Skeena River

Skeena River
The Bulkley River (left) flowing into the Skeena River (right) near Hazelton
Skeena River watershed with tributaries
Location
Country	Canada
Province	British Columbia
City	Terrace
Physical characteristics
Source	Spatsizi Plateau
• coordinates	57°9′6″N 128°41′29″W / 57.15167°N 128.69139°W / 57.15167; -128.69139
Mouth	Pacific Ocean
• location	Chatham Sound
• coordinates	54°8′15″N 130°5′40″W / 54.13750°N 130.09444°W / 54.13750; -130.09444[1]
• elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Length	570 km (350 mi)
Basin size	54,400 km2 (21,000 sq mi)[2]
Discharge
• location	mouth[2]
• average	1,760 m3/s (62,000 cu ft/s)[2]
Basin features
Tributaries
• left	Sustut River, Babine River, Bulkley River, Zymoetz River
• right	Kitwanga River, Lorne Creek, Kitsumkalum River

The Skeena River is the second-longest river entirely within British Columbia, Canada^[3] (after the Fraser River). Since ancient times, the Skeena has been an important transportation artery, particularly for the Tsimshian and the Gitxsan—whose names mean "inside the River of Mist" ,and "people of the River of Mist," respectively. The river and its basin sustain a wide variety of fish, wildlife, and vegetation, and communities native to the area depend on the health of the river. The Tsimshian migrated to the Lower Skeena River, and the Gitxsan occupy territory of the Upper Skeena.

During the Omineca Gold Rush, steamboat services ran from the sea to Hazelton, which was the jumping-off point for the trails to the goldfields. The Hudson's Bay Company established a major trading post on the Skeena at what became called Port Simpson, British Columbia (Lax Kw'alaams), where nine tribes of the Tsimshian nation settled about 1834. Other tribes live elsewhere in BC, and descendants of one group in Metlakatla, Alaska.