The Bulkley River Valley

The Bulkley River is a major tributary of the Skeena River and is paralleled by Highway 16 in the region of Smithers. Despite the fact that its major tributary, the Morice River, is actually larger, the confluence was still called the Bulkley by Poudrier, a government cartographer who, it is rumored, never saw the region.

And for another piece of trivia, the inhabitants of Smithers are commonly called Smithereens.

Teslin River, Lake, and Fault

Dee and Cal are scheduled to stop overnight tonight at Teslin Lake, which is a prominent feature in the Terrain view of this region: 80 miles long, 2 miles wide on average, and nearly linear (a favorite landmark for VFR pilots). This natural lake is on the Teslin River, which runs from south to north toward the Yukon River. The Alaska Highway runs along Teslin Lake for over twenty miles including the longest bridge on the entire Highway, the Nisutlin Bay Bridge. The road bed is reported to be a see-through metal grating, which should be great fun for the trikers. At the far (north) end of the lake the highway turns west on the famous Johnson's Crossing Bridge over the Teslin River.

All of the rivers that Dee and Cal have crossed so far drain into the Atlantic or the Arctic Ocean. Teslin River, on the other hand, drains into the Pacific Ocean (or rather, the Bering Sea) by way of the Yukon River. Remember that the Yukon is the third longest river in the U.S., behind the Missouri and the Mississippi Rivers.

And of course the reason that the Teslin Lake is long, narrow, and so nearly straight is because of the Teslin Fault.

The Continental Divide

If you have been following the River List you will have noticed that the rivers up to and including the Missouri drain into the Atlantic Ocean via the Gulf of Mexico, while all those after it in the list drain into the Arctic Ocean, hence a continental divide, the so called Northern or Laurentian Divide. Still not exactly sure where they are, we can assume Dee and Cal are approaching or have passed the Great Continental Divide, beyond which the rivers all flow into the Pacific Ocean. Travel plans posted before they started call for Dee and Cal to return by way of Glacier National Park (or near it), where the Northern and the Great Divides converge in a "triple point".

Bison bison athabascae

Since Dee and Cal are still incommunicado this evening, I am going to take another little side trip, down the Liard River again to Fort Liard and Nahanni Butte, home to the Wood Bison (Bison bison athabascae), not to be confused with the Plains Bison (Bison bison bison), the other surviving North American subspecies. The highest point of the Wood Bison is well ahead of its front legs, while the Plains Bison's highest point is directly above the front legs. The Wood Bison is also heavier, with large males weighing over 900 kilograms (2,000 lb), making it the largest terrestrial animal in North America.

In contrast to the other mammals I have written about here, the Wood Bison is threatened to the point of nearing the status of endangered. Efforts to preserve these populations have been partially successful, but encroachment threatens them as well as hybridization with plains buffalo polluting the genetic stock. Another issue is that of habitat fragmentation, which makes the observation of wood bison crossing the Liard in summer as well as winter an important one.

The Liard River

Since the Verizon service seems to have disappeared for a few days, we don't know for certain, but by now Dee and Cal should have crossed the Liard River via the famous Liard Suspension Bridge (mile 496) in the Hot Springs vicinity. Had they stopped there, rented a canoe, and floated east on the Liard, they would have been in for the ride of their lives. The Grand Canyon of the Liard is a 20-mile stretch of Class IV and higher rapids. After descending into the foothills the river levels out and is joined by the Fort Nelson River on its way to the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories and on to the Arctic Ocean.

Instead of canoeing east, however, the trikers will have continued west on the Alaska Highway, which follows the Liard River for considerable distance (past the mouth of the Kechika River on the other side, for example). Eventually they will cross the Liard again as it swings north into the Yukon in the northern end of the Rocky Mountain Trench. The source of the river is the Saint Cyr Range of the Pelly Mountains. The name "Liard" comes from the French word for Eastern Cottonwood, which grow in abundance along many sections of the river. Because of the abundance of wildlife, the Liard River Valley and the surrounding area vies for the title of Serengeti of North America.

The Kechika River

Being just a vicarious triker, I am free to explore places inaccessible to Dee and Cal. Don't get me wrong, I'd rather be with them, but since I'm not, I will take a little side trip. The Kechika River will not make it to our "river list" because the trikers will neither cross it nor follow it, but it deserves a blog entry nonetheless because: (1) it flows into the Liard River, which the trikers will cross (and then follow) soon, (2) most of its course is within the Rocky Mountain Trench, which I've already written about, and (3) its pristine watershed is home to moose, caribou, stone sheep, grizzly and black bear, timber wolf, (which we have encountered before) as well as elk and mountain goat.

In the image here, I have redrawn the Alaska Highway in red to make it more visible. The green balloon is where Dee and Cal stayed last night. The Kechica River rises near the lower center of the image and flows northwest before curving toward the Liard, which it joins at the Alaska Highway. You can click on the image to make it larger, or if you go to the Google map, you can zoom in and out as you wish.

