Cheakamus River
The c. 70 km (c.44 mi) length of the Cheakamus is followed by British Columbia Highway 99 (the Sea-to-Sky Highway) and the British Columbia Railway. The Cheakamus is a whitewater rafting and kayaking route, and is known for its steelhead and salmon fishing. Much of the flow of the upper Cheakamus is diverted from Daisy Lake beneath the mountains to the west to the Cheakamus Powerhouse on the Squamish River. Notable just north of Daisy Lake is Brandywine Falls. The Nordic events complex of the 2010 Winter Olympics was located on Callaghan Creek, a tributary of the Cheakamus just upstream from Brandywine Creek.
Largest tributaries
Cheakamus River derailment
On August 5, 2005, a long Canadian National train, heading inland from Brackendale, derailed and nine empty lumber flat cars along with one tank car of sodium hydroxide crashed off the main bridge, falling into the river. The tank car spilled its contents into the river, killing an estimated 500,000+ fish. Six years later, a local Vancouver News channel reported on the return of the fish to the river.
See also
References
- ^ R.W. Nichols, Report on the Floodplain Mapping Study Cheakamus River, 1986.
- ^ "Cheakamus River". BC Geographical Names.
- ^ Calculated with Google Earth
- ^ "Cheakamus Project Water Use Plan" (PDF). BC Hydro. 2005. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
- ^ "B.C. river's recovery from spill could take decades". CBC News. 2006-02-07. Retrieved 2006-07-19.