Ecstall River
The Ecstall River is a tributary of the Skeena River in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It originates in the Kitimat Ranges, and flows about 110 km (68 mi) to the lower tidal reach of the Skeena River at Port Essington, about 30 km (19 mi) southeast of Prince Rupert, 95 km (59 mi) southwest of Terrace, and 85 km (53 mi) northwest of Kitimat. Its drainage basin covers about 1,485 km2 (573 sq mi) and contains the largest blocks of unlogged land on the north coast of British Columbia, although large-scale industrial logging operations, both active and proposed, have been occurring in the watershed since the 1980s.
| Ecstall River | |
|---|---|
Mouth of Ecstall River | |
| Location | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | British Columbia |
| District | Range 5 Coast Land District |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Ecstall Headwaters Conservancy |
| • location | Coast Mountains |
| • coordinates | 53°56′4″N 129°22′57″W |
| • elevation | 800 m (2,600 ft) |
| Mouth | Skeena River |
• location | Port Essington |
• coordinates | 54°9′57″N 129°57′30″W |
• elevation | 20 m (66 ft) |
| Length | 110 km (68 mi) |
| Basin size | 1,485 km2 (573 sq mi) |
The name "Ecstall" comes from a Tsimshian word meaning "something from the side" or "a tributary".
The Ecstall River watershed is in Tsimshian First Nations territory. The Gitzaxłaał Tsimshian had two main seasonal villages in the watershed: Spiksuut, at the river's mouth where Port Essington is now, and Txalmisso', at Big Falls Creek. Salmon was caught in weirs or by spear. Other fish, marine invertebrates, and sea mammals were also harvested. Eulachon was probably the most important non-salmonid resource fished. Eulachon oil was an important trade item. There was a major aboriginal trail, or grease trail, linking the lower Skeena River and Douglas Channel. It ran through the Ecstall Valley, along the river, by Ecstall Lake, over a pass to the Quaal River valley, and down that river to the Kitkiata Inlet of Douglas Channel.
There are two hydroelectric projects in the Ecstall River's watershed. The Falls River Project was built in the 1930s and acquired by BC Hydro in 1964. It consists of a dam, two penstocks, a 7 MW nominal power plant, and 27 km (17 mi) of transmission line running along the east side of the Ecstall River, across the Skeena River, and on to Prince Rupert. The Brown Lake Project was built in 1997 for Synex Energy Resources Ltd, a subsidiary of Synex International, and is now owned by Innergex Renewable Energy. It consists of a dam near the outlet of Brown Lake and a 600 m (2,000 ft) tunnel to a powerhouse near sea level, which generates 7.2 MW. Electricity is delivered to the BC Hydro power grid via a submarine cable and a connection to the transmission line on the east side of the Ecstall River.