Bourgeaux Creek

{{Short description|Tributary river in the country of Canada}} {{Infobox river | name = Bourgeaux Creek | native_name = | native_name_lang = | name_other = | name_etymology =  | image = | image_caption = | map = | map_size = | map_caption = | pushpin_map = British Columbia | pushpin_map_size = | pushpin_map_caption = Mouth of Bourgeaux Creek  | subdivision_type1 = Country | subdivision_name1 = [[Canada]] | subdivision_type2 = Province | subdivision_name2 = [[British Columbia]] | subdivision_type3 = District | subdivision_name3 = [[Cassiar Land District]] | subdivision_type4 = | subdivision_name4 = | subdivision_type5 = | subdivision_name5 =  | length = {{convert|17|km|abbr=on}}<ref name=length/> | discharge1_location = | discharge1_min = | discharge1_avg = {{convert|3.46|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}<ref name=watertool/> | discharge1_max =  | source1 = East side of [[Raspberry Pass]] | source1_location = [[Tahltan Highland]] | source1_coordinates = {{coord|57|29|57|N|130|40|27|W|display=inline}}<ref>Derived from BCGNIS, topographic maps, and [https://atlas.gc.ca/toporama/en/index.html Toporama]</ref> | source1_elevation = {{convert|1475|m|abbr=on}}<ref name=toporama/> | mouth = [[Little Iskut River]] | mouth_location = | mouth_coordinates = {{coord|57|30|13|N|130|26|48|W|display=inline,title}}<ref name=bcgnis/><ref name=toporama/> | mouth_elevation = {{convert|850|m|abbr=on}}<ref name=toporama/> | progression = | river_system = | basin_size = {{convert|104|km2|abbr=on}}<ref name=watertool/> | tributaries_left = | tributaries_right = | custom_label = [[Topographic map|Topo map]] | custom_data = [[National Topographic System|NTS]] {{Canada NTS Map Sheet|104|G|10}} | extra = }} '''Bourgeaux Creek''' is a [[tributary]] of the [[Little Iskut River]] and part of the [[Stikine River]] [[drainage basin|watershed]] in northwest part of the [[Provinces and territories of Canada|province]] of [[British Columbia]], [[Canada]].<ref name=bcgnis>{{BCGNIS|451| Bourgeaux Creek}}</ref><ref>{{cite cgndb|id=JABAG|title=Bourgeaux Creek}}</ref> It flows generally east for roughly {{convert|17|km|abbr=on}}<ref name=length>Lengths and distances measured using BCGNIS coordinates, topographic maps, online map servers, and [https://atlas.gc.ca/toporama/en/index.html Toporama]</ref> to join the Little Iskut River, a tributary of the [[Iskut River]], which in turn is the largest tributary of the Stikine River. [[Gerlib Creek]] joins Bourgeaux Creek about {{convert|5|km|mi|abbr=on}} upstream of Bourgeaux's confluence with the Little Iskut River.<ref name=length/>

Bourgeaux Creek's mean annual [[Discharge (hydrology)|discharge]] is estimated at {{convert|3.46|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}. Its watershed covers {{convert|104|km2|abbr=on}} and is entirely in [[Mount Edziza Provincial Park]]. The watershed's [[land cover]] is classified as 37.7% [[Barren vegetation|barren]], 29.0% [[Conifer|conifer forest]], 14.8% [[shrubland]], 13.0% [[Herbaceous plant|herbaceous]], 4.6% [[snow]]/[[glacier]], and small amounts of other cover.<ref name=watertool>{{cite web |url= https://nwwt.bcwatertool.ca |title= Northwest Water Tool |work= BC Water Tool |publisher= GeoBC, Integrated Land Management Bureau, Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Government of British Columbia |accessdate= 4 October 2023}}</ref>

The mouth of Bourgeaux Creek is located about {{convert|60|km|abbr=on}} southeast of [[Telegraph Creek]], British Columbia, about {{convert|110|km|abbr=on}} south of [[Dease Lake]], British Columbia, and about {{convert|250|km|abbr=on}} southeast of [[Juneau, Alaska]].<ref name=length/>

Bourgeaux Creek is in [[Mount Edziza Provincial Park]], which lies within the traditional territory of the [[Tahltan First Nation]], of the [[Tahltan]] people.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://tahltan.org/our-territory |title= Our Territory |publisher= Tahltan Central Government |accessdate= 29 September 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://tahltan.ca/nation/territory |title= Dah Ki Mi — "Our House" |publisher= Tahltan Band Council |accessdate= 29 September 2023}}</ref>

