Adams River (British Columbia)

Coordinates: 50°54′N 119°33′W / 50.900°N 119.550°W / 50.900; -119.550
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For the river on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, see Adam River.

Adams River
Monashee Range
 • locationBritish Columbia, Canada
Mouth 
 • location
Shuswap Lake, British Columbia, Canada
Length177 km (110 mi)(includes Adams Lake)
Basin size2,860 km2 (1,100 sq mi)
Discharge 
 • locationShuswap Lake[1]
 • minimum15 m3/s (530 cu ft/s)
 • maximum386–473 m3/s (13,600–16,700 cu ft/s)

The Adams River is a tributary to the

Secwepemc
villages on the river have shown a long tradition of habitation and salmon fishing in the area. The river also served as an important transportation route for early logging operations in the watershed.

Course

Drainage basin of the Adams River

The headwaters of the Adams are several unnamed glaciers at roughly 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) elevation in the northern region of the

Monashee Range of the Columbia Mountains. The upper portion of the river flows roughly south and southwest through wetlands and passes through two small lakes, Tumtum and Mica. It has sections of rapids and whitewater, and flows over cataracts below Tumtum Lake. Its flow drops by 5 metres (16 ft) per kilometre in certain sections. After travelling for 94 kilometres (58 mi) and entering the Shuswap Highland, it enters the northern end of Adams Lake.[2]

Adams Lake is roughly 72 kilometres (45 mi) along its north-south axis, and reaches a maximum depth of 457 metres (1,499 ft), making it the 24th deepest lake in the world.[3] The Lower Adams issues from the extreme southern end of the lake and travels 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) through a narrow valley. It empties into Shuswap Lake near the community of Squilax. From Adams Lake to the Shuswap, the Lower Adams drops 60 metres (200 ft) in elevation.[2]

Tributaries

Tributaries of the Upper Adams include:[2]

  • Oliver Creek
  • Dudgeon Creek
  • Sunset Creek
  • Fisher Creek

Adams Lake and the Lower Adams are fed by:[2]

  • Cayenne Creek
  • Sinmax Creek
  • Momich River
  • Hiuihill (Bear) Creek
  • Nikwikwaia (Gold) Creek

History

Secwepemc

The

Secwepemc people have lived in the Adams River valley for millennia. A 1977 study by the provincial government along the lower river found sixty-six sites with evidence of habitation dating to 2000 BCE.[4] The abundance of the salmon run made the river an important food source and trade commodity for First Nations people in the region.[4]

Ethnographer James Teit records that the people of the Adams River area formed a sub-group of the Secwepemc called the "Sxste'lln", now known as the Adams Lake Indian Band.[4] The Sxste'lln moved between summer and winter camps at the outlet of the lower river and the Little River area near Chase. The river's namesake, Chief Sel-howt-ken (baptized as Adam by Oblate missionaries) was a Sxste'lln leader in the 1860s.[5] Like more than 200 of his people, he died in the 1862 smallpox epidemic.[6]

Adams River Lumber Company

Bear Creek flume, c.1910

Although prospectors, surveyors, and trappers had travelled the region in the 1800s, the first large scale activity in the river valley by Europeans was logging. J.P. McGoldrick, an experienced lumberman from

Spokane, established the Adams River Lumber Company in 1909.[7] He licensed large tracts of timber along both the Upper and Lower rivers, as well as the surrounding plateau. McGoldrick's company is described as the first major industrial operation in the British Columbia Interior.[7]

A camp was built on the upper river and logging operations began at Tumtum Lake. The cut logs were run down the river, then towed in booms by the company owned sternwheeler Helen down Adams Lake. The logs then were run down the Lower river to the mill at Chase. In 1908, Adams River Logging constructed a "splash dam" at the outlet of the Lower Adams.[8] This dam allowed operators to raise the water level of Adams Lake. When sufficient logs had been collected above the dam, the gates were opened and the resulting flood carried the logs to Shuswap Lake. This proved to be destructive to the salmon run as it damaged the gravel beds the fish use to spawn.[8]

In order to move logs from the plateau above the Lower river, Adams River Lumber constructed several flumes. The flumes were elevated wooden troughs filled with water that floated logs down to the valley bottom. The largest of these was at Bear Creek. It incorporated trestles up to 25 metres (82 ft) high and was capable of moving 3,000,000 metres (9,800,000 ft) of logs per month.[7] It was the largest flume in North America at its peak.[4] The structures were dismantled after the areas became logged out.[7]

