its source in Garibaldi Provincial Park
to the head of Stave Lake
. Prior to power development the total length of the river was c. 85 km.
employees at Fort Langley
, as the forests lining its banks were preferred for the production of staves used in the making of barrels for the export of fish. The native name for the river is forgotten, although modern-day Sto:lo
and Kwantlen
refer to it as Skayuks ("everyone died"), also the name given to one of three villages that were located in the delta marshlands of the lower reaches of the river at the time of non-native settlement (1870s onwards). The name is a reference to consequences of the successive smallpox
plagues and other disease pandemics which destroyed the populations and cultures of the Fraser Valley
.
although it remains mostly forested mountainside. The terrain of the lower valley is gentle though hilly, with dense oldgrowth and dense deciduous second growth in some areas. Marginal farms, mostly pastures carved out of the forests, can be found in the Silverhill, Silverdale and Stave Gardens areas. The Stave delta, formerly an oxbow lake
, has been partly drained and dyked to form Silvermere Lake, part of a 1950s vintage real estate development; the oxbow's central island was transformed by the dredgings into a hill upon which the developer's private estate was built. It is now a Royal Canadian Mounted Police
training facility.
The waters of the lower Stave are semi-tidal, as the tidal bore
on the Fraser River
ends farther upstream at Mission City
. During the spring freshet of the Fraser the volume and force of that river's flow blocks the Stave, causing it to back up and forming a lake between the Fraser and Ruskin Dam.
North of Stave Lake the Stave's valley is intensely mountainous, containing some of the most rugged terrain in the province and also some of its highest rainfalls; access is extremely difficult. Overlooking Stave Lake
at its north end are Mount Judge Howay 2262 m (7421 ft) and Mount Robie Reid 2095 m (6873 ft), and nearby are Robertson Peak 2252 m (7388 ft) and many other summits. The upper Stave basin forms the southeastern part of Garibaldi Provincial Park
, and adjoining it on its southeast is the Judge Howay Provincial Recreation Area - designated for recreation but highly inaccessibly other than to seasoned mountaineers.
Dam, but this has had only marginal effect relative to the former size of the salmon runs. Stave and Hayward Lakes have a kokanee population as well as other fish such as trout, and are sometimes stocked.
and Ruskin Dam
s and power plants, and the Alouette power plant on the shore of Stave Lake
where a diversion from Alouette Lake
comes through a low mountainside, the Stave River's valley has been extensively logged. The only operating mills on its length are now near the Fraser
at Ruskin
but there are a few ruins of mills lining its western shore, including the remains of a very large cedar shake mill adjacent to the Stave Falls dam. Almost all of the mills on the Stave were focussed on the production of shakes (sort of a large shingle) and some of its mills were among the highest-producing in the world.
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...
, joining it at the boundary between the municipalities of Maple Ridge
Maple Ridge, British Columbia
Maple Ridge is a District Municipality in British Columbia, located in the northeastern section of Metro Vancouver. Maple Ridge has a population of approximately 68,949.-History:...
and Mission
Mission, British Columbia
Mission, the core of which was formerly known as Mission City, is a district municipality in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is situated on the north bank of the Fraser River overlooking the City of Abbotsford and with that city is part of the Central Fraser Valley. Mission is the...
, about 35 km east of Vancouver, British Columbia, 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...
, in the Central Fraser Valley
Fraser Valley
The Fraser Valley is the section of the Fraser River basin in southwestern British Columbia downstream of the Fraser Canyon. The term is sometimes used to refer to the Fraser Canyon and stretches upstream from there, but in general British Columbian usage of the term refers to the stretch of the...
region.
Blocked since the 1920s by two dams built by the BC Electric Railway
British Columbia Electric Railway
The British Columbia Electric Railway was a historic Canadian railway which operated in southwestern British Columbia.Originally the parent company, and later a division, of BC Electric, the BCER operated public transportation in southwestern British Columbia from its establishment in the...
at Stave Falls
Stave Falls, British Columbia
Stave Falls is a rural community located in northwestern Mission, British Columbia, Canada.-External links:****...
and one at Ruskin
Ruskin, British Columbia
Ruskin is a rural and industrial area about 40 kilometres east of Vancouver, British Columbia straddling the border between the suburban municipalities of Maple Ridge and Mission, on the west bank of the lower Stave River.-History:...
