Elk River (British Columbia)

Updated on Nov 22, 2023

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- location Rocky Mountains - min 5.66 m/s (200 cu ft/s) Discharge 75.6 m³/s Source Elk Lakes		- location Lake Koocanusa Basin area 4,450 km² Length 220 km Province British Columbia

- average 75.6 m/s (2,670 cu ft/s) - max 1,020 m/s (36,021 cu ft/s) Mouths Kootenay River, Lake Koocanusa Cities Fernie, Sparwood, Elkford, Elko, British Columbia, Hosmer

The Elk River is a 220-kilometre (140 mi) long river, in the southeastern Kootenay district of the Canadian province of British Columbia. Its drainage basin is 4,450 square kilometres (1,720 sq mi) in area. Its mean discharge is approximately 60 cubic metres per second (2,100 cu ft/s), with a maximum recorded discharge of 818 cubic metres per second (28,900 cu ft/s).

Elk River (British Columbia) Elk River FlyFishing Guides Guiding FlyFishers on The Elk River

CourseEdit

The Elk River originates from the Elk Lakes near the Continental Divide in the Rocky Mountains. It flows through the Elk Valley in a southwesterly direction, joining the Kootenay River in Lake Koocanusa, just north of the British Columbia-Montana border.

The Elk River runs through the communities of Elkford, Sparwood, Hosmer, Fernie, and Elko.

HistoryEdit

Elk River (British Columbia) Fly Fishing The Elk RIver Fernie British Columbia

David Thompson traveled along the Elk River in 1811, and called it the Stag River. James Sinclair's second settlement expedition to the Pacific Northwest from the Red River Colony made a difficult crossing from the Kananaskis River valley into the Columbia–Kootenays via the Elk in 1854. The river was labeled Elk River on John Palliser's 1857–58 map and "Stag or Elk River" on Arrowsmith's 1862 map.

Elko DamEdit

Elk River (British Columbia) Elk River amp Bull River Info Whitewater Rafting Trips Fernie BC

Elko Dam was built by East Kootenay Power Company on the Elk River in 1924. It is a run-of-the-river dam 16 metres (52 ft) tall and 66 metres (217 ft) long. The powerhouse has two Francis turbines producing 12MW of electricity. It is about 16 kilometres (10 mi) upriver from the Elk's confluence with Lake Koocanusa. It is operated by BC Hydro.

FishingEdit

Elk River (British Columbia) httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

The fishing in the Elk River is known to be some of the best fly-fishing in North America, with large, wild cutthroat and bull trout aplenty.

Coal mining impactsEdit

Elk River (British Columbia) Elk River Fly Fishing

The Elk River Valley is home to five large open-pit coal mines, supplying a third of the world's steel-making coal. For many years increased selenium, phosphate and nitrate levels have been linked to the continued expansion of the mining. Selenium levels continue to exceed the guidelines for human health.

Teck Mining is working to implement selenium management strategies.