Although logging continues in the region, the Adams is no longer used for log transport.[9]

Ecology

Western red cedar
on the Upper Adams, c.1910

Flora

Much of the ecology of the watershed has been affected by wildfires and forestry, and is considered to be in a

Engelmann spruce, and alpine fir.[10] The area around the river mouth has been altered by human activities such as farming and livestock grazing.[10]

Fauna

Sockeye salmon

Adams River sockeye travel from their spawning grounds to the South

olfactory system is believed to play a part.[9]

The

alevins. The temperature and neutral Ph of the water is also well-suited to the sockeye. Shuswap Lake, below the river, is called a "nursery lake" by biologists due to its high concentration of picoplankton, a food source for young salmon.[9]

Sockeye spawn in a side channel of the Adams River

Dominant runs

The Adams River run occurs every year, but every fourth year (called a "dominant" year), the numbers are much higher. 2018 was the most recent dominant run. According to Canada's

Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the Fraser River sockeye run of 2010 was the largest since 1913, numbering an estimated 34 million fish.[11] At least 3,866,000 of these fish returned to the Adams River to spawn.[12] There is no clear consensus as to why the Adams stock has rebounded so remarkably (1991 saw an estimated return of 718 fish). In the Globe and Mail, Simon Fraser University biologist John Reynolds said "[predicting salmon numbers] is massively complex, even for a scientist."[13]

Other fauna

The Adams River valley supports large populations of

Grey Wolf population grows substantially during the fall as they gather from adjacent valleys to feed on the spawning salmon. In the upper river valley, moose are common, and the headwaters of the river contain grizzly bear habitat. Several species of aquatic mammals are found on the river, including beaver, mink, and river otter.[10]

The river's mouth has populations of

mallards, green-winged teal, and goldeneye. The river supports Bald eagle and osprey populations, whose eyries can be seen high up in black cottonwood and dead conifers. Grouse, especially ruffed grouse, are numerous throughout the valley.[10]

Protected areas

The Adams passes through the 5,733 hectare

International Pacific Salmon Fisheries Commission.[15]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Adams River background study" (PDF). bcparks.ca. March 31, 2006. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Cal-Eco Consultants Ltd. (March 31, 2006). "Draft Nomination Document for the Adams River As a Canadian Heritage River". Prepared for the B.C. Ministry of Environment: 9.
  3. ^ "Lakes at a Glance: Deepest Lakes". World Lakes Network.
  4. ^ a b c d Cooperman, Jim (1989). Shuswap Chronicles:The History of Adams Lake. Celista, BC: North Shuswap Historical Society. pp. 4–7.
  5. ISBN 0-921235-20-8
    .
  6. ISBN 0-404-58123-4
    .
  7. ^
    ISBN 978-1-55017-189-1
    .
  8. ^
    ISBN 978-0-9694947-0-6
    .
  9. ^
    ISBN 0-921586-34-5
    .
  10. ^ a b c d e Yeomans, W.C. (1977). Adams River: A resource analysis. British Columbia Ministry of Environment. Resource Analysis Branch. pp. 14–16.
  11. ^ Chappell, Bill (October 26, 2010). "British Columbia Sees Largest Salmon Run In A Century, 34 Million Strong". National Public Radio (United States). Archived from the original on November 6, 2010. Retrieved November 14, 2010.
  12. ^ "2010 Late Run Sockeye Salmon Preliminary Escapement Estimates" (PDF). Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
  13. ^ Ebner, David; Stueck, Wendy (August 28, 2010). "B.C. sockeye salmon bounty estimate upped to 30 million". Globe and Mail. Canada. Archived from the original on October 29, 2010. Retrieved October 8, 2010.
  14. ^ "Upper Adams River Provincial Park". British Columbia Ministry of Environment. Retrieved February 3, 2011.
  15. ^
    BCGNIS
    . Retrieved February 3, 2011.
  16. ^ Koopmans, Robert (November 6, 2010). "Run likely record year for Adams sockeye". Kamloops Daily News. Kamloops, British Columbia. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved November 14, 2010.

External links

50°54′N 119°33′W / 50.900°N 119.550°W / 50.900; -119.550

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