Kitimat River
| Kitimat River | |
|---|---|
Kitimat River, August 2012 | |
| Etymology | Gitamaat First Nation people |
| Location | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | British Columbia |
| District | Range 5 Coast Land District |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Kitimat Ranges, Coast Mountains |
| • coordinates | 53°58′25″N 128°4′18″W / 53.97361°N 128.07167°W |
| • elevation | 1,285 m (4,216 ft) |
| Mouth | Pacific Ocean |
• location | Kitimat, Douglas Channel |
• coordinates | 54°0′39″N 128°39′44″W / 54.01083°N 128.66222°W |
• elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Length | 100 km (62 mi) |
| Basin size | 1,990 km2 (770 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | mouth |
| • average | 131 m3/s (4,600 cu ft/s) |
| • minimum | 18.2 m3/s (640 cu ft/s) |
| • maximum | 3,030 m3/s (107,000 cu ft/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • right | Wedeene River, Little Wedeene River |
The Kitimat River is a river in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It originates in the Kitimat Ranges, near the sources of the Dala River, Kemano River, Atna River, and Clore River. It flows in a curve north, then west, then south, emptying into Kitimat Arm at the head of Douglas Channel, at the town of Kitimat.
The river is named after the original First Nations inhabitants of the river valley, the Gitamaat, which means "People of the Falling Snow" in the Tsimshian language. The Gitamaat people themselves are not Tsimshian but Haisla. Today the Haisla Nation is centered on Kitamaat Village, near the mouth of the Kitimat River.