British Columbia - Nisga'a Provincial Park

The middle of no-where sums location up nicely, (Sorry Nisga'a Nation but you're by definition REMOTE!) I recommend making the visit as part of a road trip to the Yukon or making it a stop as part of a hot spring circuit. Alternatively you can fly into Terrace and tour the area with a rental car, however due to the shear amount of snow these locations get the only time you can do this safely is during the summer. At the time of writing the highway that goes through the park is actually closed due to mudslides and several parts of the park are closed due to flooding.

The provincial website linked in the section below lists in detail everything the park has to offer so instead of repeating content I'll point out the highlights. Most of the trails are self guided, with signs pointing out highlights and things you may not notice at first glance, these trails are spread throughout the park and are short in length. These are accessed by vehicle as you drive through the park. You can get a guided tour to the site of the volcano itself which is a crater not a dome shaped volcano, this guided tour also gives you a real sense of the native culture, both past and present.

While traveling through the park keep your eyes open for small ponds in the creak that travels beside the road, the color can be stunning and you might actually think your lost in some tropical paradise if its warm enough that day. The same goes for volcanic features, as the lava flowed over the land covering trees and the landscape, unique features where created including:

- Tree casts as the lava hardened around the tree before the tree burnt up
- Lava Tubes where the top layer of lava hardened but the material underneath kept on moving
- And many more unique features not often found at volcanic sites

Read the signs, and obey the rules! This may not be considered "Far North" but some of the plants and trees take much longer to grow then they do in more southern locations.

Every Native tribe is different and each one will give you a unique learning opportunity if you chose to approach them with an open mind and without per-conceptions. Taking a guided tour with them will give you an incite into their life and you will even have the opportunity to have a meal with them. The Nisga'a nation lost over 2000 people when the volcano eruption occurred and its impacts are still felt today in both positive and negative ways.

Not all Nisga'a are the same, different members come from different families and will have different stories and histories.

More information can be found on the Nisga'a Provincial park on the following websites, including pictures from my trip:

Anhluut'ukwsim Laxmihl Angwinga'asanskwhl Nisga'a Provincial Park Photo Album

BC Parks Nisga'a Website

Lava Feature

Several pictures of this trip can be viewed, and prints purchased at DeviantArt


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