, the only free-flowing parts of the Stave today are the 3 km between Ruskin
Ruskin
- Surname :*John Ruskin , an English author, poet and artist, most famous for his work as art critic and social critic, and for his writing on the architecture of Venice....
Dam and the Fraser
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...
and the 45 km from its source in Garibaldi Provincial Park
Garibaldi Provincial Park
Garibaldi Provincial Park, also called Garibaldi Park, is a wilderness park located in British Columbia, Canada, about 70 kilometres north of Vancouver. The park is located to the east of the Sea to Sky Highway between Squamish and Whistler and covers an area of over 1,950 square kilometres...
to the head of Stave Lake
Stave Lake
Stave Lake is a hydroelectric reservoir in the Stave River system, located on the northern edge of the District of Mission, about 65 km east of Vancouver, British Columbia. The main arm of the lake is just over 20 km long, and there is a southwest arm ending at Stave Falls Dam about...
. Prior to power development the total length of the river was c. 85 km.
History
The name Stave River was conferred c. 1828 by Hudson's Bay CompanyHudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
employees at Fort Langley
Fort Langley, British Columbia
Fort Langley is a village with a population of 2,700 and forms part of the Township of Langley. It is the home of Fort Langley National Historic Site, a former fur trade post of the Hudson's Bay Company.-History:...
, as the forests lining its banks were preferred for the production of staves used in the making of barrels for the export of fish. The native name for the river is forgotten, although modern-day Sto:lo
Stó:lo
The Sto:lo , alternately written as Stó:lō, Stó:lô or Stó:lõ and historically as Staulo or Stahlo, and historically known and commonly referred to in ethnographic literature as the Fraser River Indians or Lower Fraser Salish, are a group of First Nations peoples inhabiting the Fraser Valley of...
and Kwantlen
Kwantlen
Kwantlen may refer to one of the following:*Kwantlen people, an indigenous Coast Salish people in British Columbia*Kwantlen First Nation, the band government of the Kwantlen people...
refer to it as Skayuks ("everyone died"), also the name given to one of three villages that were located in the delta marshlands of the lower reaches of the river at the time of non-native settlement (1870s onwards). The name is a reference to consequences of the successive smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
plagues and other disease pandemics which destroyed the populations and cultures of the Fraser Valley
Fraser Valley
The Fraser Valley is the section of the Fraser River basin in southwestern British Columbia downstream of the Fraser Canyon. The term is sometimes used to refer to the Fraser Canyon and stretches upstream from there, but in general British Columbian usage of the term refers to the stretch of the...
.
Terrain
The lower Stave valley comprises over half the surface territory of the District of MissionMission, British Columbia
Mission, the core of which was formerly known as Mission City, is a district municipality in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is situated on the north bank of the Fraser River overlooking the City of Abbotsford and with that city is part of the Central Fraser Valley. Mission is the...
although it remains mostly forested mountainside. The terrain of the lower valley is gentle though hilly, with dense oldgrowth and dense deciduous second growth in some areas. Marginal farms, mostly pastures carved out of the forests, can be found in the Silverhill, Silverdale and Stave Gardens areas. The Stave delta, formerly an oxbow lake
Oxbow lake
An oxbow lake is a U-shaped body of water formed when a wide meander from the main stem of a river is cut off to create a lake. This landform is called an oxbow lake for the distinctive curved shape, named after part of a yoke for oxen. In Australia, an oxbow lake is called a billabong, derived...
, has been partly drained and dyked to form Silvermere Lake, part of a 1950s vintage real estate development; the oxbow's central island was transformed by the dredgings into a hill upon which the developer's private estate was built. It is now a Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
training facility.