==Geography== Bourgeaux Creek originates on the east side of [[Raspberry Pass]], about {{convert|25|km|mi|abbr=on}} south of [[Mount Edziza]]. Raspberry Pass forms a boundary between the [[Spectrum Range]] to the south and the Mount Edziza area to the north.<ref name="BC Parks">{{cite web|url=https://bcparks.ca/explore/parkpgs/mt_edziza/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123120553/https://bcparks.ca/explore/parkpgs/mt_edziza/|archive-date=2023-01-23|title=Mount Edziza Provincial Park|publisher=[[BC Parks]]|access-date=2023-07-31}}</ref><ref name="Souther">{{cite report|last1=Souther|first1=J. G.|author-link1=Jack Souther|title=The Late Cenozoic Mount Edziza Volcanic Complex, British Columbia|work=[[Geological Survey of Canada]]|publisher=Canada Communication Group|series=Memoir 420|year=1992|pages=3, 32|isbn=0-660-14407-7|doi=10.4095/133497|doi-access=free}}</ref> From its source, Bourgeaux Creek flows east, collecting a number of unnamed tributary streams. The one named tributary, [[Gerlib Creek]], joins Bourgeaux Creek from the north, about {{convert|5|km|mi|abbr=on}} upstream of Bourgeaux's mouth at the Little Iskut River. [[Artifact Ridge]] lies on the south side of Bourgeaux Creek's watershed. Significant mountains on the north side include [[Hoyaa Peak]], [[Esja Peak]], [[Armadillo Peak]], [[Tadeda Peak]], and [[Cache Hill]].<ref name=toporama>{{cite web |url= http://atlas.gc.ca/toporama/en/index.html |title= Toporama (on-line map and search) |work= [[Atlas of Canada]] |publisher= [[Natural Resources Canada]] |accessdate= 28 September 2023}}</ref><ref name=mapbook>{{cite book |last1= Mussio |first1= Russell |last2= Mussio |first2= Wesley |title= Northern BC Backroad Mapbook |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pBAFEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA99 |accessdate= 28 September 2023 |date= 2018 |publisher= Mussio Ventures |isbn= 978-1-926806-87-7 |page= 99}}</ref>

==History== Bourgeaux Creek was named for F. Bourgeaux, a member of the [[Western Union Telegraph Company]] party which, in 1866, explored the area for an overland telegraph route to Europe via Alaska, the Bering Strait and Asia.<ref name=bcgnis/> That telegraph was never built, but the nearly {{Convert|3000|km|mi|adj=mid|-long|abbr=off}} [[Yukon Telegraph Trail|Yukon Telegraph Line]] was constructed by the Dominion Government Telegraph Service between 1897 and 1901 to send messages from [[Ashcroft, British Columbia]] in the south to [[Dawson City]], [[Yukon]] in the north.<ref name="KE">{{cite web|url=https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=17944|title=Yukon Telegraph Trail|publisher=[[Canadian Register of Historic Places]]|access-date=2023-09-26}}</ref> This telegraph line followed Bourgeaux Creek to Raspberry Pass, then continued down [[Raspberry Creek (British Columbia)|Raspberry Creek]], thence north to the community of [[Telegraph Creek]] on the Stikine River.<ref name=mapbook/> The Yukon Telegraph Line operated until 1936 and only remnants remain today. The historic Yukon Telegraph Trail follows its route.<ref name="RG">{{cite web|url=https://bcparks.ca/explore/parkpgs/mt_edziza/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123120553/https://bcparks.ca/explore/parkpgs/mt_edziza/|archive-date=2023-01-23|title=Mount Edziza Provincial Park|publisher=[[BC Parks]]|access-date=2021-10-21}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Miller|first1=Bill|title=Wires in the Wilderness: The Story of the Yukon Telegraph|chapter=The Early Years: Discontent and Description|publisher=Heritage House Publishing|pages=122–138|year=2004|isbn=978-1-894384-58-2|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TSLtYpkG-zwC&pg=PA122|access-date= 6 October 2023}}</ref>

==See also== *[[List of rivers of British Columbia]]

== References == {{Reflist}}

[[Category:Cassiar Land District]] [[Category:Rivers of the Mount Edziza volcanic complex]] [[Category:Stikine Country]] [[Category:Tahltan]] [[Category:Mount Edziza Provincial Park]]