What makes this river valley especially special are "the wildlife populations and ecosystems which flourish around and along the river. ... Not only is the river corridor pristine, but the valley as a whole remains largely free from roads, leaving the Kechika River as the largest remaining undisturbed watershed in British Columbia." I would love to quote the entire website, but you owe it to yourself to follow the link above. Also read about the Denetiah Provincial Park.

The River List

Dee mentioned crossing the Smoky River (not to be confused with the Smoky Hill River), so this seems like a good time to review the rivers that the trikers have crossed on their journey so far.

• Arkansas
• Smoky Hill
• Saline
• Solomon (S. and N. Forks)
• Republican
• Platte
• Loup (South and Middle)
• Cheyenne
• Belle Fourche
• Grand South Fork
• Grand North Fork
• Little Missouri
• Missouri
• South Saskatchewan
• North Saskatchewan
• Abthbasca
• Smoky

The Missouri River and all above it drain into the Atlantic Ocean, while those below it drain into the Arctic Ocean.

Saskatchewan River

Dee mentioned yesterday that Saskatoon is the "city of bridges" with seven river crossings. The river they span is the South Saskatchewan River. Shortly after leaving the campground this morning the trikers crossed the North Saskatchewan River, which they then paralleled the rest of the day. They are still north of this river tonight, but tomorrow they will cross it again as the river swings north of Highway 16.

The province of Saskatchewan gets its name from the Saskatchewan River, which gets its name from the Cree word meaning "swift flowing river."

Quiz: Longest Rivers and more

Quick, name the longest river in the United States. If you said the Mississippi River, you are close. Acording to the U.S. Geological Survey, the Mississippi is the second longest river (2340 mi), followed by the Yukon (1980 mi), Rio Grande (1900 mi), St. Lawrence (1900 mi), Arkansas (1469 mi), and Colorado (1450 mi). First place, however, belongs to the Missouri River, at 2540 miles in length.

Next, name the three largest man-made lakes in the country. If you got the first two, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, both on the Colorado, I am impressed. If you knew the third, Lake Sakakawea on the Missouri River, I am very impressed. Yesterday Dee and Cal crossed the Missouri River at the upper end of Lake Sakakawea.

Now name the explorers who followed this river into the Pacific Northwest from 1803 to 1806? This question is a bit easier, but I will let you follow the link to confirm their names. On Christmas Eve of 1804 they finished building Fort Manden on the river at what is now the other end of Sakakawea Lake.

Finally, can you name the longest undammed river in the contiguous U.S.? This would be the Yellowstone River, which flows into the Missouri ten or fifteen miles upstream from where Dee and Cal crossed it. The explorers I'm talking about followed both rivers because they appeared to be about the same size.

The river crossing by satellite. Williston is at the top and the lake is to the right.

Little Mo -- Terrain View

The Terrain View in Google maps shows the ruggedness of the Little Missouri River valley even better.

Little Missouri River

Dee asked me to look up the elevation change for today's ride, which is gradually downhill the whole way with a 450 foot drop in elevation between Belfield and Watford City. That is, the whole way EXCEPT leaving the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The Little Missouri River runs through the park creating a narrow valley. The uphill grade coming out of the valley is 4% for almost two miles. A "'Lordy, Lordy' hill" to quote Dee.

This is not the place to post a biography of the 26th U.S. President, but I would be remiss if I did not pass along a quote by Theodore Roosevelt: "I would never have been president if it had not been for my experiences in North Dakota." Read more at: T. R. the Rancher, Maltese Cross Cabin, and Elkhorn Ranch. (See also: T. R. Association, and Wikipedia). If I understand the location correctly, Roosevelt's Elkhorn Ranch was along the Little Missouri.

Hooker County

Last night (Tuesday) Dee and Cal stayed in Mullen, NE, half way between Broken Bow and Alliance. It is the county seat of Hooker County, the least populous of Nebraska's 93 counties (population 793 in 2003). Named for General Joseph Hooker, the county has one post office (69152) and one K-12 school district. The Dismal River, a canoe trail, runs through the county. John Howell, safety on 2003 NFL Super Bowl Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, went to high school in Mullen.

(Note added later: General Hooker's penchant for booze and women was once claimed to be the source of the word "hooker" for prostitute, but the American Heritage Dictionary says this is not true. )

The Platte River Valley

It is fitting that when the rain stops and Cal and Dee resume their ride, they will be entering one of the most important travel corridors in our nation's history, the Platte River Valley. Although the river is too shallow to support water navigation, its wide, flat valley invited travel by natives for centuries before Europeans came to the continent. In the 1700's, French fur traders followed the river, opening up much of the west. The name "Platte" is the French word for flat. As settlers began emigrating west, the Platte River Valley formed a crucial part of the Oregon and Mormon Trails, as well as the Pony Express route. The Union Pacific portion of the first transcontinental railroad came through the Platte River Valley. The first road across the United States, the Lincoln Highway, came through this same region, and the first fully paved highway across the country, US Route 30, followed the Lincoln Highway. Finally, the second longest Interstate in the country, I-80, closely parallels (but does not overlay) US 30 here.