Mess Creek

{{Use Canadian English|date=February 2026}} {{Infobox river | name = Mess Creek | name_native = | name_native_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 Mess 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|110|km|abbr=on}}<ref name="KF">Elevation, length and coordinates derived from [[Google Earth]] and the [https://geonames.nrcan.gc.ca/search-place-names/search Canadian Geographical Names Database]</ref> | width_min = | width_avg = | width_max = | depth_min = | depth_avg = | depth_max = | discharge1_location = | discharge1_min = | discharge1_avg = {{convert|59.3|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}<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= 2023-09-26}}</ref> | discharge1_max =  | source1 = Unnamed lake | source1_location = [[Boundary Ranges]] | source1_coordinates = {{coord|57|07|42|N|130|56|12|W|display=inline}}<ref name="KF"/> | source1_elevation = {{convert|1022|m|abbr=on}}<ref name="KF"/> | mouth = [[Stikine River]] | mouth_location = | mouth_coordinates = {{coord|57|53|25|N|131|12|29|W|display=inline,title}}<ref name="KF"/> | mouth_elevation = {{convert|170|m|abbr=on}}<ref name="KF"/> | progression = | river_system = | basin_size = {{convert|2330|km2|abbr=on}}<ref name=watertool/> | tributaries_left = Schaft Creek, Tudadela Creek | tributaries_right = [[Crayke Creek]], Dagaichess Creek, [[Elwyn Creek]], [[Kitsu Creek]], [[Raspberry Creek (British Columbia)|Raspberry Creek]], [[Tadekho Creek]], [[Taweh Creek]] | custom_label = [[Topographic map|Topo map]] | custom_data = [[National Topographic System|NTS]] {{Canada NTS Map Sheet|104|G|15}}<br>[[National Topographic System|NTS]] {{Canada NTS Map Sheet|104|G|14}}<br>[[National Topographic System|NTS]] {{Canada NTS Map Sheet|104|G|7}} | extra = }}

'''Mess Creek''', formerly known as '''Mestua''', is a [[tributary]] of the [[Stikine River]] in northwestern [[British Columbia]], Canada.<ref name="bcgnis">{{BCGNIS|22550|Mess Creek|access-date=2023-09-26}}</ref> It flows north and northwest for about {{convert|110|km|abbr=on}}, through a lake and a [[gorge]] to join the Stikine River, which in turn flows southwest across the Canada–United States border into [[Alaska]] where it empties into various [[strait]]s of the [[Inside Passage]].<ref name="KF"/><ref>{{BCGNIS|7821|Stikine River|access-date=2023-09-26}}</ref> The northern half of Mess Creek forms a western boundary of [[Mount Edziza Provincial Park]] which lies within the traditional territory of the [[Tahltan]] people.<ref name="HR">{{cite map|url=https://volcano.si.edu/maps/GVAlaskaCanada/G910509-006.jpg|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502071600/https://volcano.si.edu/maps/GVAlaskaCanada/G910509-006.jpg|title=Telegraph Creek, Cassiar Land District, British Columbia|scale=1:250,000|series=104 G|map=A 502|edition=3|type=Topographic map|publisher=[[Department of Energy, Mines and Resources]]|year=1989|language=en,fr|access-date=2021-09-25|archive-date=2021-05-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Markey|first1=Sean|last2=Halseth|first2=Greg|last3=Manson|first3=Don|title=Investing in Place: Economic Renewal in Northern British Columbia|publisher=[[University of British Columbia Press]]|page=242|year=2012|isbn=978-0-7748-2293-0}}</ref>

Mess Creek's [[drainage basin|watershed]] covers {{convert|2330|km2|abbr=on}} and its estimated mean annual [[Discharge (hydrology)|discharge]] is {{convert|59.3|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}.<ref name=watertool/> The mouth of Mess Creek is located about {{convert|3|km|abbr=on}} southwest of [[Telegraph Creek]], about {{convert|73|km|abbr=on}} west of [[Iskut]] and about {{convert|94|km|abbr=on}} southwest of [[Dease Lake]] in [[Cassiar Land District]].<ref name="bcgnis"/><ref name="KF"/> Mess Creek's watershed's [[land cover]] is classified as 38.7% [[conifer|conifer forest]], 25% [[Barren vegetation|barren]], 15.9% [[shrubland]], 10% snow/glacier, 8.3% [[Herbaceous plant|herbaceous]] and small amounts of other cover.<ref name=watertool/>

==Geography== Mess Creek originates from an [[unnamed lake]] behind an [[alluvial fan]] at {{coord|57|07|42|N|130|56|12|W|display=inline}}. From its source the creek flows about {{convert|45|km|abbr=on}} north into [[Mess Lake]] and then continues northwest for another {{convert|63|km|abbr=on}} into the Stikine River.<ref name="KF"/> About midway through its course, Mess Creek is bounded on the east by the [[Mess Creek Escarpment]].<ref name="HR"/> This is a long, often cliff-like feature forming the western edge of the [[Mount Edziza volcanic complex]].<ref>{{cite bcgnis|id=22549|name=Mess Lake Escarpment|access-date=2023-09-26}}</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=32, 241, 242|isbn=0-660-14407-7|doi=10.4095/133497|doi-access=free}}</ref> The final {{convert|12|km|abbr=on}} of Mess Creek flows through a gorge.<ref name="KF"/>