The waters of the lower Stave are semi-tidal, as the tidal bore
Tidal bore
A tidal bore is a tidal phenomenon in which the leading edge of the incoming tide forms a wave of water that travel up a river or narrow bay against the direction of the river or bay's current...
on the Fraser River
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...
ends farther upstream at Mission City
Mission, British Columbia
Mission, the core of which was formerly known as Mission City, is a district municipality in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is situated on the north bank of the Fraser River overlooking the City of Abbotsford and with that city is part of the Central Fraser Valley. Mission is the...
. During the spring freshet of the Fraser the volume and force of that river's flow blocks the Stave, causing it to back up and forming a lake between the Fraser and Ruskin Dam.
North of Stave Lake the Stave's valley is intensely mountainous, containing some of the most rugged terrain in the province and also some of its highest rainfalls; access is extremely difficult. Overlooking Stave Lake
Stave Lake
Stave Lake is a hydroelectric reservoir in the Stave River system, located on the northern edge of the District of Mission, about 65 km east of Vancouver, British Columbia. The main arm of the lake is just over 20 km long, and there is a southwest arm ending at Stave Falls Dam about...
at its north end are Mount Judge Howay 2262 m (7421 ft) and Mount Robie Reid 2095 m (6873 ft), and nearby are Robertson Peak 2252 m (7388 ft) and many other summits. The upper Stave basin forms the southeastern part of Garibaldi Provincial Park
Garibaldi Provincial Park
Garibaldi Provincial Park, also called Garibaldi Park, is a wilderness park located in British Columbia, Canada, about 70 kilometres north of Vancouver. The park is located to the east of the Sea to Sky Highway between Squamish and Whistler and covers an area of over 1,950 square kilometres...
, and adjoining it on its southeast is the Judge Howay Provincial Recreation Area - designated for recreation but highly inaccessibly other than to seasoned mountaineers.
Fishery
The original salmon fishery was severely affected by the damming of the river but its lower stretches remain popular with sport fishermen, especially in search of steelhead. The hydro corporation has worked in cooperation with the federal Department of Fisheries to rework the gravel bars and channels below RuskinRuskin
- Surname :*John Ruskin , an English author, poet and artist, most famous for his work as art critic and social critic, and for his writing on the architecture of Venice....
Dam, but this has had only marginal effect relative to the former size of the salmon runs. Stave and Hayward Lakes have a kokanee population as well as other fish such as trout, and are sometimes stocked.
Industry
In addition to the Stave FallsStave Falls Dam
Stave Falls Dam is a dual-dam power complex on the Stave River in Stave Falls, British Columbia, Canada . The dam was completed in 1912 for the primary purpose of hydroelectric power production. To increase the capacity of Stave Lake, the dam was raised in 1925 and the Blind Slough Dam constructed...
and Ruskin Dam
Ruskin Dam
Ruskin Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Stave River in Ruskin, British Columbia, Canada. The dam was completed in 1930 for the primary purpose of hydroelectric power generation...
s and power plants, and the Alouette power plant on the shore of Stave Lake
Stave Lake
Stave Lake is a hydroelectric reservoir in the Stave River system, located on the northern edge of the District of Mission, about 65 km east of Vancouver, British Columbia. The main arm of the lake is just over 20 km long, and there is a southwest arm ending at Stave Falls Dam about...
where a diversion from Alouette Lake
Alouette Lake
Alouette Lake, originally Lillooet Lake and not to be confused with the lake of that name farther north, is a lake and reservoir in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada. It is located at the southeast foot of the mountain group known as the Golden Ears and is about 8 km in length on a...
comes through a low mountainside, the Stave River's valley has been extensively logged. The only operating mills on its length are now near the Fraser
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...
at Ruskin
Ruskin
- Surname :*John Ruskin , an English author, poet and artist, most famous for his work as art critic and social critic, and for his writing on the architecture of Venice....
but there are a few ruins of mills lining its western shore, including the remains of a very large cedar shake mill adjacent to the Stave Falls dam. Almost all of the mills on the Stave were focussed on the production of shakes (sort of a large shingle) and some of its mills were among the highest-producing in the world.
