Nechako Plateau
Geographic feature in British Columbia, Canada
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Through Volcanic rock and Sedimentary rock
"Nechako" is an anglicization of netʃa koh, its name in the indigenous Carrier language which means "big river".
Sub-ranges
The Nechako Plateau has four official subranges:
- Fawnie Range
- Nechako Range
- Quanchus Range
- Telegraph Range
The Fawnie, Nechako and Telegraph Ranges are low ranges of hills, but the Quanchus Range is a very mountainous near-island within the arms of the Nechako Reservoir (formerly a chain of lakes). Much of this area of the plateau is in Tweedsmuir North Provincial Park and Protected Area.
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Geology
The Nechako Plateau was created by lava flowing over older volcanic and sedimentary rock. Large ice sheets then carved the bedrock into rolling hills.
The Nechako Canyon, also called the Grand Canyon of the Nechako, is now in a provincial protected area due to its striking landscape, formed by the course of the Nechako River carving into the plateau's lava and lined with pinnacles and overhanging cliff. It begins at the outlet of the Nechako Reservoir at Kenny Dam and ends at Cheslatta Falls, an 18m drop which is the last leg of the Cheslatta River.
Climate and ecology
The area is populated with white spruce, subalpine fir, and (at higher elevations) Engelmann spruce trees. The plateau is protected from the Pacific weather systems by the Coast Mountains and Hazelton Mountains, resulting in dry, warm summers and dry, cold winters.