Mess Creek contains seven named [[right tributaries]]. The first one is [[Tadekho Creek]] which flows northwest into Mess Creek just south of Mess Lake.<ref>{{cite bcgnis|id=16745|name=Tadekho Creek|access-date=2023-09-26}}</ref> [[Kitsu Creek]] is the second named right tributary which flows northwest and then north into Mess Creek.<ref>{{cite bcgnis|id=4622|name=Kitsu Creek|access-date=2023-09-26}}</ref> The third named right tributary is [[Raspberry Creek (British Columbia)|Raspberry Creek]] which flows northwest into Mess Creek.<ref>{{cite bcgnis|id=23314|name=Raspberry Creek|access-date=2023-09-26}}</ref> [[Taweh Creek]], the fourth named right tributary, flows northwest into Mess Creek west of [[Mount Edziza]].<ref>{{cite bcgnis|id=18502|name=Taweh Creek|access-date=2023-09-26}}</ref> The fifth named right tributary, [[Crayke Creek]], flows southwest into Mess Creek off Mount Edziza.<ref>{{cite bcgnis|id=4820|name=Crayke Creek|access-date=2023-09-26}}</ref> [[Elwyn Creek]] is the sixth named right tributary which flows west into Mess Creek.<ref>{{cite bcgnis|id=9936|name=Elwyn Creek|access-date=2023-09-26}}</ref> The seventh named right tributary is Dagaichess Creek which flows southeast into Mess Creek just south of Telegraph Creek.<ref>{{cite bcgnis|id=7546|name=Dagaichess Creek|access-date=2023-09-26}}</ref>

Only two left tributaries of Mess Creek are named. The first one is Schaft Creek which flows north into Mess Creek on the west side of Mount Edziza Provincial Park.<ref>{{cite bcgnis|id=17243|name=Schaft Creek|access-date=2023-09-26}}</ref> The other named left tributary, Tudadela Creek, flows north into Mess Creek.<ref>{{cite bcgnis|id=23924|name=Tudadela Creek|access-date=2023-09-26}}</ref>

==Geology== Mess Creek flows through a long and narrow [[graben]]-like [[depression (geology)|depression]] bounded by steeply-[[Strike and dip|dipping]] [[fault (geology)|faults]] that extend to the north. A more than {{Convert|24|km|mi|adj=mid|-long|abbr=on}} fault along the eastern edge of this structure shows signs of having been active contemporaneously with [[volcanism of the Mount Edziza volcanic complex]]. It has vertically displaced [[Holocene]] [[basalt]] flows by {{Convert|15|to|20|m|ft|round=10|abbr=on}} and older basalt flows by {{Convert|91|to|122|m|ft|abbr=on}}, such that the western side of the fault has been downthrown. The downthrowing of this fault during the Holocene may have been due to the draining of [[magma chamber]]s following eruptions at the Mount Edziza volcanic complex.<ref name="MD">{{cite report|last1=Souther|first1=Jack Gordon|author-link1=Jack Souther|title=Report of Activities, Part A: May to October, 1966|chapter=Cordilleran Volcanic Study, 1966|url=https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/rncan-nrcan/M41-1-4-67-1A-eng.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230107151915/https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/rncan-nrcan/M41-1-4-67-1A-eng.pdf|archive-date=2023-01-07|publisher=[[Geological Survey of Canada]]|page=91|year=1966|access-date=2023-05-15}}</ref>

Two groups of hot springs occur along Mess Creek. The Mess Lake Hot Springs near the southeastern corner of Mess Lake have deposited massive [[tufa]] over an area of more than {{Convert|120|ha|abbr=on}}. Discharge at these hot springs may be linked to shallow [[hydrothermal]] systems driven by residual [[magma]]tic heat as they are adjacent to [[The Ash Pit]], a recently active eruptive centre of the Mount Edziza volcanic complex. The Mess Creek Hot Springs {{Convert|7|km|mi|abbr=on}} south of Mess Lake have a recorded temperature of {{Convert|42.5|C|F|abbr=on}} and may be discharging from a deeply circulating hydraulic system along a major fault on the western side of Mess Creek valley.<ref name="Souther"/>

==History== The historic [[Yukon Telegraph Trail]] runs along the eastern side of Mess Creek.<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Mussio|editor-first1=Russell|title=Northern BC Backroad Mapbook|publisher=Mussio Ventures|page=88|year=2018|isbn= 978-1-926806-87-7}}</ref> It was built to serve the nearly {{Convert|3000|km|mi|adj=mid|-long|abbr=on}} Yukon Telegraph Line which 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>{{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>

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

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *{{cite cgndb|id=JBOFG|title=Mess Creek}}

[[Category:Mess Creek| ]] [[Category:Cassiar Land District]] [[Category:Tahltan Highland]] [[Category:Stikine Country]] [[Category:Tahltan]] [[Category:Mount Edziza Provincial Park]]